Why Lagniappe Gourmet: The Lost Art of the Dinner Party
"Oh, I've been wondering what to wear to all those smart dinner parties."
-Ethel, I Love Lucy, 1951
In the good old days there were dinner parties. Want to get "in" with the boss? Invite him to your home for dinner. Big promotion at work? Even bigger dinner party. Dinner Plates, Dinner Rings, Dinner Jackets- but what ever happened to the dinner party?
Where, oh where has the glamour gone?
Perhaps the answer is found in its complexities. A good dinner party is well planned, its menu well crafted, and its food divine. That's a tall order. So too laments Katie Lee Joel in The Lost Art of the Dinner Party. While the story has a happy ending, it's climax includes a smoking oven, an undercooked turkey and an unshowered hostess. No gliding seamlessly from course to course, no beautiful plating, few good impressions made.
I submit that there is a place in our culture for the Dinner Party, proper.
For the cultured individual, there is a clear distinction, or should be, between a thumping restaurant scene and an intimate gathering of guests. There is a place for each. But, how to pull it off? Should your hosting moments be a scene worthy of I Love Lucy? Hardly. I have a suggestion:
Allow me.
Imagine a scene: You, greeting guests with a kiss and a cocktail. Plated snacks set about neatly. Seated dinner, with courses- you guessed it- guiding seamlessly before you. And the food. Oh, the food.
Let's talk about what your next social gathering could be.
In the meantime, enjoy these links to others who feel that the dinner party is the ultimate chic expression of friendship. The dinner party is back- let's do it together.
No comments:
Post a Comment