Marketman’s Party Preparations…

My favorite foodie movies include: Age of Innocence, for its spectacular cinematography of the numerous elegant meals that take place in upper crust, turn-of-the-century New York, with the exquisitely dressed tables and all of the attendant porcelain, silver, etc. I also loved Babette’s Feast for the utter single-mindedness with which Babette decides to put on the feast to end all feasts, despite her limited means. I also loved a recent English film, Gosford Park, that concentrated heavily on the inner workings of the manor staff and finally, I liked Kazuo Ishigura’s, Remains of The Day, on the lifelong dedication of a butler. For amusement, I loved the movie Tampopo on the Japanese love for noodles… I mention these movies because I think there is a part of me that would fit in better in a different era of dining and entertaining, but I couldn’t permanently move there without my airconditioning, kitchen aid mixer, Viking stove and computer with internet hookup… When we have our December holiday parties, we pull out all of the stops and these are major events in the household. Aside from the careful planning and acquisition of food, the preparation and cooking and the serving, there are a whole lot of other tasks that are required to make a truly memorable meal…

Another favorite movie is the remake of Sabrina with Harrison Ford and Julia Ormond, particularly the scene where they are preparing for a garden party and the florists, caterers, musicians, etc. are all setting up in the garden. If I won the U.S. LOTTO and had unimaginable resources, the first thing I would do is figure out how to hire a steward, butler and valet and a supporting crew of 15. I jest. We just aren’t in that era anymore, but I can still dream. In the meantime, I have to do all of this with a fraction of the crew that it normally requires…and I think we do a pretty darn good job at it, thank you… So first up, the silver. If you’ve got some, what better time to use it? In preparation for our holiday dinners, we take a lot of the silver out and polish it. There is nothing like the weight, sheen and reflection of light off of real sterling silver. Silver plate these days can look just as good, but having sterling is a real luxury. Most of our silver is either inherited, wedding presents, gifts from generous souls or purchased from manufacturers. We don’t have that much, but we do use what we have. Since the silver must be immaculate and not have any fingerprints when laid on the table, the crew took it upon themselves to don some disposable plastic gloves when doing the final handling of the utensils as they are being placed on the table…

The dining table is first covered with a thin layer of foam (I don’t have a standard felt liner for a 10-11 foot long table) which will serve to soften the whole setting and cushion the plates, glasses and silverware. It also ensures that there isn’t much noise on the table other than the guests speaking to each other. The tablecloths must be pressed just before use so that there are no creases that scream “I just came out of the closet and was last ironed a year ago…” The plates and glasses must be grease and fingerprint free as well. I know, this sounds like a pain in the rear to orchestrate, but it truly is all about the details. I could go on and on about the setting, the centering, etc. but I would almost certainly get “fish-panned” and in the final analysis, I would agree with you that this is somewhat frivolous. But there is something nice about doing this 3 or 4 times a year. Nothing shameful about having an occasional highly civilized meal, despite our much more informal and practical everyday lives…

I also like to set out the buffet table ahead of time. That means laying out platters and serving utensils ahead of time so that I know where the food is going to go. I sometimes use post-it notes to identify what food is going on what dish to help the cook and waiters. This year I also decided to “copy” a trick that I noticed in use by super caterer Gaita Fores, where she used Chinese wood stands and pedestals meant for ceramic antiques or planters to have several levels of platters on the buffet…it was so much more elegant than the usual catering stainless steel chafing dishes. I went to Landmark Department store and bought a few cheap stands and voila, a multi level buffet! If you are going to have waiters circulate with appetizers, it is useful to identify the platters or trays you will be using and perhaps a drawing of how you want the food laid out.

Speaking of waiters, having some sounds a bit extravagant, but good ones are absolutely worth the money. We have our “suki” waiters who know exactly how we serve our meals, what our kitchen set-up is like, the pacing I like, etc. They are attentive without being intrusive, quiet, efficient, anticipate guests requirements and basically run the show once we sit down to dinner. They moonlight from their day jobs when they take on dinners at our home. Even with a buffet, we still have waiters to serve drinks, clear plates, etc. Flowers or other décor are also an important part of a full-blown dinner as well. But as with the tougher economic times, I have been rather circumspect with flower expenses this year, opting for less perishable Christmas ball arrangements. But in past years, I have done spectacular rose and dalandan topiaries. Oh, don’t forget the candles. There is nothing like a table set with real crystal, polished silver and porcelain plates AND lots of candles…it sparkles and makes all of the guests look brilliant as well. And if you have a strange picture in your mind of dinners in our home by now, you should know that we have a rented three bedroom house with a kitchen that has less counter space than many small apartments, so a “manor” this is definitely NOT. And I can tell you that in the end, we eat better, are far more relaxed in a comfortable home setting for less than a similar meal in a snazzy restaurant, all costs included… And 99% of the time, there is a heaping bowl of sinigang, a steamed bangus, some monggo, barbecued pork or other such dish to sustain us at our dinner table, not the fancy meals I am about to feature in the posts coming up…

We also like to place menus are on the table(s) so guests know how to pace their eating. I also post a computer printed menu in several parts of the kitchen so that it is clear what food is going to be served and when. The types of plates to be used (color, size, etc.) are identified on these menus and if possible, I pre-plate one of each dish to make sure the cook and everyone else knows what the dish is supposed to look like. Usually, we only plate the appetizers, soup and desserts while the main course is done buffet style. In the days ahead, details of two recent holiday dinners held at the house – one with a Pinoy theme in honor of a visiting balikbayan, and another more Western-style dinner…