I'll explain.
For most of my adult life, hosting a dinner party seemed like the
acceptable/conventional/easy way of entertaining,
or returning a social obligation.
Dinner parties can be fun, (so they tell me), especially if you are:
a) an avid cook
b) a social butterfly
c) relaxed and prepared.
I do like to cook, though perhaps more tepid than avid.
While I have my standard old favourites, I am not averse to
experimenting with new recipes.
I am faithful to a number of social media chefs, who, (unrealistically),
make everything look easy and uncomplicated.
I am a bit of a 'foodie'.
I lean toward vegetarian dishes,
though I do eat meat, but could probably live without it
if it weren't for lamb and bacon.
I'm not exactly a social butterfly.
Luckily, neither is my partner.
We avoid social functions, crowds, parties and indoor gatherings.
We have, (on more than one occasion), driven some distance to a party
only to drive to the house, hesitate, drive past the house
and hightail it back home.
While we are much better in the great outdoors, we both tend to avoid
the 'eating' part of whatever the event happens to be, and are much
happier standing around the fringe, nursing a beer,
occasionally speaking to the other introverts.
Relaxed and prepared?
'Prepared', maybe, unless you mean mentally.
'Relaxed', no. Just the opposite.
Perhaps it was the anxiety that I seemed to suffer from more acutely
as I aged, that led me to question dinner parties.
(Kids and grandkids excepted...We love those.)
The whole process seemed daunting - serving drinks and hors d'oeuvres,
sitting through dinner, pouring wine, dishing up dessert,
making sparkling conversation.
And ALL while eating.
This seemed increasingly difficult, mentally and physically.
It was time to rethink the dinner party.
As I say, at heart, I'm a grazer.
My ideal social gathering involves a bottle of vino, and perhaps four people
sitting in an open airy conversation nook
with a low coffee table in the middle,
topped with a selection of tasty nibbles.
Not 'starters', but the whole enchilada.
'Cinq à Sept' - the new Dinner Party.
Now, I realize that the origins of Cinq à Sept referred to a tryst
or an after work drink and/or hors d'oeuvres, in the days when it became A Thing.
And then, off you all went to a proper dinner at about 8 or 9 or 10:00 p.m.
(At least, if you were French or Italian or Spanish.)
But decade after decade, the evening meal has shifted earlier and earlier,
and dinner or supper or tea is now consumed as early as 5:00 p.m.
This is why Cinq à Sept works so well.
Not a dinner party. No.
But a satisfying bit of food, drink, and conversation,
beginning at 5:00...and ending at 7:00.
Cinq à Sept. Perfection.
Here's what we do....
'Cinq à Sept'
Find a very large, simple platter or board.
Place four small ramekins in the centre.
Fill ramekins with your choice of the following:
hummus, baba ghanoush, tzatziki, muhammara (red pepper dip),
tirokafteri (whipped feta dip),
olives (good ones, mixed, from the deli counter).
Yes. A bit of a Mediterranean slant.
Place cheeses (of your choice) - Brie, Stilton, Boursin,
Feta, Red Leister - on platter.
(*take cheese out of fridge at least an hour before serving.)
Drizzle a bit of good olive oil and a sprinkle of 'Herbe de Provence' or
fresh thyme over the hummus and feta.
Add a selection of any or all of the following - tomato wedges,
cucumber spears, roasted red pepper strips, carrot sticks,
cocktail onions, cornichons (gherkins), sweet pepper rings,
grilled aubergine (eggplant), artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes,
figs, dates, apricots, almonds, walnuts -
directly onto the platter.
Want something a little more substantial?
Add a few spanakopita or dolmades or devilled eggs.
We love to add sliced Italian sausage,
(cooked on the BBQ the night before),
but you could keep it vegetarian by adding tempeh or vegetarian sausage.
Serve with pita triangles, thin baguette slices, and/or taco chips.
And of course, a lovely bottle of vino.
