A Performance to Dine For

What makes a great party?

It’s a more philosophical question than one might think.

To simply gather people into a room and supply them with food and booze isn’t enough. Those who are theatrically inclined and in the habit of curating the evening as if it were an art happening know that great parties are a mix of the practical and the unexpected.

Fred Eric, for one, could write the book on dining as performance art. As chef-owner of Vida in Los Feliz, he elevates meals into events, and he says it takes a lot less effort than you might think.

Sure, you’ve got to have your signature centerpiece dish and some pre-feast easy-to-carry-while-conversing nibbles (suitably salty and/or sweet). Then there are the party favors and decor to think about.

Oh, and the thing that most people leave until last, or just space entirely: the evening’s accompanying soundtrack, the music that will take a mid-evening event well into the uncharted after-hours. A lot of would-be party impresarios get so carried away with shopping, cleaning, slicing and dicing that they forget about music. So out comes “Sade’s Greatest Hits” or the Gipsy Kings and Cesaria Evora on repeat mode. (Believe us, we notice!)

But above all, you have to create room for the unexpected.

On a recent summer afternoon, even as he was swamped with the details of opening his Los Feliz diner Fred 62, Eric assembled a tropical fantasy in the elegant bento box of a private party pad, which he calls the Chado Room, set in a sliver of space behind Vida’s bar.

It was fitted out with plush, Scheherazade-style pillows arranged around a dugout table. A canoe was secured to the ceiling and seductively draped with sensuous blooms. A vintage port-a-player (as decorative detail) was strewn with 45s.

Activities? A deck of cards and some poker chips as alternative fun to de rigueur cocktail talk. The guest list: Some of Vida’s staunch bar-as-lunch-counter regulars, including Jay Coffin of Jay’s Jayburger and the model Sugar.

In the food department, there was an overstuffed barge of a tray stuffed with what Eric calls “booster sticks”--vegetable skewers, vegan spring rolls, piles of fried rice noodles and dishes of spicy sauces--finger-food appetizers that Eric originally designed to fit into a “booster box” (he says that when the wooden booster seats he had designed for his restaurant went unused he improvised and turned the seats into serving trays).

“A good party,” Eric says, “has to start with the people involved, inviting a mix of people who will get along, but also people who would not often normally be together. Using something like the booster sticks is key. It’s important in the first course that there is something that people have to share. That way they have to interact.

“Creating an environment is important also. You have to look at what the weather is like. So for example: It’s hot, make the room cool, and in winter use fiery colors. It’s all part of the details of setting things up.”

One of those details is the music. Eric stores his music stash in retired Veuve Clicquot Champagne boxes. Among the titles on the cassettes he has compiled: “It Ain’t Late, But It Ain’t Early,” “Shhhh, It’s a Whisper to a Shout,” “Slow, Medium to Late,” “Too Tired To Dance, Too Awake To Sleep.”

“I really try to pace everything and think about what kind of music is good to dine to and what is not,” Eric says. “I like percussive sounds. Upbeat. Just a layer of sound in the background--like Brazilian music that is calming, not a lullaby. Or Milt Jackson, which is actually my favorite dining music. And you would think that Led Zeppelin wouldn’t work, but later in the evening, it is absolutely perfect.”

What Eric stresses is that it’s not so hard to transform a “Hi, the booze is on the counter and the food is on the table” sort of affair into a memorable happening.

If you’re pressed, he suggests, find corners to cut. For instance, if you know a place that makes killer egg rolls, venture forth and serve them up with a collection of exotic sauces you’ve plucked from the shelves of gourmet shops or neighborhood ethnic markets. What’s important is that the food tastes good, not that you’ve slaved over a hot stove to make it yourself.

And if you don’t have time to make your own tapes, ask friends to make or bring a tape instead of a bottle next time. (Just be sure your friends’ musical tastes jibe with your own.)

Most important, remember that to master the art of hosting, you must not fade into the background like some ghost host for the evening. Find a way to participate in the magic you’ve created, to be the fancy-clad ringleader. That’s the true secret of party giving.

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Countdown

3 days before: Soak vanilla beans in vodka.

1 to 3 days before: Make Thai’d Duck Dressing, Tangy Dressing and Sweet-and-Sour Dressing. Refrigerate dressings.

Day before: Make filling for Vegan Rolls and refrigerate. Prepare spinach-bacon mixture and green papaya mixture for Thai Cobb Salad and refrigerate. Fry won tons and store. Chop garlic and peanuts, combine and store, covered, at room temperature. Grate hard-boiled eggs and refrigerate. Chop tomatoes and refrigerate. Debone and shred Chinese duck and refrigerate.

