Kitchen Essential

Cocktail parties usually take place in the evening before dinner, from 6 p.m. until 8 or 8.30 p.m. Invitations can be as formal or informal and as original as you like, and the party may be as simple or elaborate as you wish to make it. You may choose to serve one alcoholic drink only, for example, sherry or champagne, or wine, or you may decide to serve a variety of cocktails (be sure that you are well versed in making them), spirits or aperitifs. Soft drinks should also be available. Whatever the drinks you offer, have glasses the right shape to serve them in. Continue Reading »

The most important aspect of a wedding reception is that it should be very enjoyable. Whether the meal is a formal seated affair or a buffet, everything should run calmly and smoothly and everybody should be very relaxed. This is why most people put the whole affair into the hands of outside caterers who will do all the worrying and wedding hard work for them. However, it is not impossible to organize a wedding reception yourself and still be a relaxed guest or member of the family party. Do get as much help as you can, however —wedding waiters, wine waiters and kitchen help are almost essential.

The first consideration when planning the wedding table layout is the colour scheme. The colour of wedding table decorations, the wedding cake and any wedding flowers on the cake must tone with the bride’s dress and bouquet and the bridesmaids’ dresses. Continue Reading »

To celebrate a wedding anniversary in style it is a fun idea to take as the theme the symbol that represents the particular number of years a couple has been married. The first few are a bit of a joke but as the number of years of marriage increases so the anniversary symbol becomes more valuable and romantic. They are:

• One year Wedding Anniversary: Cotton.
• Two years Wedding Anniversary: Paper.
• Three years Wedding Anniversary: Leather.
• Four years Wedding Anniversary: Fruit and flowers.
• Five _.years Wedding Anniversary: Wood.

Continue Reading »

Canework and rush

Canework should be vacuum-dusted using a rubber upholstery nozzle. Old and grubby cane can be cleaned using a soft brush and a minimum of warm, slightly soapy water. Do small sections at a time; wipe away any soap traces with a clean damp cloth and pat dry with a colourfast towel. Rush seating should be similarly vacuumed. Avoid using water unless advised otherwise when purchasing.

Most modern bamboo, cane and rushwork is `sealed’ during manufacturing stages with chemical agents. Be extra careful to make a permanent note of the furniture maker’s cleaning instructions. Continue Reading »

The best method of caring for all cutlery, whatever it is made from, is to wash and dry immediately after use. In this way all food residues are removed before staining can occur. No cutlery is totally stain-resistant, so do not leave it unwashed, wet or `in soak’ overnight — even in a dish washer. First rinse under cold running water to remove any traces of salt; salt plus hot water can cause staining and pitting. Next wash in clean, warm, soapy water, rinse and dry thoroughly. Use soft dish pads or cloths and tea towels, and never add bleach to the water. Handle each piece separately; cutlery cluttered in a bowl may get scratched. When drying, knife blades (nowadays usually made from stainless steel) should not be wiped with an up-and-down movement, but in one direction only from neck to point until all the moisture is removed. This method is best for spoons and forks too. Continue Reading »

Basic Needs

Now for the stores required:

Flour—plain is essential; self-raising highly desirable; wholemeal a slight “extra,” but it makes wonderful scones. Baking powder and cornflour, which is used in many cake and biscuit recipes and also for fillings.

Bicarbonate of soda has its place in many scone and other recipes, and cream of tartar is often wanted for scones, too, and also for some toffees and sweets. Continue Reading »

Herbs, spices, flavourings, colourings and decorations are just as important
to good cookery as the basic ingredients

THERE are a number of things, apart I from basics- like tea and flour, which everyone ought to keep in their kitchen. They crop up, as apparently minor ingredients, in countless recipes, but they are important. They are as vital, in their way, as the contents of a sewing basket, and a cook will need them to work on the basic materials. If you have not got them at hand, you must either forgo the dish you intended to make, or make it imperfectly. Continue Reading »

The traditional Scottish recipe for this, the largest of the British and Scandinavian game birds, states that as soon as possible after the bird has been killed, the crop should be removed, the feet cut off and the bird then buried for a fortnight, by which time one should have forgotten where the bird has been buried. This implies that the caper is pretty ghastly fare, but this is an exaggeration, and similar defamatory statements are often made about the black grouse and its female counterpart, the grey hen, which I and many others consider excellent eating. Continue Reading »

Sinks and Taps

Essentials like sinks and taps are such an integral part of the kitchen that it’s easy to forget what a variety there is to choose from.

Old-fashioned porcelain butler’s sinks (the deep rectangular tanks that have been turned into so many container gardens over the years!) are still very appealing for country-style kitchens. The disadvantage with traditional installations was that the join between sink and adjacent wooden draining board was difficult to seal, allowing water and waste to get into the gap. If you’re buying a new butler’s sink, look for a design with an edge that overlaps the worktop, to avoid this problem. Continue Reading »

Your choice of colour will determine the style and ambience of a table, so don’t rely on a quick decision. Colours can be used quite consciously to achieve precisely the effect you are hoping for.

It may help you to run through the colour palette, starting with the colour which appears on almost every table — green.

Green for freshness

For nature lovers, the fresh green of flowers and leaves brings life into the house, especially during the winter months. Therefore green is a welcome addition to the table, because besides its fresh appearance, it has another quality. Green lifts and emphasises other colours, especially its complementary colour, red. You can exploit this characteristic if you place big green leaves on the table and then lay a single, or just a few, brightly coloured blossoms on top (for example, rhododendrons orhydrangeas). Continue Reading »

It has become normal to expect that menu cards and seating plans are purely a matter of etiquette and reserved for official occasions, as they are thought more than a little excessive for a private dinner party. It would be a pity if this idea were to persist, because menu cards for a small dinner party or place cards for a tea party in your home can be a gesture which brings people closer together and, if you do it properly, a sign that you are in command of your role as a hostess. They also make an eye-catching part of the overall table decorations.

