WILTON, Conn. — With summer vacations over, a new season of sociability opens up.
If the thought of entertaining, even the word "party," is too daunting, tell yourself you are just having a few people over for a little food and fun.
There are many reasons why you should NOT have people over and, believe me, I am familiar with all of them: The house is too dirty and you'd have to clean it. Then when you clean up, you lose things during your stashing frenzy. You have no time to prepare. Getting people together on the same day is a problem. You are too tired. It's too expensive.
None of these is a good enough reason to miss out on a memorable time with people you like.
People are usually happy to get together and socialize, especially if you keep it very casual and relaxed. Some of my best party-hosting experiences were accidental entertaining.
Once, when I was living in New York City, my roommate invited people over on St. Patrick's Day and said to me, "Is that OK with you?" So I asked people, too.
We got home from work not really knowing whether anyone had taken our invitations seriously, ran out and bought snacks, cheese, crackers and drinks. The preparation took an hour or less, people arrived, and the fun went on for hours.
Another accidental party now has become an annual event. One Halloween, I invited the neighbors' children over to our house for pizza before trick-or-treating. Pretty soon the parents were at our house, nibbling on leftover pizza crusts. As I watched a dad dive for a crust that was about to go into the trash, I ordered more.
Here are some strategies to make it easier to invite people over.
Next time you have overnight guests, plan a party a week or two later. You will have cleaned up for the guests and the house won't look a complete disaster.
Connecting the party with an event such as a holiday (no matter how trivial) seems to be a good idea. A couple of weeks after the winter holidays is also prime casual party time.
Involve your guests in the food preparation if time is short. Ask people to bring food.
Shut off rooms, if necessary. People tend to gravitate to one central area, usually the kitchen, and they won't notice that they have been blockaded out of part of your home.
If you are serving dinner, set up chairs and tables to accommodate everyone, no matter how mismatched, in case people want to linger and chat. Set the table ahead of time.
Think of the easy special touches you can do. Put glasses in the freezer to give them an appealing frosty look. Turn down the lights and use candles. Put on music and assign someone the job to change it. Serve a terrific, very chocolaty dessert to make a lasting final impression.
Above all, put a smile on your face. Ask people you like. Realize that some people won't be able to come to the party — but you will see them again some other time.
Following are some good party recipes that guests have enjoyed. The blender drinks are easy and festive and need few ingredients.
The shrimp and bacon quesadillas can be put together fairly quickly and you can vary the fillings depending on what you have on hand. Alan Wong's Asian Guacamole is so wonderful, people will forget everything else and they won't notice whether the place is spotless or not. The Southwest lasagna requires more work, but once it is made, you can bake it and serve it with an easy tossed salad and enjoy your guests!
SMOKY SHRIMP QUESADILLAS
3 slices bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/3 cup sliced scallions, including tender green tops
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin seed
1 pound small, peeled, and deveined shrimp (about 1 1/4 pounds shrimp with their shells)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Four 10-inch flour tortillas
About 2 tablespoons of olive oil, for brushing the quesadillas
In a large skillet, cook the bacon over medium high heat, stirring frequently, until the bacon is cooked and crispy. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to paper towels, to drain. Pour off all but one tablespoon of the bacon drippings. Add the red pepper, scallions and cumin and cook, stirring frequently for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the vegetables are slightly softened. Add the
shrimp, salt and pepper, and continue cooking and stirring for 3 to 5 minutes more, or until shrimp are cooked through. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and let it cool slightly. Stir in the cheese and bacon.
Place one-fourth of the filling mixture on half of each of the flour tortillas. Fold the plain sides over the filling and press firmly. Lightly brush the tortillas with some of the oil and place them oil side down on a grill or in a skillet. Grill or heat them over medium high heat for 3 to 5 minutes, or until lightly golden. Brush the tops with oil and cook the other side for 3 to 5 minutes, or until lightly golden. Serve with salsa, guacamole and sour cream, if desired.
Makes 4 savory servings.
