I'd been squirreling food away for about a week, so when it came to pre T-Day Wednesday, I just felt like everything had gone a little too smoothly. We cooked til 1 a.m., brining the turkey, preparing the pies, cleaning the vegetables and baking the dressing. On Thanksgiving Day, I had momentary anxiety about not having enough food, and I considered making a butternut squash soup amuse bouche (I've got an idea in my head and will hopefully be experimenting with a recipe later today). Doug, ever the voice of reason, convinced me that we would have enough food even without the turkey.
I have to say, I'm really loving this whole dinner party thing. Doug got me a gorgeous set of champagne glasses for my birthday, and we used his china set. Now that everything (or almost everything) is sparkly and clean, I can't wait for the next one. It was a remarkably civilized affair for NYC. My friends joke that coming out to our house is like going out to the country, but I love that. We ate dessert and had coffee (in matching cups and saucers!) by the crackling fire.
My thoughts on dinner parties:
- It's always lovely to start with a few bottles of sparkling wine. If you're a guest, it's always friendly to bring a bottle of sparkling wine. It doesn't have to be champagne. I'm going to do a run down of my favorite cheap sparklers in time for the holidays.
- I leave the fancy footwork to restaurant chefs. When I'm having a dinner party, I want to maximize time with my guests and minimize time spent with fussy foods that require too much of my attention. Make ahead, clean ahead.
- Set the table before hand and put out a few hors d'oeuvres. I didn't get around to doing hors d'oeuvres this time, but I will next time. Most of the time, your guests arrive before the food is completely done. Cheese and crackers, maybe some olives, are perfectly sufficient. You have to give them something to do besides drink and get wasted before they can appreciate your culinary skills. This is also important when you have guests who don't know each other very well.
- Water is as important as wine. It should be on the table, at the very least as a reminder for the drinkers that water is an option that should be taken every once in a while. Over the summer, I made the mistake of having three open bottles of red wine, free flowing prosecco, lemon drops, but no readily available water at the dinner table. One of our guests passed out sitting up at the dining table after the rest of my high tolerance friends had retired to the living room. My fault.
- Make your dinner music mixes beforehand, and make them for at least three hours. Have one mix for cooking (I like rock, R&B singalongs), one mix for dinner (cheery, gentle music in languages I don't understand), one mix for after dinner (maybe something upbeat to keep people from lapsing into food coma) and one mix for the drunken dance party (always the mark of a successful dinner party; this mix can also be a repeat of your cooking music).
- Have coffee and tea available at the end of the meal. My guests usually have a long way to travel before they get home. It's a civilized way to end the meal. And since you haven't gotten ALL the dishes dirty yet, coffee service will put you over the top.
UPDATED: In case you were wondering, here was our menu:
Turkey -- brined in the style of Chez Panisse. Came out great! Highly recommended. Next time I'll add more herbs to the butter I stuff under the skin (not in the recipe, but I believe in gilding the lily.)
Mashed potatoes -- mix of russets and yukon golds, lots of cream and butter and roasted garlic. No skins.
Mesclun with mint, chives, roasted beets, lemon vinaigrette -- all local vegs.
Gravy -- made with pan drippings by Doug.
Roasted brussels sprouts -- olive oil, salt and pepper, 400 degrees for 40 minutes, from the Greenmarket
Jerusalem artichoke gratin -- from the Paffenroths
Potato bread dressing -- simple, with celery, onion, stock and egg for added richness
Wild rice dressing -- made by my friend Miho, chock full of shiitake mushrooms, almonds, chestnuts, apple, dried apricots, rosemary, thyme, parsley, and three kinds of rice. Really amazing and deservedly famous.
Sweet potato pie and pecan pie with Godiva liqueur whipped cream -- made by Doug, Cook's Illustrated recipe
Prosecco, champagne, many red wines.
