Table with friends
Hosting dinner should be fun, not a drama..
Hosting friends at home always gives me joy, excitement and energy! It’s not only the event time; I also get a lot of energy from the preparation. Once the date is confirmed, small or big crowd, I start thinking about the menu, theme, table set-up, and shopping. There is so much to do, but the most important thing is I enjoy from the start to cleaning the kitchen:) all of it… I enjoy documenting the menu and the friends with whom we shared those moments to preserve the memories.…
Today, I will talk about how I plan the menu, a few practical points I developed over the years and a few menu examples.
First, the critical points are who is coming and the season. I plan the whole menu around these two main points. The guest’s diet preferences are essential in the planning; Turkish cuisine perfectly fits if guests are vegan or vegetarian. I cook many different veggies with different ingredients and a few dip sauces, either pita bread or bulghur, with pistachio, almond, and carrot; this never disappoints!
Bulghur with Pistachio, Almond and Carrot
1 + 1/2 cups of bulghur ( medium)
1/2 cups of pistachio
1/2 cups of almond flakes
one big grated carrot
2 Tbs butter
2 cups of water
Salt and pepper
Melt the butter in a pan, add grated carrots, and stir until golden; add pistachio and almond flakes and fry them until their colour changes. Add bulgur and mix. After 2 minutes, add water, salt, and pepper, and cook on medium heat until soft. If bulgur is still hard, you can add hot water. Season well and serve hot.
If the season is spring, the menu revolves around lamb, asparagus, baby potatoes, seasonal greens, and either spring rice ( rice with artichoke, lots of mints, dill, and green onion ) or focaccia bread.
If it is Summer, we are blessed with the most delicious tomatoes, so I always serve a tomato salad ( tomato, cucumber, red onion, green pepper, fresh mint and parsley, cracked walnut with lots of olive oil, sumac, dry mint, lemon juice, salt and pepper as a sauce) also char-grilled aubergines in BBQ with a most simple dressing - olive oil, lots of black pepper and salt with lemon juice, grilled zucchini dressed with garlic, olive oil, lemon zest and juice, salt and pepper. It is also a most delicious and straightforward sauce for many other veggies:
Tahini sauce :
1/2 cup of tahini
2 Tbs water
One clove of garlic -minced
2 Tbs lemon juice
salt
black pepper
a pinch of paprika
a pinch of cumin
1 Tbs olive oil
Mix the tahini and water well. Add lemon juice and mix well until the sauce is incorporated ( you can add a little water if the consistency is very thick). Add all the other ingredients and mix well.
This sauce is versatile and delicious! It can be used with roasted mini carrots ( just season them with salt, pepper, and olive oil and roast them in the oven until soft), boiled green beans, or grilled mini courgettes.
If the season is Fall, then it becomes more earthy. I like slow-roasted lamb or poultry, one effortless way of cooking a delicious main dish with roasted pumpkins, cauliflowers with tahini sauce, mushrooms, and cannellini beans with lemony sauce.
Slow Roasted Turkey or Lamb
The method is the same, but there are a few different steps on the prep;
For lamb;
Pat dry the lamb and rub it with lemon juice all around it, then season generously with salt and black pepper; this is key to the taste. Then sprinkle flour around the whole meat.
For Turkey leg:
Pat dry the leg and season generously with salt and black pepper. ( I sometimes put it in the fridge for overnight marinating) Before cooking, rub it with olive oil.
Cooking:
Put the meat or leg in a skillet or Dutch oven and add one glass of water. At this point, I add lots of fresh oregano to the lamb. Before the lid, cover it with kitchen paper and close the lid.
The oven temp should be max 160C/ 320F. It will cook for 3-5 hours, depending on the size of the meat. Please check the water in the pan and add some hot water if it’s scorched. For the last 20 - 30 min, you can increase the temp to 190C/380F and open the lid to get the colour.
I also plan the day and mostly cook the veggies early in the morning or one night before, make the sauces in small jars, prepare the dessert earlier and ready for the day. As I want to enjoy my dinner with the guest, I prepare most of the dishes before the guest arrives or have them cooking in the oven so I only add dressing or sauce to the salads.
For the dessert, I choose again seasonally, tiramisu, fresh fruits with homemade ice creams and crumbles, some light puddings, and torte caprese (italian chocolate tart) from richanddelish.com are my go to desserts.
I learned along the way the most important thing of hosting guests is to keep the ambiance with simple but good food, laughter, fun and good talk! To do all successfully, you need to enjoy and love hosting!
and lastly, check this book The Art of The Host by Alex Hitz for more posh organisations and also for great recepies and tips, I always enjoy reading !
Happy Cooking!