Conventional wisdom has it that when you’re entertaining, it’s best to focus on the tried and true, not something new that might result in emergency takeout.
With Mozza at Home, by Los Angeles chef Nancy Silverton with Carolynn Carreño, you’re not likely to attempt a trial run since most of the recipes serve six or more. But many of the dishes on the elaborate, inviting and creative menus in the book can be made in advance—they’re often designed to be served at room temperature—so you have a chance to plan and tweak before the doorbell rings. Still, they are best for experienced cooks, not novices, packed as they are with devilish details.
I can vouch for the chicken-thigh recipes, pan-roasted and browned at the last minute. Braising whole bunches of celery to go on a platter is a great idea, as is rolling ribbons of zucchini to thread onto skewers. And the recipe for devil’s food cake rings is a keeper, quick to make and as fine for cupcakes as for rings needing special molds.
A preview is easier with Eat in My Kitchen: To Cook, to Bake, to Eat and to Treat, by Meike Peters, since almost all the recipes serve two to four.
That said, I found a great many that were easily doubled or tripled, like delicious endives glazed with balsamic butter, and cod in parchment with ramps and red onions.
Peters, a blogger who lives in Berlin, draws on a mix of German and Mediterranean influences. That includes Malta, where she has family, inspiring the addition of orange peel in a bittersweet chocolate Bundt cake and blood oranges in a steaming bowl of mussels.
Her sandwiches, also scalable, include one made with roasted cherry tomatoes and garlic: easy for lunch, suitable for hors d’oeuvres on little toast rounds and alluring when assembled on long ciabatta breads for a party.
No matter what you choose to cook, be sure to keep the whole point of entertaining in focus: “Optimize the guests’ experience,” as Silverton puts it.
Casual Oven-Roasted Chicken Thighs
Total time: 1 hour 15 minutes, plus 8 hours’ refrigeration
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
12 chicken thighs, bone in and skin on
1 medium onion, peeled, quartered vertically and sliced 1/4-inch thick vertically
1 cup peeled garlic cloves (about 40)
1 lemon cut in 1/4-inch-thick slices, seeded
15 fresh thyme sprigs
4 (3-inch) rosemary sprigs
2 tbsp kosher salt, or to taste
2 tsp ground black pepper
Pat chicken thighs dry and place, skin side up, in a single layer on a baking sheet. Place in refrigerator, uncovered, for eight hours or overnight to dry skin. Remove chicken from refrigerator at least 45 minutes before cooking. Heat oven to 500 degrees. Spread onion slices and garlic cloves in a baking dish that can hold the chicken snugly in a single layer. Scatter lemon on the onion-garlic mixture and strew with thyme and rosemary sprigs.
Remove chicken from baking sheet and place on several layers of paper towels, skin side down. Sprinkle with half the salt and pepper. Turn thighs over and season with remaining salt and pepper. Transfer to the baking dish skin side up. Use your hands to arrange the bed of onions and garlic so they’re completely under the chicken.
Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until juices run clear when chicken is pierced with a knife point. If skin is not a deep golden brown and crispy, turn on broiler and broil chicken close to heat a few minutes to crisp and brown it.
To serve, move chicken off the bed of onions, garlic, lemon and herbs. Discard lemon and spoon the rest of the ingredients, along with pan juices, onto a serving platter. Place chicken on top and serve.
- Adapted from Mozza at Home by Nancy Silverton with Carolynn Carreño (Knopf)
Sautéed Endive With Balsamic Butter
Total time: 20 minutes
Yield: 2 to 4 servings
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
3 medium-small heads Belgian endive, trimmed, halved vertically
Fine sea salt
2 tbsp good-quality balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp unsalted butter, in small pieces
Pinch of sugar
Coarsely ground black pepper
3 tbsp fresh marjoram or oregano leaves
Heat oil in a heavy skillet. Add endive halves, cut side down, and sear on medium-high heat for a couple of minutes per side, turning once, until golden brown but still somewhat firm in the middle. Salt to taste, transfer to a serving dish and tent with foil to keep warm.
Simmer vinegar in a small saucepan for about a minute. Remove from heat and whisk in butter bit by bit. Whisk in sugar and, if desired, some salt and pepper. Drizzle some of the balsamic butter on endives, strew with marjoram and dust with pepper. Serve. Remaining balsamic butter can be refrigerated for future use.
- Adapted from Eat in My Kitchen by Meike Peters (Prestel)
Image credits: Rikki Snyder/The New York Times