Well-Balanced Meals : Cooking Up a Great Dinner Party Without Going Broke or Crazy

My parents weren’t big on dinner parties. They threw cocktail parties instead--raucous affairs that resulted in much shrieking laughter, a broken glass or two and the lingering pall of cigarette smoke in the house. Preparations focused on acquiring the booze (that meant a 60-mile excursion from our Bible Belt town to the liquor store in the next county), filling up the ice buckets and getting all dressed up. In terms of the time and attention it took, this last task was most important, concluding with my mother’s being zipped into a slinky dress that would have made Gina Lollobrigida jealous.

Food was way down the list of my parents’ party priorities, and my eager help in that department was appreciated. Mainly it consisted of stabbing particles of meat and cheese with colored toothpicks and arranging them on glass plates along with mysterious tidbits whisked from the oven on cookie sheets.

Why does the apple fall so far from the tree? My own dinner parties are sedate by comparison, and I never bother with the snacks I called “horse doovers” as a kid. Those canapes bristling like hedgehogs didn’t look edible to me even then. I don’t own an ice bucket. Nor do I possess a single item of clothing that would have passed muster in Gina’s closet. This breakdown in genetic code puzzles me. When it comes to social events, my mother’s overriding concern is always: What will I wear? Mine, on the other hand, is: What will we eat?

Maybe I take after my grandmothers, who loved to cook and invited guests to their tables almost daily. Or my father, the recipe collector in the family. Whatever the genesis of the impulse, I was barely out of college when I began hosting dinner parties as casually as my parents mixed drinks--often a little too casually. “Dinner at 7” usually translated into “dinner at 10,” by which time everyone was too famished to care what was served. Sometimes I was too busy cooking to get myself ready before guests rang the doorbell.

Over the years, I learned a few things. No. 1, resist the urge to overachieve in the kitchen. I still love the cookbooks of Mexican food expert Diana Kennedy and her Italian counterpart Marcella Hazan, purists who frown on cutting any corners. But now I try to hold the line at just one labor-intensive dish and strive for simplicity with the rest of the menu.

No. 2, it’s the “little” things that count. Instead of blowing money on veal chops, economize with main dishes that use cheaper meats, dried legumes or pasta. A well-made cassoulet takes a couple of dollars’ worth of white beans and can bring tears to your eyes. Splurge instead on good olive oil, expensive bread, the most exquisite produce you can buy. In California, that means the best fruit and vegetables in the country.

No. 3, budget your time--but don’t begrudge it either. It’s the most valuable gift you can give your guests. They don’t know or care how much money you spend; what’s impressive is that you took the time to plan and prepare a special dinner just for them. The operative word here is “special,” and it applies not only to the food but to the presentation. Get out the good silver, light some candles and, for heaven’s sake (as my mother would say) fix yourself up, too.

So I’m turning over a new leaf. Inspired by Menu 17 of Sally Sampson’s recently published “The $50 Dinner Party” (Fireside Books), I welcomed the New Year at the dinner table with my husband and friends. We had bowls of excellent chili, slabs of homemade corn bread and a lettuce-arugula salad tossed with orange segments and Sally’s creamy goat cheese dressing. I toyed with the idea of making two kinds of chili instead of just one and a complicated flan instead of cookies. Fortunately, I came to my senses and took a leisurely bath instead.

Oh, yeah--and I looked great. *

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The following recipes have been adapted from “The $50 Dinner Party,” written by Sally Sampson and published last fall by Fireside Books.

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Three-Bean Chili With Tons of Garnishes

Serves 6

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1 teaspoon olive or canola oil

2 Spanish onions, coarsely chopped

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 bell peppers, any combination of colors, coarsely chopped

1 small eggplant, peeled, if desired, and cubed, or 3 zucchini, cubed

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon-1 tablespoon canned chipotle chiles, finelychopped

2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)

1 (16-ounce) can or 2 cups cooked white beans, drained and rinsed

1 (16-ounce) can or 2 cups cooked black beans, drained and rinsed

4 (15-ounce) cans dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup dried lentils, washed and picked over for stones

1 (28-ounce) can and 1 (14-ounce) can whole tomatoes, coarsely chopped, including juice

Salt

Pepper

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Garnishes:

1 large red onion, chopped

2-3 red tomatoes, diced

1 bunch green onions, finely chopped

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

1/2 cup sour cream or plain yogurt

1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese

2 avocados, diced

2 limes, quartered

Place large stockpot over medium heat and when it is hot, add oil. Add onion, garlic, bell peppers, eggplant, oregano, chipotle chiles, red pepper flakes, cumin and cayenne pepper, if desired, and cook until vegetables are golden, about 10 minutes.

Reduce heat to low, add white, black and kidney beans, lentils and tomatoes and cook, partly covered, 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Transfer to heated serving bowl and serve immediately or cover and refrigerate up to 2 days. Reheat gently.

Place garnishes in small bowls and allow guests to embellish their chili as desired.

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Sampson recommends serving this chicken curry, which can be made a day ahead, with basmati rice, steamed green beans and naan, available at Indian markets and restaurants. Pita bread may be substituted for naan.

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CHICKEN CURRY WITH COCONUT, BASIL AND MANGO

Serves 6

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1/4 cup flour

2 tablespoons curry powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)

2 1/2 -3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into large pieces

1-2 tablespoons canola oil

1 large Spanish onion, chopped

1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

4-4 1/2 cups chicken broth

1/4 cup currants, raisins, chopped dried figs or apricots

2 beefsteak tomatoes, diced

1 mango or peach, pitted and diced

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

3 tablespoons toasted or raw shredded coconut

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Place flour, curry powder, salt and cayenne pepper, if desired, in bowl and mix. Add chicken and toss until coated.

Add oil to large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken, a piece at a time, allowing skillet to reheat about 30 seconds between additions. Cook chicken until well browned, about 3 minutes on each side. Remove and set aside.

Reheat skillet and add onion, bell pepper, garlic and ginger. Cook until onion is golden, about 4 minutes. Return chicken to skillet, reduce heat to low and add broth. Cook until chicken is tender, 10 to 15 minutes, then remove and set aside. Cook liquid until thickened and reduced by about one-quarter.

Add chicken, currants, tomatoes and mango and cook until heated through, 3 to 5 minutes. Turn off heat and add lime juice. Transfer to heated serving platter and serve immediately. Garnish with cilantro, basil and coconut.

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When this grilled flank steak is the centerpiece, Sampson suggests rounding out the meal with an arugula salad, potato cakes or mashed sweet potatoes. The marinade can be made three days ahead.

GRILLED MARINATED FLANK STEAK WITH SOY, SHERRY AND DIJON

Serves 6

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3 pounds flank steak, skirt steak or London broil

2 tablespoons soy sauce

3 tablespoons Sherry

3 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

1 tablespoon curry powder

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2-1 teaspoon pepper

3 green onions, chopped

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Score both sides of steak with very sharp knife.

Place soy sauce, Sherry, mustard, brown sugar and curry powder in large shallow glass or ceramic bowl. Add steak, turning once so that both sides are marinated. Cover and let sit at room temperature no more than 2 hours or refrigerate 4 hours or overnight, turning occasionally.

Prepare grill or broiler.

Remove and reserve as much marinade as possible and place in small saucepan. Bring to boil and set aside.

Sprinkle steak with salt and pepper and place on grill or under broiler. Cook until deeply browned and crusty, about 5 minutes per side, basting occasionally with reserved marinade.

Cut steak into six big squares and serve immediately. Garnish with scallions.

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Food stylist: Christine Anthony-Masterson