Under $100 A night with no reservations, and you’re the chef

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It’s only natural when you love good food that you want to share it with good friends. But going out to a fine-dining restaurant can be expensive. If you add unpredictable winter weather, arranging for child care and the possibility that the food served may not be as good as you can cook in your own kitchen, then eating out also can be inconvenient and disappointing.

So why not have friends over for a meal and make a gourmet occasion out of it? That way you can be assured the food is to your liking. You easily can make adjustments to suit the dietary needs of everyone at the table. Friends with young children can be comforted knowing the kids are just a few houses away. The noise level, the temperature of the room and the timing are all within your control. Best of all, you have the option of offering seconds.

Preparing dinner at home, however, also can be costly, particularly if you’re making a special meal. What is a reasonable amount to spend on a fancy dinner for six? Considering the purchase of fresh food as well as hors d’oeuvres, a starter course, an entree, salad, dessert and wine, I recently set aside $100 for a dinner party with my friends.

Obviously, a parent preparing meals for six children – as my mother used to do nightly – or a host serving pizza and macaroni and cheese with beer could make a meal for much, much less than 100 bucks. But I wanted to offer an extraordinary

evening, a once-a-year celebration of food and friends. The money I allotted proved enough for the task, but it also took some planning and careful thought about ingredients.

At first, I considered crab cakes because I enjoy making them, and they are rich enough that people don’t typically request seconds. But one of my four guests turned out to be allergic to shellfish. (When inviting dinner guests, don’t be bashful about asking if there’s anything they don’t or can’t eat.) I decided to serve salmon.

What could I serve with the salmon to make it sing? Rice and potatoes were obvious choices. But lentils would add something exotic. Pink salmon on a bed of brown lentils with green asparagus would send aromatic and visual music from any platter.

With the main entree decided, the next major expense was wine. I know wine specialists who feel dinners should be shaped around wines. I understand. But I had to economize, so the only option was to do it the other way around. Still, I cannot bear bad wine. Could I buy an acceptable bottle for $10?

Two wine-geek friends of mine said yes. One recommended a Concha y Toro Cabernet Sauvignon, a Chilean red, and Lindemans Chardonnay, an Australian white. The other recommended Cavit Pinot Grigio and Chateau St. Michelle Chardonnay. I went with the second recommendation. Both kinds. We’d start with the light Pinot Grigio, perfect for the edamame, those munchably warm, green soybeans I planned to have on the coffee table when guests arrived. The Pinot Grigio also would segue into the first seated course: coddled eggs on rosemary mashed potatoes.

On my shopping trip, I tallied up every cent. The wine ($31.97 plus deposits) and the fish ($12.64) were the largest expenditure. At almost $5, organic eggs were an extravagance but one on which I never compromise. For me, the locally grown, organic egg has no equal in the fish, meat or vegetarian world.

With the first three courses decided, plus a final salad course of arugula with pears and shaved Pecorino Romano, I was left standing in front of the ice cream freezer comparing prices. In the spirit of the evening, I planned to make my mother’s secret recipe for Crazy Cake, a Depression-era chocolate cake with no eggs, butter or milk. A moist, nearly purple cake, it works lusciously without icing. Which is a relief since successful icing always has been beyond the magic of my whisk. As my own personal madeleine, the cake needs no embellishment. But the guests deserved more. Ben & Jerry’s New York Super Fudge Chunk, my favorite ice cream, was too much more. It would interfere with rather than complement the cake, and it wouldn’t exactly give the light finish I wanted for the evening. An organic boysenberry sorbet won out. The festive color and cool tang would play to the cake’s pillowy, dark nature.

Back in my kitchen, I laid some ground rules for myself. I would serve three of the five courses in single portions – or “plated” as those in the food industry say – and I would present the main entree on a favorite platter, which I would place like a bouquet in the center of the table. I also decided to use my best dishes for every course. If the food didn’t turn out – and there is always that chance with home cooking – at least it would be gorgeously presented.

