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Celebrating at Home
Cooking, for me, is a celebration; it's all about well-being, friends, family,
and about the earth and its harvests.
When friends come to my house, I like them to get their hands into the food.
Yes, water will get on the stove, bits of food will fall on the floor. The
children can peel fava beans while the adults saute onions or trim artichoke
hearts. Everyone can stuff ravioli and shape gnocchi, racing to see who is
the fastest. All the while, the conversation flows.
Cooking is more fun and more soul-satisfying when the cook has some involvement
with the ingredients. It might be a spray of bay leaves or fennel seed heads
collected during a walk in the country and dried at home, or simply shopping
carefully to find the best ingredients to enhance your cooking style.
When people come to dinner, I often send them home with a taste of something
from the dinner, perhaps a jar of
whole citrus
vinaigrette, or a tin of an herb and spice mix I've made.
In entertaining, you have to choose the activities that speak to you and
make you happy. If it is not the actual cooking, then it might be setting
the table, arranging the flowers, or choosing the wines or the music. Start
a collection of serving pieces and think out of the box. For instance, bring
a small garden urn inside to hold extra-long bread sticks, or use a larger
one as an ice chest for wine. For more ideas on outfitting a personal
"presentation pantry," watch the Asparagus episode of the show.
To find our show, click here. |
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