Day before or morning before: Assemble but don’t saute Vegan Rolls; refrigerate. Prepare peach juice mixture for Road Kill.

Morning before: Cut up vegetables for skewers and refrigerate.

1 1/2 hours before: Make Road Kill and refrigerate.

1 hour before: Season, grill and skewer vegetables. Place dressings in bowls for serving, cover and let come to room temperature. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

40 to 30 minutes before: Assemble Thai Cobb Salad, holding addition of fried won tons and peanut-garlic mixture.

25 minutes before: Saute vegan rolls.

10 minutes before: Reheat vegetables in oven.

Last-minute preparations: Set out Crispy Vegan Rolls, dressings for dipping and grilled vegetables. Serve Road Kill.

While guests are enjoying appetizers and drinks: Allow Thai Cobb Salad to come to room temperature. Add final garnish just befopre serving.

After appetizers: Serve Thai Cobb Salad.

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Ingredients

Shopping List

2 vanilla beans

1 (1-liter) bottle vodka

1 (1 1/2-liter) bottle peach juice

1 (23-ounce) bottle fish sauce

1 (12-ounce) bottle rice vinegar

1 (8-ounce) bottle chile paste

1 (16-ounce) jar dry-roasted peanuts

1 (14-ounce) package won ton wrappers

1 (11-ounce) package spring roll wrappers

1 whole prepared Chinese roast duck

3 peaches (about 1 1/4 pounds)

1 head garlic

1 small piece ginger root

6 red bell peppers

4 small zucchini

6 yellow squash

12 crimini mushrooms

20 shiitake mushrooms

1 bunch asparagus

2 bunches green onions

5 carrots

1 bunch celery

2 bunches cilantro

6 Thai chiles (prik khi nu) or serrano chiles

2 limes

2 pounds spinach or 2 (6 ounce) bags cleaned spinach

1 cucumber

1 red onion

1 green papaya

4 tomatoes

1 (8-ounce) container concentrated vegetable stock

1 (1-pound) package bacon

Staples

Salt

White pepper

Black pepper

Sugar

Tomato paste

Cornstarch

Olive oil

Vegetable oil

Eggs

Honey

Mayonnaise

Soy sauce

Sesame oil

Curry powder

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PEACH ROAD KILL

Fred Eric has a rotating selection of the cocktails he calls road kills, which change with the seasons. Peach has become one of his summer standards.

2 vanilla beans

3 cups vodka

3 peaches (about 1 1/4 pounds)

4 1/2 cups peach juice

12 cups ice

* Split vanilla beans, scrape seeds into vodka in bowl or bottle and add bean. Cover and let stand at room temperature 3 days.

* Dip peaches briefly in boiling water, then in ice water to make peeling easier. Peel, seed and chop peaches, then puree in blender or food processor. Add to peach juice.

* Combine peach mixture, vodka and 12 cups ice. Mix well, strain and serve in frosted glasses.

12 (6-ounce) servings. Each serving:

199 calories; 7 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 0 fat; 18 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram protein; 0.43 gram fiber.

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VEGETABLE SKEWERS (VEGETARIAN)

Eric’s all-vegetable take on the shish kebab can be dipped in any of several sauces. Eric suggests his Thai’d Duck Dressing, Sweet-and-Sour Dressing and Tangy Dressing. Or, he says, if you’re keeping things simple, bottled habenero sauce is swell with these too. As for the vegetables, stick with the seasons and use what you can easily find in the market. If using wooden skewers, soak skewers in cool water 20 minutes.

3 red bell peppers, seeded and quartered

4 small zucchini, cut into thirds

6 yellow squash, halved crosswise

12 crimini mushrooms

12 spears asparagus, top half only

2 bunches green onions, ends trimmed

1/4 cup olive oil

2 teaspoons salt

Freshly ground black pepper

* Toss bell peppers, zucchini, squash, mushrooms, asparagus and green onions in oil to generously coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

* Grill each vegetable on hot grill or stove-top grill pan, turning as necessary, until tender-crisp. Peppers, zucchini and yellow squash take about 10 minutes; mushrooms and asparagus, 4 minutes; green onions, 2 minutes. Let vegetables cool.

* Skewer vegetables alternately on each of 12 skewers, making sure at least 1 of each vegetable is on each skewer.

* If making ahead, reheat skewers before serving at 350 degrees 10 minutes.

12 servings. Each serving:

58 calories; 395 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 5 grams fat; 4 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram protein; 0.50 gram fiber.