When my guests arrived, they chatted, snacked on the edamame, and sipped the zesty Pinot Grigio. Instead of asking: What would you like to drink? I asked: Would you like a glass of Pinto Grigio? While they mingled, I lit the candles and fire in the dining room, placed the hot coddled eggs at each setting and called the crowd for dinner. The yellow from the firelight and flickering candles combined with the deep oak of the table to set off the whiteness of the eggs and their jiggly butterscotch yolks.

The diners all were experienced foodies, world travelers to whom some people might find it intimidating to serve home recipes. Not me. I love an element of surprise in the kitchen, and plenty of times I’ve served a course that was less seductive than I had hoped for. To me, cooking is about discovery and curiosity. Even a flop teaches a lesson. But this meal worked. More than that, it inspired a discussion about the definition of gourmet. Were we eating a gourmet meal? Were we gourmets? After all, who else would applaud the arrival of salmon on a bed of lentils? Was gourmet more a state of mind than a specific culinary designation?

Several hours later when everyone had left, the dishes were waiting for me. That is, of course, the other part of eating at home. But I’ve never minded doing the dishes. It’s a relaxing activity that allows you to mull over the evening, chat with the dryer (I always wash), and think about the next way you might fill those same dishes. On this night, I decided that the $100 meal was not a challenge but a pleasure. The relaxed atmosphere, the self-determined pacing, the sense of delicious accomplishment and the feeling that the night was long and convivial were priceless.

Alicia Anstead can be reached at 990-8266 and aanstead@bangordailynews.net.

Salmon on a Bed of Lentils

Makes 6 servings

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon finely chopped shallots

1 tablespoon minced garlic

4 cups organic chicken or vegetable broth

13/4 cup green or brown lentils

1 medium onion, peeled and studded with four cloves

2 teaspoons fresh thyme

4 carrots, peeled and sliced into medallions

2 white turnips, peeled and chopped into chunks

11/2-2 pounds salmon, cut into 6 portions

1/4 cup fresh parsley

1 lemon sliced into wedges

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add shallots and garlic and cook, stirring, until softened, about 1 minute. Add broth, lentils, onion, thyme, salt and pepper. Bring to boil, reduce heat to low and simmer, covered until the lentils are tender, about 25 minutes.

Add carrots and turnips. Simmer until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Remove the onion. Add more broth if necessary. Lay salmon fillets on top of lentils, cover and cook until the salmon is opaque in the center, 8-10 minutes.

Spread lentils on a warmed platter, top with salmon and garnish with parsley and lemon slices. Serve immediately.

Adapted from “The Essential Eating Well Cookbook” by Patsy Jamieson.

Oven-Coddled Eggs with Mashed Potatoes and Herbs

Serves 6

14 ounces red potatoes, with skins, cut into 1-inch pieces

1/4 cup finely chopped shallots

2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary

1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme

6 large organic eggs

6 tablespoons whipping cream

6 tablespoons freshly grated Reggiano, Parmesan or Pecorino cheese

2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

Salt and pepper to taste

Butter six 3/4-cup ramekins.

Scrub potatoes well with water, removing any dirt and damaged areas. In medium saucepan, boil until very tender. Drain. Place potatoes in medium bowl, add milk, shallots, butter, rosemary and thyme. Whip or beat until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Divide potatoes among ramekins.

Preheat over to 350 degrees F. Carefully crack each egg into a potato-filled ramekin. Spoon 1 tablespoon of cream over each egg. Sprinkle each with 1 tablespoon of cheese. Place ramekins in 13-by-9-inch metal baking pan. Pour enough hot water into the pan to come halfway up the sides of ramekins. Bake until egg whites are gently set but yolks are still soft, about 17 minutes. Remove ramekins from baking pan, sprinkle with chives and serve on salad plates. Be sure to warn diners that the ramekins are hot!

Adapted from Bon Appetit magazine.