Dinner party disasters

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Posted at 12:02PM, 17 March 2011 by Jessica Gunn - Features editor - olive magazine

'Only cook things you've made before and know will work,' was the sage advice from olive's food editor for my dinner party. But hey - where's the excitement in that? Plus, who really practises the kind of dishes you serve up to friends on a Saturday night on a normal evening when there are trips to fishmongers, delis and other out-of-the-way-but-worth-it-for-a-special-occasion kind of shops? Not me.

When friends come round, I prefer to cook things you can prepare ahead, rather than getting stressed in the kitchen on my own.

Now, I'm not usually a complete failure in the kitchen. I've had no professional training but I can knock up something tolerably good most of time - although I do need to think about it a bit first, and I'm certainly not going to venture into MasterChef territory - not even first-round MasterChef (you will not be served tuille baskets in my flat). When friends come round, I prefer to cook things you can prepare ahead, rather than getting stressed in the kitchen on my own.

So what to make? I had some kohlrabi (always a bit of a challenge), and some fennel from the veg box, so planned from there. To start, Kohlrabi carpaccio (served with anchovies, hard goat's cheese, thyme and rapeseed oil), followed by roasted seabass and fennel, and finally a mascarpone tart topped with summer fruits. Simple! Or not, as it turned out. The rather odd sounding starter (a recipe from the Guardian magazine) was rather odd, but quite nice. The fennel however, was undeniably crunchy (read: raw), and the fish overcooked. The tart didn't set so I was obliged to dish up a kind of creamy, fruit slop.

Nowadays, I think a little harder about menus when friends come round. This weekend, a Delia starter hadn't been tried before, but something similar had, and that went down a treat. Duck breasts with a blackcurrant sauce was a bit of a mix of several recipes but again, not entirely new territory. As for the Lemon & vanilla puddle pudding from the front cover of last month's olive - well, I had a bit of insider knowledge on that one so I was confident I was onto a winner.

What about you? Do you always practice your dishes before serving them to guests or do you try something new despite the potential for disaster? And have you had any major dinner party disasters you're not too embarrassed to share?

Comments

Tricia

18 March 2011, 3:02PM
Tricia

9 times out of 10 I will cook something I've never cooked before for a dinner party. As the blog says, where's the fun in cooking something you always cook. Admittedly I very occasionally have a disaster but nothing yet that is completely inedible!

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sw77

18 March 2011, 3:15PM
sw77

Always go failsafe for dinner parties - thai green curry! Can't go wrong, made in advance, all it needs is a big bowl of jasmine rice, stir fried veg and plenty of sauvignon :o))

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alligood

18 March 2011, 3:54PM
alligood

I don't like to cook things for people that they'd eat on a regular weeknight. I too do alot of experimentation with guests, which thankfully has almost always worked out a dream! Just lucky I guess!

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Sasha

19 March 2011, 12:23AM
Sasha

I get a real rush of adrenaline when I'm under the pressure to cook something elaborate for my guests. I always try and do a theme, like all vegan food, or all food beginning with the letter U. But I know I'll go mad if I don't practice the dishes on me and the boyfriend first!

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kitchengardener

19 March 2011, 7:44PM
kitchengardener

I steer away from something completely unknown and overly complicated for a dinner party. I prefer being with my guests rather than stuck in the kitchen fretting over something that has the potential to go horribly wrong. That doesn't mean that I don't try out elaborate things, I just use a bit of "culinary sense" as to whether a recipe looks like it will work or not. I also like to prepare ahead so I have time to be sociable and not stressed, that buys a little time for dealing with disasters too.

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Irlfan

21 March 2011, 9:39PM
Irlfan

I like to try something new but the problem is if your guest are not used to new ingredients it can be a flop any ideas for three course meal for up and coming dinner party for seven people. I would like something semi preped starter and desert to make it easier on main. Anyone any wow factor ideas but equally reasonable to excecute?

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Katy

24 March 2011, 1:35PM
Katy

I tend to do simple things, but really good quality. For example, my staple is pasta with meatballs. But I hand make the meatballs and make the tomato sauce from scratch. Mostly if I have dinner parties, they are casual affairs so I'm not expected to dish up WOW dishes, just good, tasty food. (Also, I tend to cheat and buy pudding, because I'm rubbish at desserts!!)

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Belinda

24 March 2011, 2:45PM
Belinda

Dinner Party? Open up Good Food, compile your list, start cooking - NEVER EVER GONE WRONG!!! (not even the Gary Rhodes recipes) But I do miss Jane's cakes ...

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jules

25 March 2011, 4:22PM
jules

Hi I want to share my success with you. I recently did a 'come dine with me' with a group of friends and I won!! It was great fun and i recommend it. We filmed our cooking and we had themed nights. I t was hilarious!

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fairystoryteller

28 March 2011, 12:59PM
fairystoryteller

It depends on the guests. Old friends who will laugh (and still love me) if there's a disaster? I'll be risky and experiment with new dishes. New friends or people who need a pair of safe hands? I'll wheel out the old faithfuls. But my golden rule is definitely to cook things I can prepare ahead so that I can enjoy the chatter and not get stuck in the kitchen. If in doubt - use the 3C rule: 'Cold Starter, Casserole, Cold dessert!'

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ZeTallGerman

29 March 2011, 9:04AM
ZeTallGerman

Hmmm... for a big event like Xmas Eve dinner or so on I definitely "test drive" a new recipe first and test it on my husband. But most of the time I have high confidence in the Good Food & Olive Magazine recipes and just try them for the first time straight away! Things you can do in the oven, prepare ahead, etc. are definitely the way to go. After all: your guests are not just there for the food, they are in your house to see you and you shouldn't be stuck in the kitchen all night! Some of my past dinner party favourites were roast butternut squash (from this website), grilled stuffed portobello mushrooms (from this website) or mustard chicken with leeks and white wine (from Jamie's 30min Meals), as individual (in ramekins) apple & blueberry crumbles. I don't tend to try fancy, overly posh dishes... as Jamie Oliver says: do something regular like a lasagna or roast chicken, but do it exceptionally well!

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Dhurva

5 September 2011, 9:38AM
Dhurva

Very nice recipe

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