Du Plessis Myburgh - Help! theres a guest at my table!

Thank you to the wonderful publishing team who not only took on this book, but welcomed me into the Penguin Random House South Africa family and did such a magnificent job of designing both Help! Theres a Stove in my Kitchen as well as Help! Theres a Guest at My Table. Thanks also go to my family and friends, who are ever supportive of my culinary experiments. Martin, Georgie and Vicky have been especially helpful, and after a few months of tastings, a home roast is promised! Our latest family buzz word is artisan, which captures the style and care taken in creating the recipes in this book. Enjoy! Annabel Frere Published in 2018 by Struik Lifestyle, an imprint of Penguin Random House South Africa (Pty) Ltd Company Reg. No. 1953/000441/07 The Estuaries, 4 Oxbow Crescent, Century Avenue, Century City 7441, Cape Town, South Africa PO Box 1144, Cape Town, 8000, South Africa www.penguinrandomhouse.co.za Copyright in published edition: Penguin Random House South Africa (Pty) Ltd 2018 Copyright in text: Annabel Frere 2018 Copyright in photographs: Penguin Random House South Africa (Pty) Ltd 2018 All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers and the copyright holders. PUBLISHER: Linda de Villiers DESIGN MANAGER: Beverley Dodd EDITOR: Cecilia Barfield PROOFREADER AND INDEXER: Joy Clack PHOTOGRAPHER: Myburgh du Plessis STYLIST: Lisa Clark STYLISTS ASSISTANTS: Amber Ryan, Alex Levett, Kimberly Wood CONTENTS First decide on the kind of gathering you want; will it be drinks and snacks with finger foods, where everyone can mingle and walk around with a plate in hand, or a buffet-style meal where you help yourself from a few choices before sitting (informally or at the table), or a sit-down occasion for a few friends? For a party, it is advisable to send out invitations at least two to three weeks in advance and it is best to know how many people are actually coming so that you can plan in advance, although snacks and buffets can usually be made to stretch, within limits. With the numbers sorted, youll know if you need to borrow a tablecloth, plates and/or cutlery for a large crowd. HERE IS A HANDY CHECKLIST: Theme Invitations List of foods and drinks to serve Arrange any special dcor needed Organise borrowed items Make foods in advance Make ice Compile a music playlist Set up the dcor and table settings Set up the drinks and glasses CHOOSING THE MENU When it comes to choosing foods, aim for a good balance of flavours, colours and textures. People first eat with their eyes, so a visually pleasing table or beautifully presented plate of food will make your offerings all the more tempting. There are so many colourful fruits and vegetables that you dont have to try very hard to create eye-catching combinations.

Think of green and purple salads, colourful red, orange and green roasted or stir-fried vegetables, fresh herbs to garnish and beautiful berries. For textures, try to achieve a mix of fresh, light and rich, and crispy and crunchy. Avoid overdoing one type of food, for instance starting with a pastry, followed by a pie and ending with a tart or heavy sponge! Such starch overload will leave your guests feeling bloated. Its advisable to incorporate a simple variety of foods, especially when doing snacks or buffets, to include meat and/or fish, something vegetarian and a starch-free dish, to cater for most tastes. For larger parties, start the food preparation a day or two in advance, leaving less to the last minute. Foods that require slow-cooking, setting or freezing are ideal, ready to turn out on the day.

Generally, using foods in season will result in fresher, tastier and more economical dishes than out-of-season produce. Make plenty of ice a few days ahead, depending on freezer space. Fill plastic bags with ice blocks for drinks, and freeze water in plastic food containers for keeping bottles and cans cool on the day. SET-UP Lets start with basic table settings. This is very much a personal preference, but generally keep the table dcor simple, with no more than two or three colours (white can be one of them). A plain cloth, with a different colour overlay or runner on top, will allow colourful foods to be the central attraction.

For snacks, finger foods and buffets, place the table so that your guests can walk round it, to avoid queues . a bottle-neck should only be encountered with a drink inside it! Stack plates up at one end of the table, then place the dishes of food so that they are all easily accessible from both sides. Ensure that any sauces or dressings are close to the dishes they accompany. For informal buffets, put the cutlery and napkins at the other end of the serving table, with cutlery rolled up in napkins, if you like, for easier handling. Position the drinks table away from the food, to avoid collisions. Fill a wine bucket with ice and chilled white wine or bubbly, otherwise cool the drinks in advance.

Ensure that there are glasses, water jugs and cold drinks on offer as an alternative to alcohol. Include bottle openers and slices of lemon, if needed. For a sit-down party, make sure that theres a place setting for each guest, with cutlery laid for each course, starting from the outer edges for the starters, to the middle for mains, with dessertspoons laid across the top. Position glasses for drinks to the top right-hand side of each setting, and side plates with napkins to the left side of the setting, if using. FINISHING TOUCHES For snacks and finger foods, a taller centrepiece in the middle of the table creates an interesting feature; it can either be for decoration only, if space allows, such as a vase of flowers or candlesticks, or it can be eye-catching and serve a purpose, to display a beautiful dish of food on a stand, surrounded by lower dishes around it. For a sit-down meal, a table centrepiece should be low enough for the guests to see each other across the table.