Party Planning

My grandmother’s first party of the summer AKA the party of the summer

For some, cooking for a party is a task one would only be assigned in hell. I can handle it (actually, I enjoy it), but don’t ask me to do anything else.

My grandmother’s house is one of my favorite places to cook. It’s also one of my favorite places in the world. Produce from Freud’s farm in Canaan is loosely unrivaled, especially in the summer (the heirlooms never cease to remind me of what tomatoes should taste like). Even Guido’s, the grocery store just 30 minutes north of Norfolk, is a lovely and exceptionally well-rounded place to shop for a party. It doesn’t take as much thought for me to create a menu in Norfolk as it does elsewhere. The farms guide my decisions. Though I brainstormed briefly before heading to the store on Saturday morning, much of my inspiration came from the shopping process.

I knew I wanted to make BLTs: summer in a sandwich. It’s easiest to start with one menu item and build—trust me. And I couldn’t help but think of those tomatoes. I knew they needed to be the star of the show. I also knew my grandmother wanted some charcuterie. Four cheeses—two hard, one soft, one blue. She asked me to serve the foie gras I brought her from Paris (I thought it would be great with some torn sourdough and chives). As a French accompaniment, and to highlight the quality of Norfolk’s nearby produce, radishes and butter seemed perfect to me. That was the easy part. I had a major portion of the menu done: BLTs (open-faced, I thought, would be best), charcuterie, crudite, figs and grapes, foie gras, and the radishes.

On to figuring out what else to make. I knew I would have leftover tomatoes from the BLTs. A simple tomato salad with straciatella and basil from the farm seemed perfect to me. Guido’s has a wonderful olive section, and I remembered a photo of this herby, lemony olive salad I felt drawn to recreate while standing inside of it. I decided to do just that and serve it over soft goat cheese as a dip/side. I had labne leftover that I brought to my grandmother’s house, and chose to pair it with a cucumber, olive, and pomegranate salad after seeing the Persian cucumbers at the market. Second portion done: heirloom tomato salad, olive and goat cheese “dip,” labne/cucumber salad with pomegranates.

And for the rest? I had to address the heartier portion of the menu. I would make the BLTs, but my grandmother advertised a ‘bountiful’ selection of hors d’oeuvres. Skirt steak is always well-received and summery—with a gremolata. My grandmother loves bacon more than most things. There would be extra from the BLTs. I thought it would be nice to crumble some over crispy, halved mini potatoes along with crème fraiche, chives, and scallions. Lastly, the pork ribs (my uncle’s request, though we didn’t end up with enough time to set up his new smoker, and I cooked them low and slow in the oven instead). Topped with scallions and black sesame seeds.

Everyone appreciated the variety. There were no leftover ingredients, as there was much overlap amongst the dishes. The food’s intention flip-flopped between hors’doeuvres and a complete dinner. And I wasn’t as tired as I thought I would be at the end of the night! An undeniable success.

Grocery list:

(Discounting basics I had at home like olive oil, vinegar, sugar, honey, etc.)

• Heirloom tomatoes

• Figs and grapes

• Butterhead lettuce

• Chives

• Scallions

• Parsley

• Mint

• Basil

• Vegetables for crudite

• Olives

• Garlic

• Radish

• Pomegranate

• Lemons

• Baby potatoes

• Steak

• Pork ribs

• Bacon

• Stracciatalla

• Bacon

• Crème fraiche

• Goat cheese

• Butter

• Kosher salt

• Neutral oil

• Crusty bread

• Cheese

• Crackers