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“HELP! MY APARTMENT HAS A DININGROOM” COOKBOOK: HOW TO HAVE PEOPLE OVER WITHOUT STRESSING OUT, by Kevin Mills and Nancy Mills, Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston and New York, 1999, $16.
Let’s just say, a little bravery sneaked into your life one day when you boldly invited some friends over for a casual dinner party. Your excitement must have whizzed out of control at the prospect of having a group over to your humble apartment. Your dining room table, usually covered with your latest project, tax forms and other stuff, has yet to be graced with place settings, good company and home-cooked meals.
So now it’s time to put the table and the kitchen to their proper uses — no more time to be phobic about entertaining. It’s a daunting task for those of us accustomed to sitting on the couch with the TV as our company, raking through some take-out food in a styrofoam container.
“The key factor in entertaining is to relax,” says Kevin Mills, co-author of “Help! My Apartment has a Dining Room” Cookbook.
Relax? That’s easy for Mills to say; he has his mommy to help him (his co-author, Nancy Mills). These amateur cooks would prefer to hightail it to the phone, dial up their guests and offer a litany of colorful excuses for canceling at the last moment. Otherwise, there is always a way to redistribute responsibilities by renaming the occasion a potluck supper.
“Entertainment doesn’t mean there has to be a floor show … all you need to do is feed the people and then they’ll leave you alone,” says Mills, who once used to be traumatized by what he describes as “D.P. Day” (“Dinner Party Day”). “The key in entertaining is to relax. The worst thing that can happen is that everyone will lose a few pounds.”
In this no-frills-just-good-grub-and-plenty-of-it approach to entertaining, the Mills offer planning strategies along with recipes drawn from an eclectic selection of appetizers, entrees and desserts.
A timid host who’d prefer to play it safe will find this cookbook handy, as will those more daring in the kitchen and who already have a bit of entertaining experience.
A few recipes — Spicy Lentils and Spinach, and Chicken with Red Wine — have far more ingredients than you’ll need to make a delicious meal. But others, worthy of a novice cook who doesn’t want to be bogged down in the market and the kitchen, include Caesar Salad, Greek Island Fish, Peanut Sauce, Spicy Potatoes, and Salade Nicoise.
Bear in mind that these recipes aren’t necessarily for the diet-conscious, though some call for ingredients that curb the caloric and fat intake, such as Black Bean Lasagna. However, a more traditional lasagna recipe with ground beef follows.
Soups, salads, pasta and vegetarian main dishes, vegetable plates, breads, meats/game, seafood, poultry, and the never-to-be-omitted dessert, make up more than 100 recipes with very helpful “mom tips” for each one.
“Some people, like my mom, have no trouble cooking for company. … But before I’ll invite someone over, I have to do a thorough background check, a wiretap and a five-page survey,” says Mills. “`What kind of food do you like?’ `What color tablecloth do you find most soothing?’ `Are you willing to sign a legal waiver?’
“I test my food with focus groups before I serve it to company,” he says, joking.
However, Mills reminds you, this is YOUR dinner party.
“Don’t agonize too much over what other people might want to eat. Make what you like and hope that your guests have the same good taste you do.”
Other recipes include Hungarian Goulash, Angel Hair Pasta with Tomatoes and Basil, Caribbean Rice, Tortilla Soup, Leek and Potato Soup, and Crunchy Baked Fish.
After you choose your menu, Mills urges people to do as much of the food preparation as possible the night before or early the day of the dinner party.
At the top of the recipe, the Mills note whether or not the dish can be made partially or entirely in advance, as well as the estimated preparation, waiting time, cooking time, rating of its difficulty to prepare and what to serve the item with.
At the end of each recipe is at least one “Mom Tip” to make the cooking easier. Here’s an example:
How Do I Choose The Menu:
Don’t choose all the difficult recipes.
Don’t choose dishes that all require last-minute preparation.
Vary the spicyness of the dishes.
Don’t try to make every dish memorable.
Serve a less common, foreign dish.
Don’t make four things that are the same color.
Keep in mind the temperature outside when you’re deciding what to serve.
Consider a geographical theme.
Caesar Salad
1 large head romaine lettuce 4-6 anchovy fillets 1 garlic clove 3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 flaked or grated Parmesan cheese
1/2-1 cup packaged croutons Dash black pepper
Separate the lettuce leaves, wash them and pat them dry with paper towels. Tear into bite-size pieces and transfer to a large salad bowl. Cut the anchovies into 1/4-inch pieces and add them to the bowl.
Peel and finely chop the garlic. Combine the garlic, lemon juice and olive oil in a jar or plastic container with a tightly closing lid. Shake until the ingredients are thoroughly combined and pour over the salad.
Add the Parmesan cheese, croutons and pepper, toss and serve immediately. If the salad sits around very long, the croutons get soggy.
Tortilla Soup (Serves 4)
1 medium onion 3 garlic cloves 8 sprigs fresh cilantro 2 tablespoons corn oil or olive oil 1 bay leaf 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1 teaspoon chili power Dash cayenne pepper 1 8-ounce can tomato sauce 2 10 1/2-ounce cans condensed chicken broth and 2 cans water (or 2 vegetable bouillon cubes and 5 cups water) 1 ripe avocado 1 cooked chicken breast or leftover cooked chicken (optional) 20 tortilla chips
1/2 cup shredded chedder or Monterey Jack cheese
Peel and finely chop the onion and garlic. Wash the cilantro sprigs and pat them dry between towels. Cut off and discard the stems and cut the leafy parts into 1/2-inch pieces.
Heat the oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and cilantro and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables begin to soften.
Add the bay leaf, cumin, chili powder and cayenne pepper and stir briefly so that the spices are absorbed by the oil. Add the tomato sauce and chicken broth (or vegetable cubes) and water. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Turn down the heat to low, cover and cook for 10 minutes.
While the soup is cooking, cut the avocado lengthwise the whole way around and twist to separate the halves. Cover and refrigerate the half with the pit for use in another recipe. Peel the remaining half and cut it into 1/4-inch pieces. Set aside.
When you are ready to serve the soup, remove and discard bay leaf. Pour the soup into 4 bowls, filling them 3/4 full. Distribute the avocado and chicken pieces, if using, and tortilla chips equally among the bowls and top with the cheese. Serve immediately.
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