Rising up, my dad and mom’ annual New Yr’s Eve ceremonial dinner drew in all corners of our neighborhood. The primary flooring of our home would remodel right into a hot-ticket restaurant for roughly 40 company. Out unfurled the leaves of the eating room desk, on which my dad and mom constructed an elaborate unfold: lasagna and scalloped potatoes, Caesar salad with croutons from scratch, leg of lamb, mussels in crimson sauce but additionally clams — not everybody appreciated mussels, my mother recounts.
No element went unaddressed. They topped the buffet in shimmering linens, labeled every dish with a spot card and outfitted each desk and floor of the kitchen and lounge with place settings and chairs. The get together would then stretch to the “disco” my dad had constructed downstairs, the place a small dance flooring, disco ball, laser lights, bar and audio-mixing setup awaited company.
My dad and mom have been — and nonetheless very a lot are — consummate entertainers, and I aspire to be like them. So this week, I made my case for capital “E” entertaining, whereas my boss (and recovering intense host), Krysten Chambrot, shared her argument for a laid-back, breezier strategy, by means of two dueling ceremonial dinner menus.
Every menu is versatile, with vegetarian company (or hosts!) in thoughts. In my elaborate unfold, Gabrielle Hamilton’s roasted mushrooms with braised black lentils and parsley croutons (above) works as both a facet or an expensive centerpiece for these foregoing the hen, and it’s flanked by two vibrant salads. Krysten gives a few centerpiece swaps in her easy menu: Melissa Clark’s artichoke and pea stew or Alexa Weibel’s white bean and celery ragout would pair properly with the salad and rice sides she suggests.
