"We have left undone those things which we ought to have done; And we have done those things which we ought not to have done. . . . ” — The Book of Common Prayer
If we have spent a good many of the Saturdays of summer standing around on other people’s lawns, we have come to the final days of reckoning. The crunch. It’s August and something must be done to repay all those kind hosts or the guilt will be with you all winter. The practice of hiring caterers, almost unknown in these parts until the last ten years or so, is one expeditious way out of the social dilemma. (Caterers were not unheard of, but mainly resorted to only for weddings and golden anniversaries). But many people really like to cook for friends and elect to fend for themselves when throwing their annual cocktail bash.
Fortunately, there are lots of party foods that can be made in advance at no great expense. The money saved can be used to hire the bartenders and waiters that are essential if the hosts are to have any fun at all and remain on speaking terms with each other.
The food processor really is like having a sous chef to help with all the eternal chopping and mincing and pureeing that is required for party cooking. (I can hardly remember what life was like before this indefatigable mechanical slave came into my life).
Old Faithfuls
Dips may not be the dernier cri in party food nowadays, but the fact is people like them — just as they like potato chips, and there are now unadulterated, quite extraordinary specimens of this all-American favorite food. Both potato and tortilla chips have improved recently and are available unsullied by chemical-tasting coatings of “ranchero” spices or (the worst!) sour cream flavoring. I’ve knocked myself out making hors d’oeuvres only to have my guests swoon over my potato chips. The Great Secret: I get Cape Cod unsalted chips and add a very light dusting of kosher salt.
For the diet-conscious, a platter of bright summer vegetables, to dip or not to dip, remains a reliable old favorite. I’ve noticed that at long last home cooks have accepted the fact that all vegetables are not at their tastiest left completely raw. Blanching green beans, broccoli, and asparagus, for example, releases their flavor and makes the textures edible.
Interesting Accessories
But for all of them, the trick is to have something highly flavored and exciting to enhance the veggies or chips. Middle Eastern cooking, with its emphasis on lots of small tasty dishes (mezze), is the source of much inspiration in this matter. I suppose the food that can be conveniently eaten reclining under a Bedouin tent lends itself to adaptation for the drink-and-food balancing act that constitutes the American cocktail party.
Incidentally, Miriam’s Law on stand-up food is that it should consist of one, or, at most, two bites. If you serve things with bones or pits (e.g. chicken wings and olives), do put out a debris dish nearby so the guests will not have to hand unattractive things to the bartender or drop them furtively on lawns and in ashtrays.
Once, long ago, I negotiated with some hard-nosed fifth-graders for a piecework price of two-cents-perbone clean-up fee. But labor costs spiraled and the workers got too old for menial tasks, so I had to resort to debris bowls. Elegance always suffers in a democracy.
Hummus bi Tahini
This is an earthy Arab “salad” that usually comes as one of those mysterious little side dishes in Middle Eastern restaurants. It goes well with vegetables or with bits of pita bread or Italian toast and is simple to make with a food processor. When I first made it about 15 years ago, I ground the chickpeas in a food mill, so it CAN be done.
Serves 50.
10 large cloves garlic
5 large (1 lb.) cans chickpeas
1 cup tahini paste
1 cup olive oil
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
3 to 4 cups tepid water
2 Tbsp. coarse salt (less of fine salt)
1 Tbsp. ground cumin, toasted in a skillet
Cayenne pepper
Minced parsley
Tahini paste (a ground sesame seed paste that can be found in specialty food shops and even in a great many supermarkets)
Put the garlic cloves in a food processor and pulverize them. Drain the chickpeas and rinse them under tepid water. Add to the processor (this may be done in two batches if necessary and the whole mixed well in a bowl), along with the tahini, oil, and lemon juice, and blend to a smooth puree. Add water as needed to make the dip the consistency of lightly whipped cream; it should not be stiff. Add the toasted cumin and salt to taste. Blend in cayenne, sprinkling in a bit at a time until the mixture is fairly spicy, much spicier than it would normally be if eaten as a salad. As dips tend to get messy in crowds, divide the hummus into two bowls, decorate them with a perimeter of minced parsley, and cover with plastic wrap. Serve the second bowl after the first is used. Hummus can be made a day in advance and refrigerated, but should be served at room temperature.
Baba Ghanooj
Here’s another old favorite of mine that, along with huumus, is due for a revival. Although the flavoring ingredients are similar, the smoky taste of the grilled eggplant makes it very different from huumus. It has an intriguing voluptuous flavor and, as a bonus, isn’t fattening.
6 eggplants (about 6 to 7 lbs.)
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice
8 cloves garlic
Coarse salt to taste
1 cup tahini paste
1/2 cup olive oil
Cayenne pepper to taste
1 cup minced scallions
1/2 cup minced parsley
Choose slender, firm, shiny eggplants, as old ones are bitter and seedy. The long ones have fewer seeds than round ones, except when they are very young (and too small for this recipe). Preheat broiler while you are lining two jellyroll pans with foil. Wash, dry, and split the eggplants lengthwise. Brush the cut side with lemon juice and oil, and lay cut side down on foil. Crowd as many halves in as you can as they must be broiled in a single layer. Broil about four inches from the heat until the skins blister and blacken slightly and the vegetable is tender when pierced with a fork. Start testing after five minutes and don’t let the eggplants cook to mush. Puree the garlic in the processor.
Scoop out the pulp onto a clean linen kitchen towel. Gather the towel into a bag and squeeze out some of the moisture. Put the pulp into the food processor with the garlic. Puree until smooth, then add the lemon juice, tahini, and the remaining oil. Blend, then add salt and cayenne to taste. If you don’t care for spiciness, omit cayenne and add a little freshly milled white pepper in its place.
Turn out into a mixing bowl and stir in the scallions and parsley. Put this into an attractive serving dish and decorate with additional minced parsley, which is very lovely against the pale cream the eggplant has become. It is unlike any color or texture you expect to develop from this combination of ingredients. This can be made ahead up to the point of stirring in the scallions and parsley; that should be delayed until shortly before serving the dip at room temperature. I prefer it with pita bread, toast, or tortilla chips, but it can accompany the crudite platter, too.