—Barbara Albright
SOUTHWEST-STYLE VEGETABLE GARDEN LASAGNA
4 red, yellow or orange peppers, roasted (directions below or purchase 2 jars (7 ounces each) bottled red peppers and cut into 1/2-inch strips)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
2 to 4 tablespoons finely chopped jalapeno peppers
4 medium garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves, crushed
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Three 28-ounce cans diced tomatoes
Twelve 5 1/2-inch corn tortillas, cut in half
Two 10-ounce packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed thoroughly dry
10-ounce package frozen corn kernels
11 ounces goat cheese, thinly sliced
3/4 pound shredded Monterey jack cheese (about 3 cups)
Preheat the broiler or grill. Place the red peppers so they are about 3 inches away from the broiler or grill. Broil or grill for about 4 minutes until the side facing the heat source is charred. Turn peppers and continue to broil or grill until the peppers are completely charred. Place peppers in a bowl and cover. Let stand until cool enough to handle and using your fingertips and a sharp paring knife, remove the skins, cores and seeds, and discard. (Rinsing the peppers under cold running water can be helpful.) Cut the peppers into 1/2-inch strips.
In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions, jalapeno, garlic, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 7 to 10 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. Add the tomatoes and juice and cook for about 20 minutes, or until the tomato sauce is thickened. Remove the skillet from the heat.
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spoon about 1 cup of the tomato sauce over the bottom of a 13-by-9-inch baking dish, top with 8 tortilla halves, fitting them into the dish. Top with half the spinach, half the corn, half the red pepper strips, half the goat cheese. Spread 1 cup of the tomato sauce over the top. Top with 8 tortilla halves and then top with the remaining spinach, corn, red pepper strips and goat cheese, and spread 1 cup of the tomato sauce over the top. Top with remaining 8 tortilla halves and then cover with remaining tomato sauce. Sprinkle shredded Monterey Jack cheese over the top. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and bake 15 minutes longer until cheese on top is melted and lightly golden. Let stand 5 to 10 minutes before cutting.
Makes 8 to 10 servings.
—Barbara Albright
DESIGNATED DRIVER 'MARGARITAS'
1 lime wedge
Coarse salt for dipping the edges of the glasses into
About 1 cup ice cubes
1 cup cold water
6-ounce can frozen limeade
2 tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
Lime or orange slices, for garnish (optional)
Run the lime wedge around the rim of 3 glasses to moisten them. Dip the rims into the salt to lightly coat the edges of the glasses. Place the glasses in the freezer to chill. (This can be done several hours ahead of time.) Place the remaining ingredients except the garnish in the container of a blender. Process until combined and slushy. Pour into the prepared glasses. Garnish each glass with a lime or orange slice, if desired. Serve immediately.
Makes 3 "virgin margaritas."
—Barbara Albright
ALAN WONG'S ASIAN GUACAMOLE
2 avocados, peeled, pitted and diced
1/2 cup diced onions
1/2 cup diced tomatoes
3 tablespoons sake or rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup sliced scallions, green part only
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tablespoons minced ginger root
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon chili sauce with garlic (such as the Asian type known as sambal oelek)
1 teaspoon Chili Pepper Water (optional, recipe follows; use more chili sauce, to taste, if you don't use this)
1 teaspoon salt
In a bowl, combine the avocados, onion, tomato, sake, scallions, lime juice, ginger, cilantro, oil, chili sauce, Chili Pepper Water and salt. Mix gently without mashing the avocado. Serve immediately, or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 2 days.
Makes about 4 cups.
CHILI PEPPER WATER
1/3 cup plus 1 1/4 cups cold water
1/2 clove garlic
2 red Hawaiian chilies or red serrano chilies, or 1 red jalapeno, halved and seeded
1 tablespoon white vinegar
2 teaspoons minced ginger
Pinch of salt
In a blender, combine the 1/3 cup of water, garlic, chilies, vinegar, ginger and salt and puree until smooth. In a saucepan, bring the 1 1/4 cups of water to a boil. Add the pureed mixture and return to a boil. Remove from the heat. When cool, transfer to an airtight containers. Keep refrigerated.
Makes 1 1/2 cups.
—"Alan Wong's New Wave Luau"