Du cote de chez Hazleton - entertaining tips - column

National Review, Nov 25, 1988 by Nika Hazleton

GUESTS, HOWEVER inconvenient, "must be honored," my mother (God rest her soul) used to say whenever we had company, which was very often; and I, as an obedient daughter, have always followed her example in dealing with guests. It is essential to make guests as comfortable as one can; else, why invite them at all?

My favorite way of entertaining more than two or three guests is to invite them to my home for a party where they can drink all they want, and eat or not eat as they like. Proper dinner parties, where six or eight people sit down at a properly laid table and make (usually rather dull) conversation, are sometimes necessary, but I do not like them, principally because I do not have enough help to hand around the food to my guests. It takes one person to serve three people food that is as hot or as cold as it should be, and having guests get up to help is a truly loathsome practice.

Since I like entertaining large groups of people (meaning more than 12), my way is to have them come around 6:30, with food served, buffet style, around eight. Of course, I offer plenty to drink before and after the food is served. Buffet parties have the advantage that people do not feel that they have to stay to eat-they can leave as early as they want to. I plan my buffet parties for Sunday night, because I have found that in the fall and winter people like to go out after a long, lazy day at home to see somebody other than their families. Generally I invite guests about two weeks ahead. I do the inviting over the telephone, because I think written invitations too formal, and also because I like to know well in advance how many guests to expect.

I keep a neat house, so that I do not have to do any straightening up on The Day. If your house is neat, there is no need for a thorough cleaning; guests usually notice only whether or not the premises are tidy.

I do not believe guests should have to lift a finger in my house, which means I must have enough help to serve both food and drink, change plates, and so forth. Even if you are having a buffet party, you should have somebody dish out the food you have prepared so carefully, to avoid sloppily filled plates and, even worse, sloppy serving dishes. As for drinks, which are so necessary to the success of any American party, they must be plentiful, and if you are serving mixed drinks, you must offer sufficient variety. Unless your husband or companion wishes to sacrifice himself by spending his evening filling empty glasses, it is best to hire a professional bartender to pour the booze. You know what happens when people who have had one too many refill their own glasses.

I have also found that it works fine to offer one kind of drink only. Depending on your guests and your finances, you may consider champagne or wine. Champagne is festive, but wine is cheaper; the choice is up to the host. And although this alternative is much simpler than running a full bar, a professional bartender is still very useful.

What kind of food do I serve at buffet parties? That depends entirely on the number of guests I'm expecting. For fewer than 15 people I go to my trusty notebook, where I have listed my successful party casseroles of meat and vegetables. For more than 15 people, I make chili or a Brazilian allpurpose bean, rice, and meat dish, called fejioada, or something along the lines of corned-beef hash. The main thing is not to spend your time cooking, except for heating up what needs to be hot. Food and drink should match. Spicy food like chili requires a lively non-sweet drink, like beer. But since I hate the taste of beer, I have served a dry champagne with my chili.

Champagne for a festive touch; chili for my convenience-what better way of living up to my mother's dictum that "guests, however inconvenient, must be honored"?