5 ways to embrace imperfection and cook for your friends.
Whether it’s the noise level, enforced table time limits, or the food-quality-to-dollar ratio that’s falling faster than the soufflé I’ve never made, eating out most nights a week suddenly doesn’t seem as worth it. Plus, when it comes to the atmosphere, I’m often craving the casual vibe of cooking for my friends at home — or cozying up at their house.
Abundance & Co. is a Los Angeles cooking school that proves how easy it is to whip up a fantastic at-home meal, without the pressure of perfection. Founded by best friends Claudine Watt and Dana Kotler, A&C’s three-hour classes offer tips on prep work, cooking, and serving, for anyone who wants to entertain more at home. “There’s nothing more loving or generous than you can do for guests than cook a meal for them in your home,” says Watt.
And while guests are top-of-mind, Kotler says it’s important to make sure the host is in a good mood, also: “We want it to feel easy for the host, too.” To that end, A&C suggests making a few changes to your typical entertaining routine, like inviting guests for a daytime meal instead of a dinner party, or serving a laidback menu instead of a fussy formal one. “Anyone can be a great host,” says Watt. “Just say, ‘Come over, and let me cook for you.’”
Here’s some simple tips for making your friends feel loved and well-fed at your place:
1.) Cook with an abundance of everything. “In the book Like Water for Chocolate, the cook puts her emotions in the food, which is similar to what we want to achieve: If you want to show how much you love your friends, you’ve got to cook with generosity,” says Watt. That doesn’t necessarily mean shelling out big bucks for caviar or high-end bubbly, though; it means that you shouldn’t hold back on flavor. Cook with an abundance of herbs, garlic, lemon, and salt. “If a recipe says something like ‘one teaspoon of herbs,’ I think that’s ridiculous,” she says. “For me, the more the merrier.”
Entertaining is different from cooking for yourself on a Tuesday night, so don’t hold back on sumptuous ingredients, even if you’re cutting back on carbs: “Hosting people for a meal is not about self-care, but love and care for others.” says Kotler. “So yes, your cookies need butter and flour.” And for that matter, don’t hold back on ingredients, period. Kotler adds, “You also don’t want to ever make people feel that there’s a strict allotment of food, so up the portion size on everything when you entertain.”
2.) Preparation is key. “We never like to feel stress on the day people are coming over,” say A&C’s founders. So they prep everything possible beforehand, going as far as writing down specific times each dish needs to be prepped or heated, even if that means scribbling the info on a scrap of paper. Think of all the items that can be made ahead of time: Salad dressing can be prepped up to a week before, veggies can be chopped and put in Zip-Lock bags the day before guests come, and plenty of dips and sauces can be prepped and placed in the fridge ahead of time.
For A&C’s Spring Market menu, the ricotta gnocchi can be made a couple of weeks before and frozen, the cake can be made early and frozen too (or baked the day before and wrapped in plastic), and the base of the fish stew can be prepped a day ahead. “The day-of, whip the cream for the cake and assemble it,” recommends Watt. “We never have a sink full of dishes because we’re not prepping that day.”
3.) Balance both the menu and cooking methods. “Asian chicken salad and creamy alfredo sauce don’t work together,” says Watt. “That’s one reason we don’t like potluck meals: You need to plan ahead and balance all the elements, like acidity, richness, and texture.” That texture note is often one that home cooks forget, but doing some advance planning means you won’t serve a whole meal that’s soft, like soup, polenta, and mousse. Watt and Kotler also suggest thinking geographically and thematically when you’re strategizing about your menu: They’ve done menus like Greek, Cali-French, fall harvest, Thanksgiving sides, and a retro cocktail party.
4.) Pay attention to aesthetics. From the flowers, to the china, to the food, your visuals are all part of the experience. “We love serving family-style on big, beautiful platters,” says Kotler. “We pile salad high on low dishes and put a dish on each end of a table, so everyone can help themselves. That’s easier for the host, too. People like to play active roles in eating together.”
A&C’s founders like to mix vintage and modern pieces on the table, so nothing is too formal or precious. “We love mixing white plates with all our old vintage stuff that’s been handed down,” says Watt. You can also find pieces on eBay, Etsy, or in flea markets.” Mix materials like ceramics with wood, and “don’t bother with napkin rings,” adds Kotler. They never use formal wine glasses with a stem, opting instead for tiny water glasses or stemless wine glasses. “We want people to feel relaxed, not like they will break a glass, but if they do, it’s OK. We break a glass every day,” says Watt.
Flowers are a must, but they don’t have to be fancy; Watt and Kotler grab theirs at Trader Joe’s and buy bud vases by the dozen on Amazon. If you don’t have time for flowers, “Just go into the garden or steal your neighbor’s leaves or grasses,” Watt jokes (sort of). Dried herbs or flowers can also make for a great option, since they’ll last much longer than fresh and you won’t have to keep re-buying them.
If you’re entertaining friends or family at night, don’t forget to dim your lights to create a welcoming mood, especially if you have an elaborate chandelier. And get the music going before guests arrive: “Make the atmosphere fun, like you’re having a party, because you are.”
5.) Pull together some easy, last-minute snacks. If you have the right ingredients in your pantry, you can wake up and decide to have people over for lunch or cocktails that very day. Or, if an afternoon hangout starts to meander toward the dinner hour, you can whip up a hearty appetizer or a sweet treat in a snap. Here’s what Watt and Kotler suggest keeping on hand:
Olives: You can elevate a jar of olives by adding herbs, spices, lemon zest, garlic, lemon rinds and olive oil and warm it up. “You’ll have something special in five minutes,” Kotler says.
Pie crust: “Whenever I’m making pie crust, I always double the recipe and put one in the freezer,” says Watt. “The other day, I defrosted a pie crust and made a galette with a bag of chocolate chips, sliced bananas, brown sugar, and butter; the sugar kind of crisped up and made a brulée shell on top. It was the most delicious dessert, and it was all possible because I had that pie crust in the freezer.”
Goat cheese: “You can whip it up with apricots, honeycomb, fresh thyme, pistachios, it’s so easy, literally takes five minutes to dress up, and it just looks so beautiful” says Watt. In general, if you have cheese, nuts, fruit, honey, and crackers, says Watt, “then you’re good.”
A food processor: “A food processor is your best friend, you can take beans to bean purée, olives to tapenade, add capers to fish with olive oil and parsley and have something amazing to spread on toast.
Anchovies: “We love anchovies — they’re a pantry staple,” they say. Blend in the food processor with olive oil, chili, herbs, and garlic to make a delicious spread — then slather that on a good loaf of bread you’ve been saving in the freezer.
A can or jar of beans: Just rinse, drizzle with really good olive oil, and add lots of lemon zest, salt and pepper — then serve with bread. It’s virtually as easy as opening a can.
A can of artichokes: Add lemon juice/zest, parsley, and garlic – then pulse that mixture in the food processor to make a dip.
Now go ahead, invite your friends over without fear — and pour yourself an extra glass of wine to celebrate.
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