A Dinner Party Survival Guide : In the Kitchen : One Sure Thing

“Above nine,” an Arab poet observed, “a party becomes an unruly mob.”

--CHARLES PERRY

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You can talk all you want about the secrets of successful entertaining, but as far as I’m concerned, there’s only one: Get comfortable.

This is not to say that there aren’t tense moments. Of course there are, that’s how you know you’re alive. People who tell you they don’t feel a little adrenaline rush as they’re putting the finishing touches on the first course while the second bubbles merrily along on its way simply aren’t trying.

The trick is to not let the stress get to the point where you no longer enjoy what you’re doing. Or even worse, where your guests don’t. There is nothing more unpleasant than going to a dinner where the cook spends the entire meal alternating between white-knuckle tension and hysterical shrieking. Having friends to the table should be neither the cause of nor a substitute for therapy.

The way to avoid this is to be secure in what you’re doing. Unfortunately, that only comes with experience. Or, at least, so I’m told. After 10 or 15 years of regular hosting, I’m still waiting.

Seriously, the best trick to happy entertaining--the one that got me through my first couple of years--is to have one really bang-up dish you can count on. It won’t matter nearly as much if the fish dries out or the souffle doesn’t rise as long as you’ve got one sure home run on the menu.

To put it another way: You don’t want to build your dinner upon pa^te sablee if you’ve never made pa^te sablee . You need a rock on which to construct your menu. Something you know will work; something everyone will love.

And, since you’re going to be serving it fairly regularly, you need something you can disguise with little twists. There are people to whom certain dishes are attached, much as certain monarchs are always identified by their virtues. But being known as Edward Longshanks is one thing; Edward Lamb Shanks is quite another.

What you need is the culinary equivalent of a little black dress or good blue suit that can be dressed up or down as the occasion demands. For years, mine was this trout mousse recipe from Madeleine Kamman.

Why do I love it? Let me count the ways: Even the plainest supermarket fish counter almost always has trout and it’s usually in pretty good shape and relatively cheap. The whole thing can be put together in a food processor. It can be served warm or at cool room temperature. It can be an appetizer or a main course. It can be accompanied by a whole array of sauces and garnishes, ranging from a simple green salad to a last-minute beurre blanc.

What’s more, despite its silky texture and delicate flavor, it’s a recipe that is nearly indestructible. You can make it in a giant souffle mold (though cooking time will be longer and unmolding it can be a trick) or in tiny ramekins.

The main thing to be careful of is to make sure everything is thoroughly chilled. In fact, when I make it, I stick the trout puree--food processor bowl and all--right in the freezer for a half hour. When cold, the protein strands from the fish will capture and hold the cream and butter in suspension more efficiently.

The mousse can be prepared ahead whether it is to be served hot or cold. If you’re planning to serve it cold, bake and let the ramekins cool to near room temperature, then refrigerate them. If you prefer it warm, seal the ramekins of raw mousse tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until you’re ready to put them in the oven.

While I would hesitate to call this mousse the rock upon which I’ve built my menus, it did come to resemble that once when--operating under the temporary delusion that if a little is good, a lot is better--I doubled the amount of trout in the mix.

Any benefits to having a recipe you can rely on are voided by changing that recipe.

TROUT MOUSSE

For years, my standard dinner party appetizer was this mousse served with a green chile beurre blanc (don’t bother even trying this unless you’ve got access to fresh New Mexican green chiles). That’s a healthy dose of rich on rich. For something lighter, you could serve it with a tomato concasse (finely minced tomatoes seasoned with a little garlic or shallot, basil and some olive oil and vinegar). Or, serve it as pictured here: with a simple green salad dressed with a vinaigrette.

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1 pound boned, skinned trout

2 egg whites

1 egg yolk

1/3 cup half and half

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Pepper

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 cup butter, at room temperature

2 cups very cold whipping cream

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* In food processor, puree fish, egg whites and egg yolk with half and half until smooth. For perfectly smooth mousse, push puree through strainer into bowl set in larger bowl containing crushed ice. Cover tightly and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

* Combine salt, pepper, nutmeg and butter in food processor and puree 15 seconds. Gradually add fish meat, processing to homogeneous consistency. Then add 1 1/2 cups of cream through feed tube. As soon as all cream has been absorbed, stop processor.

* Remove mousse to bowl placed in ice. With large rubber spatula, fold remaining 1/2 cup cream into mousse. Refrigerate until ready to use, as long as 24 hours.

* Pack puree into 8 heavily buttered glass or ceramic ramekins. Place ramekins in large baking dish. Place baking dish on oven shelf and add boiling water to halfway up ramekins. Lay sheet of parchment paper over top and bake at 325 degrees until skewer inserted in center of 1 of ramekins comes out clean and feeling burning hot to bottom lip, about 15 to 17 minutes.

* When ready to serve, whether warm or at room temperature, carefully run thin knife around outside of mousse, place plate over top and invert with quick, forceful thrust. Garnish as desired.

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Makes 8 servings.

Each serving contains about:

382 calories; 610 mg sodium; 174 mg cholesterol; 37 grams fat; 2 grams carbohydrates; 11 grams protein; 0 fiber.