Entertaining 101

Entertaining 101 Delight your guests this holiday season with easy-to-make party platters assembled with locally sourced products. Add that homemade touch by including a few of these simple recipes.

WRITTEN AND STYLED BY LYNDA BALSLEV • PHOTOGRAPHS BY TED THOMAS

Get Cheesy

1 Select four to six types of cheese and vary the colors, textures, flavors and shapes. Consider a fresh goat cheese, a bloomy pungent or washed rind cheese, a wedge of alpine cow or “piquant,” a butterscotch-y cheese, a nutty pecorino, and streaky blues.

2 Use the farmers’ market for decorative inspiration. Arrange the cheeses on large leafy greens, such as chard and collard greens, and decorate with curly leaves such as purple kale and frisée. Weave smaller decorative sprigs such as kale flowers, rosemary and flowering thyme around the cheese as aromatic garnishes. Hollow out a small red cabbage or a radicchio head to use as a serving vessel for nuts and olives.

3 Sweeten up the board with colorful nibbles such as fresh grapes, pomegranate arils (seed pods) and persimmon wedges, or use dried cranberries, figs and apricots. Serve with a jar of chutney or jam. Add a wedge of honeycomb or a little glass of honey for drizzling. 4 Select a variety of crackers, crisps and breads for texture, color and consistency: hearty fruit and nut bread, rustic baguette slices, olive oil crackers, seeded crisp breads — and don’t forget to add some gluten-free options.

5 Serve each cheese with its own knife.

Quick Fig and Rosemary Jam

MAKES ABOUT 1½ CUPS

8 ounces dried Mission figs, stems removed, coarsely chopped ¾ cup sugar M cup fresh orange juice 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 1 (2-inch) sprig fresh rosemary

Combine all the ingredients in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer until the figs begin to break down and the mixture thickens, 12 to 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Discard the rosemary sprig. Transfer to a food processor and pulse to your desired consistency. Cool, transfer to a jar and store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Achadinha Cheese Co.: Broncha

Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Co.: Bay Blue

Cowgirl Creamery: Red Hawk Adante: Metronome

Petit Basque Sheep Cheese. A French cheese, easily sourced in Marin shops.

Savory Solutions

1 A little meat can go a long way. Figure 4 to 6 ounces per person if it’s a stand-alone board or 2 to 3 ounces per person if it’s served with cheese.

2 Provide a variety, aiming for a range from mild to piquant, of spiced and smoked artisanal charcuterie. Fan out precut slices of salumi and other dry-cured meat. Provide a few whole hard sausages for interactive DIY cutting. Add a wedge of country-style pâté and a terrine of creamy truffle mousse or duck rillettes.

3 Enhance the array with rustic bowls of stone-ground or Dijon mustard, briny pickles, cornichons or mixed olives. Provide finger bowls of sea salt flakes and coarsely ground black peppercorns for garnish.

4 Use a minimum of garnishes and let the meat do the talking. Garnish with simple sprigs of flowering thyme and rosemary. Sprinkle a few nuts, such as shelled pistachios, for earthy color.

5 Keep the bread simple and country-style. Cut up a loaf of levain bread or a rustic baguette.

Citrus Marinated Olives

MAKES 12 OUNCES

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil 2 garlic cloves, sliced 2 sprigs thyme 1 teaspoon cracked black peppercorns 12 ounces mixed olives, such as Kalamata, Picholine, Castelvetrano Juice and zest of ½ lemon

Heat the oil, garlic, thyme and peppercorns over medium heat until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Stir in the olives, lemon juice and zest, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat, discard the thyme and cool slightly.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Truffle Mousse

Prosciutto Crudo

Peppered Salame

Chorizo Salame

Secchi Salame

Salame

Pâté de Campagne

See page 51 for almond recipe.

Comforts: S’mores Bars

Sweet Things: Chocolate & Red Velvet Bites

Sweet Things: Flourless Chocolate Chews

Comforts: Cowboy Bars Nothing Bundt Cakes: Bundtinis

Sweet Things: Brownies

Sweet Things: Mud Puddle Bite Comforts: Chocolate Mousse Cups

Barlovento Chocolates

Sweet Treats

1 Cap off your party with an indulgent chocolate platter. No time to bake? No worries. Purchase a variety of bite-size, finger-friendly goodies from local bakers and shops. Mix up artisanal truffles, mini-cupcakes, fudgy brownies, crisp cookies and gooey bars.

2 Add non-chocolate nibbles to cut the chocolate, such as fresh raspberries or strawberries, wedges of fruit pâté, or sugar-coated nuts. The almond recipe here works well with sweet or savory.

Sweet and Salty Burnt Sugar Almonds

MAKES 1 POUND

1 cup plus L cup sugar L cup water 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 pound raw almonds 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract ¼ teaspoon ground cayenne 1½ teaspoons sea salt

Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Add the 1 cup sugar, the water and cinnamon to a large, heavy saucepan (not nonstick) and, using a wooden spoon, stir to combine. Bring to a boil over mediumhigh heat. Add the almonds and stir constantly until the water evaporates and the sugar begins to dry out, 3 to 4 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and keep stirring until the dried-out sugar begins to melt and the almonds begin to brown and have a shiny coat, 2 to 3 more minutes. Add the L cup sugar, the vanilla, and cayenne and continue stirring until the almonds are stiff and coated with the sugar. Pour the almonds onto the prepared baking sheet, spreading to separate. Sprinkle immediately with the salt and cool completely. The almonds can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 weeks.