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CRISPY VEGAN ROLLS (VEGETARIAN)

Like the Vegetable Skewers, these rolls are designed for dipping. Use any of the sauce recipes given here (vegans should note that the Tangy Dressing has fish sauce and the Thai’d Duck Dressing has egg yolks--but not, as the name implies, duck).

The spring rolls are sauteed rather than deep-fried. Eric uses sesame oil, but The Times Test Kitchen found a combination of sesame oil and peanut or vegetable oil easier to work with. (Sesame oil used on its own burned very quickly and gave the spring rolls a bitter aftertaste.) A combination of oils allowed the rolls to reach a higher temperature without burning, while still giving them a light sesame flavor.

Note that if you’re working ahead, the rolls can be assembled several hours before the party but should be sauteed close to serving time. And if you’re not following a vegan diet, you may substitute one beaten egg for the flour-water mixture to secure the rolls.

5 carrots, finely chopped

Salt

1 stalk celery, finely chopped

Peanut or vegetable oil

Sesame oil

3 large onions, finely chopped

2 green onions, thinly sliced

3 red bell peppers, finely chopped

20 shiitake mushrooms, finely chopped

1 bunch cilantro, leaves coarsely chopped

Pepper

1 (11-ounce) package spring roll wrappers

1 tablespoon cornstarch

2 tablespoons water

* Cook carrots in boiling salted water to cover until tender crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove with slotted spoon and refresh in ice water. When cool, remove from water and set aside.

* Cook celery in same boiling salted water until tender crisp, about 5 minutes. Drain and refresh in ice water. Drain again and add to carrots.

* Put 2 teaspoons peanut oil and 2 teaspoons sesame oil in large heated skillet. When oil is hot, add chopped onions, sliced green onions and bell peppers. Saute until tender-crisp, about 4 minutes. Toss in mushrooms and cook 2 to 3 minutes. Add carrots, celery and cilantro and stir. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove skillet from heat and allow mixture to cool.

* Position 1 wrapper as diamond with pointed end toward counter edge. Brush beaten egg on top corner. Arrange 1/3 cup filling mixture in line 2 inches from bottom corner. Wrap corner over mixture and pull back to tighten. Fold over two sides and roll to end of wrapper. Repeat with rest of wrappers.

* Put 1/4 cup peanut oil and 1 teaspoon sesame oil in heated skillet. When oil is hot, add spring rolls in batches, turning until both sides are golden brown and crisp, about 1 1/2 minutes per side. Add oil between batches as needed. Drain on paper towels. Serve immediately.

24 rolls. Each roll:

37 calories; 26 mg sodium; 9 mg cholesterol; 1 gram fat; 6 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram protein; 0.65 gram fiber.

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TANGY DRESSING (LOW-FAT COOKING)

3 tablespoons fish sauce

2/3 cup rice vinegar

1/4 cup sugar

4 Thai chiles (prik khi nu) or serrano chiles, finely chopped

* Whisk together fish sauce, vinegar, sugar and chiles. Use at room temperature.

About 1 cup dressing. Each 1-tablespoon serving:

16 calories; 130 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 0 fat; 4 grams carbohydrates; 0 protein; 0 fiber.

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THAI’D DUCK DRESSING

Eric created this dressing for his Thai Cobb Salad, which uses duck in place of the traditional chicken. The dressing also may be used as a dip for egg rolls and other finger-food appetizers. If you’re making the Thai Cobb Salad, there should be extra dressing left to use as a dip. The dressing may be made 2 or 3 days in advance. Note that the dressing calls for raw egg yolks; the USDA recommends that people avoid eating uncooked eggs (children, seniors and those with compromised immune systems should be especially wary). See the safety tip on this page for ways to make egg yolks safer for cooking.

5 tablespoons lime juice

7 tablespoons rice vinegar

5 tablespoons fish sauce

5 tablespoons chile paste

2 1/2 teaspoons salt

White pepper

5 tablespoons soy sauce

3 tablespoons sesame oil

7 tablespoons peanut oil

3 cups mayonnaise

8 tablespoons honey

2 egg yolks

* Puree lime juice, rice vinegar, fish sauce, chile paste, salt, white pepper to taste, soy sauce, sesame oil, peanut oil, mayonnaise, honey and egg yolks in blender until smooth.

Makes 6 cups. Each 1-tablespoon serving:

50 calories; 239 mg sodium; 8 mg cholesterol; 4 grams fat; 4 grams carbohydrates; 0 protein; 0.01 gram fiber.

