You Need An Exit Strategy

I don’t care how good a dinner party is, it is always good to have a plan in place to leave gracefully.

The all time leader in this category is my buddy Phil Rose. His classic line is:

Peggy is getting cranky

Of course Peggy is his wife who never gets cranky. Phil inspired a comfort food menu of mine that is probably leader in the clubhouse for complements. The menu centers on an upscale meatloaf that is really good:

Check out the recipe 

Another really popular exit strategy centers around the line:

We have to go ransom the kids from the babysitter

There are several variations to this one such as: “Gotta go, the kids are with the in-laws”. As the kids get older the line becomes: “We have to leave the kids are Home Alone.”

There are also some bad strategies.

My line of: “We have to go, I have an early tee time in the morning” has gotten me in a lot of trouble. We did have one supper clubber that left with the pronouncement of: “We are leaving, my wife is getting drunk”. My guess is that this faux pas was instrumental to the divorce that followed a few years later.

A little planning is a good idea for any social event. With supper clubs the expression “Too much of a good things” occasionally comes into play and it great to have an exit strategy

If you know of other great exit lines, please leave them in the comments below and I will follow up with a future blog.

Mise En Place

“A Disaster beyond your imagination will occur”

The line from Phantom of the Opera has always been a motivator to be prepared for a supper club dinner party. The key is Mise En Place. This is the French expression that loosely translates into “put into place”. In a word it means preparation!

Have you ever wondered how a restaurant can turn out so many fabulous meals in a very short time frame? The answer is Mise En Place. It is a key concept that is taught in every culinary school. By doing a large percentage of the prep in advance restaurants can turn out great meals in short order. Mise en place is also the key to a successful dinner party and a way to be prepared for any disaster that could occur.

A great example of how Mis En Place works can be demonstrated in preparing to make Seared Baja Beef Tenderloin With Spring Greens and a Parmesan Horseradish Sauce;

Check out the recipe: 

It sounds difficult but if you get your mise en place done, or said a different way, do your preparation in advance, it becomes simple.

The Mise En place consists of:

  • Make the Baja rub (Can be done weeks in advance) and set out in a bowl
  • Prepare the Parmesan Horseradish Sauce (days in advance)
  • Cut and slack out the beef to room temp (an hour in advance)
  • Prep the spring greens (set aside covered with a wet paper towel)

Final cooking/assembly

  • Heat a sauté pan over high heat
  • Add oil
  • Dredge beef in Baja rub
  • Sear beef in hot pan (2 minutes a side)
  • Plate beef with greens and sauce
  • Serve

Prep time is 18 minutes and cook/assembly time is 5 minutes. It doesn’t get much easier and people will think you are a culinary genius. Have your mise en place done and you will be ready for anything so you can just have fun.

If you enjoy this blog and similar other stories/supper club lessons subscribe to get future blogs at www.impromptufridaynights.com/blog and be on the look out for my book Impromptu Friday Nights a Guide to Supper Clubs due out from Morgan James Publishing on January 30, 2018.