One of the fringe benefits of writing a food blog is that people feed you and ask you what you think of their food. To tell you the truth, everything tastes good to me when someone else makes it out of love rather than profit. But once in a while, your friends will surprise you with their culinary skills or lack there of.
But really, here are the basic ingredients to a good dinner party:
-one or more really entertaining guests
-a few bottles of fine wine
-music that goes with your dinner theme
-appetizers to tie people over while dinner is being readied
I really do enjoy throwing dinner parties, but they also stress me out. I NEED things to be perfect. The cutlery must be shiny, the napkins stimulating, and the food...
Let's just say that I am the type of person who once spent half an hour perfecting the technique of slicing paper thin cucumber "leaves" to garnish my appetizers.
Over the years, I have learned to take it more easy and use tricks of the trade such as serving main dishes that come out of the oven- it can finish up while you entertain your guests. But really, the most important asset to hosting any type of party is to have a good co host-preferably one who is charming and cleans up well. I don't care for many theories on compatibility between couples, but there is definitely validity to the idea of people who cook together stay together. Being able to indulge together and be comrades in the kitchen is truly a remarkable aspect of any good relationship. And if you and your loved one can throw a dinner party together with style and grace, wow! Then you are truly meant to be together. It is just as simple as that!
