Dinner Parties Lockdown-Style

Just because we are in quarantine-mode, does not mean there aren’t opportunities to wine and dine occasionally in our own homes, and celebrate. Any excuse to spice up our ‘new normal’! There have been a remarkable number of birthdays, anniversaries and celebratory days in our family in the last 6 weeks, so we have had quite a few occasions in which we have felt the need to decorate elaborately, dress up and most importantly eat like kings! However, you don’t need an occasion in order to do this, really. Just see it as practice for future events! I thought I would share a few of my feast/celebration recipes and include some ideas for table decorations to go with them for some post-corona party inspo…

One of our celebratory occasions was for my sister’s 15th birthday. We ate in our gazebo, which is a small summer house in the back of our garden, that is usually disregarded and damp, but can be charming if you breathe a bit of life into it every now and then. She requested an Italian feast, so we settled for an assortment of crostini (broad bean and olive tapenade) and aubergine polpette for the starters (see my latest newsletter for the recipe …) and king prawn linguine made with fresh tomatoes, lots of garlic and chilli, vermouth and olive oil for the main. This was served alongside a fresh courgette ribbons salad with an olive dressing. The courgette salad is one of my favourite sides to make for big events in the summer, as it is light and refreshing and looks so pretty and vibrant next to whatever you are serving. The dessert was an almond and raspberry cake, dolloped with cream. My mum decorated the gazebo with a sort of rustic, midsummer night’s dream feel. She used white tablecloths and put out branches of greenery on the tables, which were complimented by green water glasses, glass candles and lanterns. It was pretty magical.

To make it even more of an occasion, she requested that we dress to a theme. The trick to get everyone involved in this is to do something relatively simple. Especially when you have resistant teenage siblings. Therefore, the theme she chose was ‘monochrome’. And it was great! Everyone could either go all out, such as my dad who opted for his retro navy formula one boiler suit and matching shoes, or paired back wearing nice clothes but all of the same colour. I am working towards a more adventurous theme but baby steps…

The second was the other evening for my parent’s 24th wedding anniversary. We went for a more fine-dining approach with this one. We ate in the hall – I would recommend finding alternative places to eat in your home rather than just your usual dining table, as it does make the occasion feel more unique and memorable! Again my mum – queen of décor – decorated the table with a large cascading wisteria centrepiece placed on a wooden board for more height and drama, and put table mats and large dimpled silver candle holders on the circular wooden table, which gave this dinner more of a dark and moody but elaborate feel.

My sister and I made the food and plated it up to serve, to add to the grandeur. This time, the meal was Spanish-inspired, as this was where my parents spent their honeymoon 24 years ago. The starter was simple, but a classic. ‘Panne de tomate’ made the authentic way with my dad’s homemade sourdough grilled straight on the aga plate, rubbed with garlic and topped with fresh grated tomatoes, salted anchovies, olive oil and salt. The second course was roasted cod on a bed of artichoke hearts, clementines and wild garlic, and bathed in clementine juice, garlic, oil and crushed fennel seeds. This was served alongside homemade fennel mayonnaise and a courgette and cherry tomato gratin, which consisted of courgette discs and tomato halves tossed in olive oil, balsamic vinegar, sliced garlic and capers and topped with breadcrumbs, lemon zest and fresh thyme. I also made a family classic – homemade chips. The secret to this is not really a secret, just chop the chips into fine matchsticks and use a generous amount of rapeseed oil and salt. I cook mine at 200 degrees Celsius for around 35-40 mins. The third course was my mother’s cheesecake. Simple, traditional, and topped with fresh black and redcurrants. This was a lovely evening, and the amount of love and effort put in by all made it seem really special and us all feel very thankful for each other – mushy but true. It was also the perfect amount of food – a lot but not enough to put us in an overbearing food coma for the rest of the evening!

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