On Entertaining

party pit

Hello and welcome to the weekend! I hope you’ve had a good week.

I am happy to report that our nearly 7-week-old chickens, who are now young adults in chicken terms, have moved out of our basement and into their coop, to everyone’s relief. So far they’re doing well outside, although we are slightly concerned that one may be a rooster; we’re going to give it some more time before bringing in a professional (the vet?) to confirm this…

In cooking news, my friend (and scribbles reader) Becky, made the Israeli Vegetable Salad (which is an excellent no-cook appetizer or lunch) from my Summer Recipes list and took it to a party, where it “was a hit!”

I can’t believe I didn’t think of that recipe when friends were coming over for dinner this week and I was casting around for healthy dishes I could make ahead that were appropriate for the height-of-summer weather here! I also didn’t see this delightful post (and video!) for an elegant French-inspired no-cook dinner party until it was too late, but have filed it away for another time.

Anyway, for my small dinner, I served room temperature grilled chicken breasts with homemade pesto, a big green salad with a light vinaigrette, and a (non-mayo) pasta and summer vegetable salad. To start, we had fresh sliced farmstand cucumber and salami, and cold cantaloupe and prosciutto bites. The easiest no-recipe appetizers ever!

I did turn on the oven for one thing: Pavlova for dessert! For those of you who’ve never heard of it, Pavlova is a craggy meringue with a soft center topped with whipped cream and fresh fruit. Growing up in Australia, the “pav” always had kiwifruit and passionfruit on it, but those are hard to get here in New York, so I mostly use strawberries and blueberries.

My Pavlova recipe is on a stained piece of scrap paper, but this Ina Garten version is pretty close. Some notes: Ina does not specify caster or superfine sugar, but I think using it makes a real difference to the meringue. You do NOT need to sweeten the whipped cream - the meringue is already incredibly sweet. And finally - once the cooking time is over, just turn off the oven (don’t open it!) and let the pavlova cool down, ideally overnight.

I did NOT make this, but it’s just like the pavlovas of my childhood!

Having people over is the best - and of course, it’s not really about the food - it’s about bringing a group of people together and enjoying each other’s company. Which might be why the old-school conversation pit has made a return to home design. The concept reminds me of what happens when me, Jim, and the kids all get in the hot tub together: forced into a small space and facing each other, with no screens to distract us, we always have the most interesting conversations.

And given the pitfalls (pun heartily intended) of sunken rooms as described in the 1963 quote below, maybe all you need to foster togetherness is a room with comfy seating and no TV screen…

“At cocktail parties, late-staying guests tended to fall in. Those in the pit found themselves bombarded with bits of hors d’oeuvres from up above, looked out on a field of trouser cuffs, ankles and shoes. Ladies shied away from the edges, fearing up-skirt exposure. Bars or fencing of sorts had to be constructed to keep dogs and children from daily concussions.”

Beware of up-skirt exposure, concussed dogs, and hors d’oeuvre bombardment

Speaking of get-togethers, it’s time for our annual summer getaway with Jim’s family, at the beach in North Carolina where his grandmother grew up, and incidentally, where much of Dawson’s Creek was filmed.

Largely due to the force of Granny Lou’s personality, this beloved tradition has survived for over 70 years and functions as a mini family reunion. Our routine involves lots of eating and catch-up chats, with a little tennis, beach time, and bike-riding thrown in. For me, it’s also become an annual pause to take stock and review how I’m feeling about life, how the year has gone so far, and what’s on the horizon.

With that in mind, when I came across this profound and thought-provoking quote from Hugh Mackay, an Australian social psychologist this week, it felt particularly well-timed:

“I actually attack the concept of happiness. The idea that - I don’t mind people being happy - but the idea that everything we do is part of the pursuit of happiness seems to me a really dangerous idea and has led to a contemporary disease in Western society, which is fear of sadness. We’re kind of teaching our kids that happiness is the default position - it’s rubbish. Wholeness is what we ought to be striving for and part of that is sadness, disappointment, frustration, failure; all of those things which make us who we are. Happiness and victory and fulfillment are nice little things that also happen to us, but they don’t teach us much. Everyone says we grow through pain and then as soon as they experience pain they say “Quick! Move on! Cheer up!” I’d like just for a year to have a moratorium on the word “happiness” and to replace it with the word “wholeness”. Ask yourself “is this contributing to my wholeness?” and if you’re having a bad day, it is.”

Along with deep thoughts, I’m packing my pearls, and downloading episodes of Slow Horses to watch on the plane. It’s a British spy series with Gary Oldman as the alcoholic, curmudgeonly boss of a bunch of low-performing British MI5 agents and Kristin Scott Thomas as the uptight leader of the “regular” spies. I’m rooting for the underdogs!

I’m also dying to see BJ Novak’s new movie, Vengeance, which comes out today and is about a (liberal, coastal elite) podcaster who goes to Texas to report on a story. I’m intrigued by the theme of art mirroring life, and loved this piece about Novak’s experience filming the movie, where he said:

“I thought that these huge dudes with beards and pickup trucks would be very suspicious of a Hollywood blue-state guy, and I found the exact opposite,” he said. “It’s the warmest culture I ever found. I went to Easter dinners and people would show me the poetry they had written.”

Thank you so much for reading - and for all of you who reach out each week to share your thoughts and recipe feedback - oh, and to Jack for sending me this clip that accurately (yikes!) captures the trajectory of my life so far.

In keeping with my grown-up attitude, I’m going to spend the next 24 hours putting my house in order before going away, because I know that returning to a clean, well-ordered house will feel deeply luxurious (even without a conversation pit!).

Have a wonderful weekend!
Amelia