Ever invited a dozen people around for drinks and had those sinking feelings just before people are due to arrive?
Well, a little under 25 years ago, a certain elderly, ex-Actor was entertaining upwards of ten people at a time in a room no more than twenty feet square in Soho, in the West End of London.
Afternoon tea at Eliot's flat was a grand
affair, or rather it seemed to be, it wasn't until much later that I was taken
aside in confidence (especially as my liking of French and Italian cooking was
by then well known to my friends) after a particularly splendid Sunday afternoon.
There were only nine or ten of us, including
the host, but the little flat accommodated everyone with ease, the Edwardian daybed
was a perch for two and an intricately carved Persian long, but quite low, stool
was topped with cushions for another two.
Chairs in many different styles, although two rather grand Gothic
charges stood out like thrones, completed the eclectic seating
arrangements. Small tables and
terracotta drums held small bowls and platters with an varied assortment of
nibbles, some of the regular nut and crisp variety but there were also some little
plates of less expected offerings.
To put this in repast in context, it was the
late eighties, probably 1988 or 1989, flat, as I've said before was just a room
with a small separate kitchen and bathroom.
The fact that it was just off Charing Cross Road in London's theatre
land just made it (for me anyway) that much more boho.
Every 20 or 30 minutes for about 2 hours Eliot
came out with two small silver trays with small offerings, some sweet and
savoury and others simply savoury. We
were then all, very politely of course, ushered out of the flat for the next
event, which normally ended up in a small bar or café owned or managed by one
of his friends.
And the secret methodology to all this boho
chic?
"The only "homemade" bits
"dear" are the toasted bread, the bean paste, the olive mix and a
rather clever trick with potted dates. I
suppose you also need to know your audience and how to set up the smoke and
mirrors, that's the easy part. But
ignore anyone who says you have to have even numbers of guests, odd is always
more interesting. We're lucky, you
hardly ever meet an untalkative gay man or actor, but do try to have some
quieter ones, otherwise you can't hear yourself above all that trilling and
showing off."
Small party organisers note:
· Know your venue and facilities well, in Eliot's
case, he knew he couldn't cater for more than ten people and that feeding ten
people would be difficult if everything wasn’t done totally in advance. He had only a small half fridge, so two
buckets with ice was used to chill the wine and another two buckets were used
with ice to use for cooling trays.
· Set your scene.
In Eliot's flat, the "smoke and mirrors" simply referred to
what's the best use of the room, arranging the furniture so that everyone was
facing one another, in a semicircle and with the main source of light at the
open end of this arrangement - so no-one is squinting at the person opposite if
they are sitting in front of an undressed window. If you need to layer your seating
arrangements place high/hard seated chairs behind much lower ones - the Gothic
chargers were placed behind the Persian stool (as so the two people lucky enough
to get this seat could easily swivel and chat to those behind them).
·
Remember to allow for enough surfaces to put
glasses and bowls on, hence the array of small tables and terracotta drums in
this little Soho flat, there was always somewhere "to put a napkin". In the
centre of the semi-circle, don't be tempted to fill it by putting a table there
for example, after just a few minutes, it will be moved to one side anyway.
· Food, make it simple and make it ahead of time. See the mini-recipes below, but also go to
non-mainstream food shops, in Soho, in London at the time, Eliot had a number
of choices, including Chinese, Japanese and Jewish food shops but also a number
of other middle eastern café's just a short bus ride away on the Edgware Road. Having heavily spiced almonds, hazelnuts or olive
mixes are very easily shopped for now but 25 years ago, shopping around for
something special took a little more time.
Still if you are still wanting more snack ideas, I've a few ideas of my
own.
· Eliot bought olives and herbs and small jars of
peppers and chillies separately and simple made a fresh mix every few days, having
an afternoon tea simply meant that he made a large batch.
· He made his "toast" by griddling thin
slices of French bread but he "discovered" an Italian bakery in
Farringdon he would go there specially to get ciabatta instead.
