Dinner Tips for the Kitchen Klutz
Handle a sit-down dinner beautifully with these few simple tips.
Think you can't pull off a successful sit-down dinner for family and friends? It's all a matter of some culinary ingenuity and a little artful deception in the kitchen!
Are you a Kitchen Klutz?
You are if as each season rolls around to officially kick off all those tastebud-tickling sit-down dinner 'feastivities' every year, you literally break out in a serious sweat worrying about how to orchestrate an event which, for the great many beginner cooks of the world, represents nothing short of a Code Blue culinary crisis.
Think you can't glide like an Olympic skater from the kitchen to the table without at least a few major glitches along the way to trip you up? Not only can you put together some exceptionally tasty dishes on your own, you can stage the kind of sit-down dinners that every one of your guests will leave raving about. And you can do it beautifully, almost effortlessly, just by employing a little deceptive ingenuity that will never betray what a true kitchen klutz you really are.
The keywords here are "leave nothing to chance." Test the recipes you are going use for the event at least twice on your own family. You won't find more honest judges of your dishes if you took them all the way to the Supreme Court.
Must Do’s
Meticulously set the table in the morning of your dinner if you the time or even the day before if you don't (throw a clean sheet over your set table) to make sure it's picture-perfect. A gorgeously-set table is guaranteed to set the stage for the dishes you will bring to it. The more beautiful the table, the more your guests will perceive you to be a seasoned cook. You want them to believe you are indeed that fantastic in the kitchen - which means, no apologizing or excuse-making as you serve!
Above all, never confess your kitchen fibs no matter how hard someone at your table tries to wheedle them from you. If Heinz made the gravy, only you and the microwave you nuked it in ever needs to know the truth. (Stir a few spoonfuls of the pan drippings from the roast into the bottled gravy to make it look especially "homemade" before you serve it.)
Keep those Secrets Secret
If you suddenly choked at the bat and bought everything from the hot deli counter at the supermarket, arrange each course and side dish in your own serving dishes. Take the cheeses and relish items off of their oh-so-perfectly arranged store platters and arrange them on your own platters not quite as perfectly. You want everything you bring to the table to seem "homemade" by giving it a homey touch. (Don't forget to hide those containers from the deli outside in the garbage can before your guests arrive!)
Don't ever confess that Food Smart was the true chef at your gathering. Remember, the mission you have undertaken is deceptive ingenuity. As long as your guests dig in and enjoy the meal, you've done your job. Anyone who asks for your recipes simply smile apologetically and say, "I'm sorry, they're family secrets, I can't share them. You understand."
About that holiday turkey: If heaving a stuffed 22-pound bird into the oven and babysitting it with baster in hand from the crack of dawn on is more of a personal commitment than you think you're ready to make when your guests come together, simply turn to your adorable Significant Other and whisper the magic word: BARBEQUE!
Your guests will let you know there is nothing like a stuffed turkey fresh off the grill surrounded by your sumptuous side dishes on the table. And your side dishes will be starring acts, thanks to your own ingenuity in the kitchen!