Safety Tip

When raw eggs are called for in a recipe, there are a couple of methods a cook can use to make the eggs safer. The Food Section is working on a special section on Food Safety to be published in September; in the meantime, here are two methods The Times Test Kitchen uses to heat egg yolks before using them in recipes that traditionally use raw yolks.

Microwave Method: Heat egg yolks on HIGH 30 seconds. Now heat the egg yolks on HIGH at 10-second intervals, up to 60 seconds total cooking time, watching through window to see if yolks begin to move. As soon as movement is detected in yolks, heat on HIGH 8 to 10 seconds more. Beat yolks until smooth with clean fork or whisk. Return to microwave and heat on HIGH until yolks again begin to move, up to 10 seconds. Remove yolks from microwave, cover and let stand 1 minute. If using extra-large eggs, stir in 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon water before microwaving.

Stove-top Method: Heat 2 egg yolks over very low heat in saucepan with 1/4 cup of the most acidic liquid called for in the recipe (in the case of the Thai’d Duck Dressing, the lime juice or vinegar will work). The acidity in vinegars and lemon or lime juice helps prevent the yolks from curdling. Stir the yolks constantly until they thicken like lemon curd, 3 to 4 minutes. If using cooking thermometer, check that yolks are heated to 160 degrees or to 140 for 3 1/2 minutes.

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SWEET-AND-SOUR DRESSING

3 tablespoons peanut oil

2 tablespoons chopped garlic

3 tablespoons chopped ginger root

1 cup rice vinegar

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

2 cups vegetable broth

4 teaspoons tomato paste

2 green chiles, diced

4 teaspoons chile paste

2 tablespoons cornstarch

3 tablespoons water

* Heat oil over low heat in saucepan, then add garlic and ginger and cook until soft and aromatic, about 5 minutes. Add vinegar, sugar, broth, tomato paste, chiles and chile paste. Increase heat to medium-low and simmer 15 minutes.

* Strain sauce into another saucepan and bring to simmer. Combine cornstarch and water and whisk into sauce. Simmer until mixture thickens, 3 to 4 minutes. Cool and serve at room temperature.

3 cups dressing. Each 1-tablespoon serving:

30 calories; 65 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 1 gram fat; 6 grams carbohydrates; 0 protein; 0.02 gram fiber.

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THAI COBB SALAD

Although this is not a difficult recipe, it is time-consuming. We saved time in the Test Kitchen by buying an already cooked duck in Chinatown. You can also save time by buying the wontons already fried and using grated cucumber only instead of making papaya-cucumber mixture. Or simply reduce the number of ingredients in the salad and use what you like best. For a shortcut version, we liked the duck, papaya salad and wontons with the Thai’d Duck Dressing on top. All of the components can be prepared a day ahead and assembled just before the party.

16 cups (3/4 pound) spinach

12 slices bacon, diced

1 cup Thai’d Duck Dressing

1/2 green papaya, grated, optional

1/2 red onion, grated

1/4 cucumber, grated

1 green onion, thinly sliced

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

1/2 (14-ounce) package wonton wrappers, cut into 1/4-inch strips

Oil

3 tablespoons chopped garlic

1/3 cup dry roasted peanuts, finely chopped

6 hard-boiled eggs, grated

4 tomatoes, chopped

1 whole prepared Chinese roast duck, deboned and shredded

* Wash and dry spinach. Set aside.

* Saute diced bacon in skillet over medium heat, periodically pressing down on bacon with spatula. Drain off fat as necessary and cook until crisp, 3 to 5 minutes. Add spinach, increase heat to high and cook until spinach is slightly wilted, about 2 minutes. Transfer to bowl and stir in Thai’d Duck Dressing. Set aside to cool.

* Combine papaya, red onion, cucumber, green onion and cilantro. Set aside.

* Deep-fry won ton wrappers in deep skillet in oil for frying heated to 350 degrees until golden brown and crisp, about 45 seconds. Set aside.

* Heat skillet, add 2 tablespoons oil and saute garlic over medium-low heat until golden and crisp, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and add peanuts. Set aside.

* Assemble salad evenly on 2 platters. Divide spinach, hard-boiled eggs, tomatoes, duck, papaya salad and fried won tons. Layer bottom of each platter with wilted spinach mixture. Put half of eggs, tomato, duck, papaya salad and fried wontons in rows across each platter. Sprinkle peanut-garlic mixture over salad. Serve each platter with 2 cups duck dressing on the side.

12 servings. Each serving with 1/3 cup dressing:

220 calories; 195 mg sodium; 145 mg cholesterol; 14 grams fat; 9 grams carbohydrates; 17 grams protein; 0.93 gram fiber.