· Know your audience. Balance your invitations. Yes, you will always have your extrovert
guests, but make sure they don't drown out the ones who also have an
opinion. Remember, it's not just the
extrovert who are loud, it’s the nervous ones who've breathed in that first
glass of wine too, so know your audience, calm them, reassure them and if they
are too quiet, give them something to do so it forces them to interact, perhaps
ask them to take around the opened bottle of fizz to top up glasses or
distribute a tray of treats and napkins.
They will have the excuse to joke about the service or explain about
what's in the food or do some healthy flirting.
Stuffed dates
A simple and tasty, but fiddly, finger full of
fun are these stuffed dates. Remember
those boxes of dates you always had at Christmas, well here's a tip on how to
use them. De-stone them (that's the
fiddly bit and fill the spaces with some small wedges of a tart cheese - goats
cheese, feta or even a little blue cheese too.
Put on a plate with sprinkling of finely chopped parsley, so easy.
Bean paste
My own involves cooking, Eliot's was a lot more
straight forward. A tin of pre-cooked
pinto beans, drained with two dessert spoons of olive oil, a teaspoon of cumin
and a teaspoon of hot smoked paprika, and mashed well. The paste was then put on "toasts"
and small additions were placed on top, a little ham, or couple of slices of
tinned artichoke, or a little griddled chorizo.
Mixed olives
As above, but the possibilities are endless,
not everyone likes olives, try making up a mix with small cherry tomatoes and/or
with small balls of hard cheese. I
particularly like toasted chorizo chopped in large dice and mixed up with
pieces of onion and sweet pepper.
Sift the dry ingredients together and add the orange water and egg to make a soft dough/paste.
Take one kilo of ripe tomatoes, the beefier the better. Cut them in in half and take out their cores, then slice into wedges and place in a large bowl.
As the first flush of ripe tomatoes come through what could be better than a fresh tomato salad, served at room temperature and with all the flavour of Summer?
Depending
on the size of your rabbit, portion wise, one saddle is generally fair for each
person. 
With just three small eggs, some ground almonds
(four heaped dessert spoons), some finely chopped spring onions, two dessert
spoons of fat (melted butter or oil) and your regular amount of seasoning,
whipped to smooth batter, makes four good sized, thick pancakes.
A good sized cod loin is needed for this,
ideally about 200 grams plus per person.
The loin should be evenly shaped if possible with a good thickness so
that the cooking time - just under 20 minutes in a hot oven in its foil parcel
- provides just enough residual heat to complete the task whilst it's resting
on the side for a few minutes.
On an oven sheet, place a piece of baking foil,
dull side facing you and use one dessert spoon of oil over this this.
A great accompaniment to many a main course,
but especially served with risotto or grilled fish, this salad is more of salsa
with its smaller pieces and with its mint, lemon and capers has more than just
nod to Malta and North Africa.
With coat off and cooker switched on; pan and
water (and a good pinch of salt) on the hob and glass of wine in hand, not
necessarily in that order, I can make dinner, change into more comfortable
clothes and be at the table eating in 30 minutes with this dish. You will need a second lidded saucepan and
good eye for timing.
Whilst your linguine is cooking your pan of
salted boiling water, your second pan should be on a medium heat with a half
your olive oil, a little pinch of salt, your kale and your garlic with the lid
on. After a few minutes shake the pan
(with the lid on) and then continue to cook on a slightly lower heat for five
to eight minutes.
Sunday was scrambled egg day, regular scrambled
egg after watching the other half look through Moroccan Riads and south Spanish
Moorish villas inspired a more north African take on one of our regular Sunday
breakfasts. Hence the addition of
chopped wild garlic and a toot (a half teaspoon apparently) of sweet smoked
paprika. Again, no microwaving, just
cooked gently in saucepan with butter and a little Argon oil.
A simple yet elegant supper is this very
flavoursome salad, just the thing to bring a little spring freshness your
evening.
