How to Be a Good Host or Hostess

The key to a successful supper club dinner party is to make your guests feel welcomed and entertained. Some people are just good at it. One of the best is my mother. After spending a weekend at my mom’s a friend once said to me: “Your mom has a gift, she is both interested and interesting”.

Yesterday was mom’s 95^th birthday and she is still going strong. Mom started college when she was just 16 and still goes to college today. Past being smart, she is a secret weapon at dinner parties. Mom is one of those rare people that really listen to her guests. She has the ability to focus on what her guests are saying and play back an interesting insight to complement her guest’s point.

One of my largest complaints in life is that brains ran in my family, but when it came to me they walked. Unlike my mom, I am not a great listener. Instead of focusing on what you are saying to me, I am thinking about what I am going to say. A great example of this is my belief that all golfers, if another golfer asks them about their round, he only pretends to listen and is really just waiting for an opportunity to talk about his round.

Beyond being interested and interesting mom is a great cook. She is famous for her Mom Mom’s Vinaigrette. She lives in Westhampton NY and gets a lot of visitors in the summer. The local produce out there in the summer is outstanding. Most of the meals mom serves center around a great salad. The cornerstone of her salad is her vinaigrette. She claims the origination is a recipe in the New York Times, but I believe the beauty of it comes form her herb garden and the fact that she never makes it the same way twice.

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery then this vinaigrette is legendary. My daughter Jennifer once surveyed Mom-mom’s other grandchildren and their spouses and 8 out of 10 use mom’s vinaigrette as a culinary staple. One reason is that it tastes great. The other reason is that it reminds them of their youth spending summers with their amazing grandmother.

If you can make your supper club dinner party guests feel welcomed and entertained you will be a success.

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.

Book Synopsis

A quick outline of what Impromptu Friday Nights – A Guide to Supper Clubs is about:

Almost everyone likes to socialize over a meal. Supper clubs that bring people together to enjoy a meal are natural enablers. The concept of supper clubs (hosting regular dinner parties) seems simple, but the “how to” can be daunting. This book shows the reader how to set up supper clubs, provides options for different club formats, from large and formal to small and informal, and includes sample menus with recipes.

One of the cornerstones behind this book is the French culinary concept of “Mise En Place.” Loosely translated, this means put into place. Whether you are a classically trained chef or a weekend warrior hosting a dinner party, the key to success is preparation. The book has been written with menus, recipes and preparation plans to show the reader how to do things in advance so that the host/cook can enjoy the party and have a better chance of preparing and presenting a great meal.

Each chapter outlines a different kind of supper club based on different preferences – from a classic formal club to a club where members can’t cook but they know where to get great food. Chapters go over organization, club make-up, scheduling, host responsibilities, menu development, mise en place and costs. Sample menus show how to put a meal together, and prep schedules at the end of each chapter guide the reader to executing mise en place. In addition, sections listing prep time, cook time, cookware needed and wine recommendations complete the guide for a reader to be able to host an amazing meal.

Who should be interested?

Supper clubs are a great solution for most generations but it is a particularly attractive concept for millenials, the “social” generation. Millenials grew up going to great restaurants, watching the Food Channel, and practicing being foodies. They know a lot about good food. While many might love the supper club concept, they are searching for a guide on how to get one set up. This book has been written with millenials in mind with the goal of providing a roadmap for them with simple solutions so they can enjoy the benefits of supper clubs. They are entering the stage of their lives where supper clubs will be a great fit with their socialization needs. As they settle down into longer-term relationships, get married and start families, supper clubs provide a great way to get together with friends over a meal

Measure Twice – Cut Once… Or Testing Menus

The old carpenters rule to measure twice and cut once is great advice when writing a menu for a supper club. I am a firm believer in testing the recipes. In an earlier blog I outlined the top ten sources Check out “Where to get menu ideas”: No matter where you get them it is a really good idea to test them before trying them out on a supper club.

If you are reading this blog the chances are that you get a lot of your ideas from the internet. We all know that if it is published on the internet it has to be correct. NOT! Even when you get recipes from the best sources it is still a good idea to do some testing. It is amazing what you can learn from experience. Even the best chefs will make something better the second time they make it. It is really helpful to your supper club to that subtle advice or warnings that comes from testing

OK, most readers are thinking who has the time and resources to do this? Do most people writing menus for supper clubs have practice runs? No, but I always try to. Whether it was making a dish for the family dinner or having a small group of friends over to test something, it always helped. It did lend credence to a plaque one of my guinea pigs gave me saying: “Many people have eaten in this kitchen. Some have lived to tell about it”. The funny thing is that we never had trouble-finding volunteers for my practice runs. And yes, some of those trial runs were Impromptu Friday Nights.

A great recipe for any occasion is my Chicken Piccata I have tested it out on all kinds of victims. It is easy to make and very versatile. One of the great things about this recipe is that it can be made in advance and reheated just before serving. The sauce is a real winner and can be used with a variety of proteins.