Imaginatively designed menu cards lead to anticipation of a delicious meal and afterwards your guests can take them home as an attractive memento. Continue Reading »

The history of crockery is a chequered one. There were times when nobles and merchants tried to outdo each other with beautiful china. In fact the splendour on the table was more important than the food on the plates. The finest porcelain (known as white gold) was painted with in several layers and decorated with gold leaf. Simplicity was the last thing anyone had in mind.

More recent times have provided us with cheap paper and plastic crockery. It didn’t matter whether it looked good or not — the most important thing was that it was practical. Decorated and disposable items are all crockery, but there is a world of difference between them. Continue Reading »

Either you’ve just come back from a holiday in Italy or you’ve got it still to look forward to. Or maybe you simply love the Italian way of life, relaxed and friendly, cheerful and colourful. Of course, you’re just as keen on Italian cuisine as well, which is so much more than just pizza and pasta. What about the typical antipasti, and many delicious Mediterranean specialities, or “formaggio” (cheese) to round off a meal, and wonderful red wine to drink?

Get together with your friends for a “Bella Italia” evening, and give your table an appropriate southern flavour. You simply must have tomatoes, red wine and, of course, spaghetti! Continue Reading »

The finale of the opera takes your breath away, the orchestra puts everything into it and all the actors are gathered on the stage. The curtain falls, and there is prolonged applause; the evening at the opera was once again a wonderfulexperience — but, as so often happens, it was all over far too quickly.

You can change that by planning a finale using an operatic theme for your table design. Invite your friends to join you for a post-opera dinner tobring the evening to a close. The table is your backcloth, using items from the world of opera for your theme. You’re the director here, this is your stage setting. Curtain up for a table at the opera! Continue Reading »

Serving

As long as there is sufficient work surface beside the hob, the oven or the free-standing cooker on which to put plates and serving dishes, there should be few problems.

Within the serving area there should be convenient storage for oven gloves, serving spoons, plates and serving dishes.

Dishwashing

This is often a part of the preparation area. However, if the kitchen is large enough, it may be worth considering a separate dishwashing zone, close to the eating area. This zone will accommodate the waste disposal unit or a rubbish bin and, ideally, a dishwasher. Twin sinks should be large enough to hold a grill pan.

The hob should be linked by a worktop to the sink. It should also have ample work surfaces on both sides of it. Kettle, tea, coffee, cups and saucers are best kept close to the sink. Toasters should be on a work surface or shelf near to the bread. Deep drawers for bread storage are preferable to bins on the work surface. Continue Reading »

The British were passionate about their picnics in the last century. Most weekends they went off into the countryside in pairs or in groups, but the whole experience could besummed up by “grass in the salad, sand in the butter, wasps in the fruit juice and endless flies”!

Despite these various misfortunes the picnic has remained one of thefavourite ways to get together down through the years.

Not every picnic is a picnic, by the way. A couple of sandwiches by the side of the road have very little to do with the original concept. Nearly one hundred and forty years ago picnics were governed by rules of etiquette, for example regarding the kind of people who should join the party. Continue Reading »

A wedding celebration is truly something special. Nothing is left to chance. For you as the bride and groom, and for your guests it should be beautiful and exciting, a truly unforgettable celebration, and — together with the wedding ceremony — the wedding breakfast is the most important part of a weddding celebration.

The menu or buffet is planned in detail with the restaurant or catering service. There should be something special for old and young, it should be light, so people feel like dancing afterwards, and the wine list should tempt even the connoisseurs.

However, the table setting is far too often the “poor relation” when it comes to the preparations. If you leave the table setting to the caterers, you will get a nicely set table, but one which is also, unfortunately, rather impersonal. Continue Reading »

Glimmer, glitter, glamour and gaudy colours — is this an American Christmas? You might think so if you were to visit a shopping mall in the run-up to Christmas, but Christmas is not as commercialised everywhere in America as that which you see in the shopping malls would lead you to believe. Americans do tend to go to town more on decorations, but it doesn’t have to be kitsch or tasteless.

If you’d like to try a different style of table decoration this Christmas, then why not American-style? Continue Reading »

Tinned ware

Tinned ware is mild steel coated with tin, and is used for cake tins, ring moulds, baking tins, wire whisks, etc. The tin is silvery when new but darkens with use. Don’t use abrasive cleaners which will scratch the tin coating. Soak off burned-on food. If pieces get really dirty, soak in weak solution of bicarbonate of soda or boil up in a solution of washing soda. Rinse. Always dry very thoroughly so there is no chance of the base metal rusting.

Flameproof

If a cooking pot is flameproof it can be used on top of the stove. Continue Reading »

Copperware

Copper preserving pans and bowls for beating eggs are unlined. All other copper pans for cooking are usually lined with tin, nickel or silver, and should be relined when necessary.

Use wood or plastic for stirring in lined copper pans.

Tarnished copper can be cleaned with half a lemon dipped into a tablespoon of salt and vinegar. Rub hard. Then wash in hot soapy water and dry thoroughly.

Non- stick

Non-stick coatings vary in quality and the way they are applied. It is important therefore to follow the manufacturer’s own care instructions.

The following notes on the care of Tefal, where the metal is etched before the non-stick polytetrafluorethylene (PTFE) is poured on to the surface, are good guide lines for all non-stick pans : Continue Reading »