cooking for a crowd

I tend to do my best cooking alone in the kitchen, with nothing on my mind other than a quiet solo dinner. I listen to CBC radio as I putter, or perhaps some Drake or Lauryn Hill, and a sense of contentment steals over me. Chop, stir, muse, taste. There is nobody to please but myself. From this serenity, flavours emerge. As the wonderful food writer Tamar Adler might put it: lettuce and salad dressing join forces harmoniously; noodles embrace sauce; cheeses melt beautifully, oozing gratitude. A relaxed state of mind encourages food to become its best self. 

Unfortunately – and I have learned this the hard way, folks – the reverse is also true. If I am scattered or pressed for time or even slightly anxious, the results are never good. Dishes that I have cooked a dozen times take on alien tastes or consistencies. They resent the lack of attention; they refuse to cooperate. 

And here's the thing: when a bunch of people come to dinner, I am never particularly relaxed. They are at my table and I want to feed them well, but this wanting to feed them well gets in the way of actually doing so. Add to that: they understandably want to talk to me when they arrive. But I can't seem to be able to be present for my lovely guests and give my demanding little dishes the focus they require.

So I no longer try to do both. These days, for dinner parties, I serve things that are ridiculously reliable, super simple and can be made ahead – slowly, quietly, thoughtfully. Like this lasagna. It is straightforward, yields enough to feed a party and is so delicious that I now field regular requests for it. Add an easy peasy green salad, a platter of cut tomatoes strewn with buffalo mozzarella and drizzled with oil and balsamic vinegar and a basket of good bread, and bob's your uncle, you have a satisfying spread.

Next time you entertain, do yourself a favour and have this lasagna bubbling in the oven before your charming friends come knocking on your door.

Easy does it lasagna
Adapted from Chatelaine magazine
Makes 8 servings

1 lb ground beef
double batch of Life-Changing Tomato Sauce
salt and pepper, to taste
handful of basil leaves, chopped
3/4 box of oven-ready lasagna noodles
475g container ricotta cheese
340g package of pre-shredded Italian cheese (I swear by the President's Choice version, which has mozzarella, parmesan and provolone)

1. Preheat oven to 500F. 
2. Lightly brown beef in saucepan, breaking up meat, for 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in sauce. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Add basil.
3. Spread 1/2 cup of sauce over bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish. Cover with layer of noodles. Using a tablespoon, drop half of ricotta evenly over noodles. (Do not spread.)  Spoon half of remaining sauce on top. Sprinkle with handful of cheese. 
4. Add another layer of noodles, ricotta, sauce (reserving a few spoons, as this will help the top from drying out) and cheese. 
5. Top with a layer of noodles and reserved sauce. Gently press noodles into sauce. Evenly sprinkle with remaining cheese. 
6. Lay a piece of foil overtop. Seal shut. Place lasagna in centre of oven and reduce heat to 400F. Bake 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake until lasagna is hot in centre, from 20 to 30 more minutes.
7. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting, as you make sparkling conversation. 

in defense of dinner

I'm a sucker for an easy recipe. Give me a handful of ingredients and a couple of easy steps to follow and I am automatically intrigued. I want recipes to be quick and reliable – and to yield food so delicious that you crave it for days after it's all eaten up. And if it looks insanely appetizing on top of all that? Forget about it. 

Pretty sure that this was how home cooks operated for hundreds of years, before we went and made things all complicated for ourselves. Before takeout and prepared foods and restaurants on every block, before the mass exodus from kitchens across North America, people made the same food week after week, year after year. So it had to be fast. And it had to easy. And it had to taste darn good. 

Being the sentimental soul that I am, I often get nostalgic for the days when dinner reigned supreme. In my home growing up, my mother cooked every night and we all sat down together. Her wholesome repertoire – a mix of rustic French country cooking, proper British fare and hippie health food – was the backdrop of our lives. The delicate bacon quiches and the creamy cauliflower soups, the rich shepherd's pies and egg custards, the tasty whole wheat pizzas and sprouted salads, it all infused the mundane routines of daily life with pleasure and comfort and beauty. 

All of this is why I am determined to follow her lead. And what better way to do that than with her recipes? My mother's macaroni and cheese recipe was handed down from her mum – a wonderful home cook – and now she is passing it on to me. This dish is a firm favorite with the family, and it's super simple to throw together. I like to serve it with a fresh salad. Here's the easiest one I know. 

This is humble home food and so one might be reluctant to serve it to guests. But you know what? If there's one thing I've learned over the past few years, it's that we are all starved for a little humble home food. So I'm never surprised when friends see this on the table and breathe a nice long sigh of relief.  


Mum's mac & cheese
Serves 4 small portions

2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup of milk
1 cup grated aged cheddar cheese, plus extra for topping 
1 1/2 cup elbow macaroni
chopped parsley, to taste
grated parmesan cheese, to taste
breadcrumbs, to taste
salt and pepper, to taste

1. Place a pot of salted water on to boil.
2. Meanwhile, melt butter in separate saucepan and then stir in flour slowly, stirring. Brown slightly and take off heat. Stir in milk gradually. 
3. Return to heat and stir continuously until it thickens into a sauce. Remove from heat and stir in cup of cheese. (By the way, for this dish, it's worth shelling out for top quality cheese.)
4. Cook pasta following directions on package, drain and stir in cheese sauce. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Pour into a baking dish. 
5. Top with bread crumbs, extra cheddar, parmesan and parsley and place under broiler to melt until cheese bubbles and browns.

Insalata verde a.k.a. the easiest salad you'll ever make
Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Rome: Authentic Recipes Celebrating the Foods of the World by Chuck Williams
Serves 4

5 cups of lettuce
3 green onions, white parts only, thinly sliced
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 teaspoons of red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

1. Wash and dry greens.
2. Place onions in the bottom of a large salad bowl. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and then add vinegar, then oil.
3. Lay greens on top of dressing and sprinkle with a little more salt. Leave salad for an hour or so while you prepare the rest of the meal.
4. Just before serving, toss the salad well, making sure the leaves are coated in oil. 

icing on the cake

If I care about you, I will bake for you. And, sooner or later, chances are good that I will make you these cupcakes. I have been baking them for years. I've whipped them up for office celebrations, dinner parties, kids' birthdays – and once, for a wedding of 60. It remains one of my favourite ways to express affection for family and friends. 

The recipe is as simple as it gets. And almost as quick as one of those soulless, synthetic boxed cakes. In short, the perfect gift to give.  

Butter Cake (adapted from The Laura Secord Canadian Cookbook)

Makes 12 cupcakes

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

3/4 cup milk

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. Line muffin tins with paper cups.

3. Sift together flour, salt and baking powder.

4. In a separate bowl, cream butter.

5. Gradually blend in sugar, eggs and vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy.

6. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture alternately with the milk. Make 3 dry and 2 liquid additions.

7. Spoon batter into muffin cups. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until bottoms are golden brown and cake springs back when lightly touched (a toothpick should come out clean).

8. Cool and then spread with basic butter icing.

Basic Butter Icing

Makes enough for 12 cupcakes

1/4 cup butter, room temperature

2 cups icing sugar

1 1/2 tbsp milk or cream

1 tsp vanilla

1. Cream butter.

2. Gradually blend in icing sugar.

3. Add milk (or cream) and vanilla.