everyday entertaining
It is a midsummer weekend, and I am invited to be a houseguest at the lovely East Hampton home of my good friends Kai and Doron Linz and their children. Doron and I both grew up in southern Africa, and the couple commissioned me to design and plan their wedding, which is what cemented our friendship.
On the East Coast, the Hamptons are the closest thing we have to California. The climate is a bit damper, but the light, the scenery, the lifestyle, the freedom to express one’s personal style and enjoy the outdoors to its fullest are all quite similar.
When I’m a guest, if my hosts are willing — and they usually are — I like to plan a dinner party one night during the weekend. Since Doron and I share the African upbringing, I felt this was the clear choice for the evening’s theme. The Horn of Africa is a crossroads of world cultures and cuisines. Durban and the port of Cape Town were major stopping-off points on the Spice Route between America, Europe, and the Far East. Consequently, Cape Malay cuisine absorbed all the influences of Portuguese, Malaysian, Indian, Indonesian, and other Far Eastern schools of cooking.
Traditionally, the finer cuts of meat were reserved for the privileged and the upper classes while the working people and the poor had to make do with the rest. Ever resourceful, the people of Cape Malay made delicious long-cooked stews with the tougher, bonier cuts such as shoulder, tail, leg, and knuckle of various livestock.
Our main course for the evening is traditionally prepared in a potjie (pronounced "poy-kee"), which is Afrikaans for a cast-iron pot. (I still have mine and use it regularly.) As with couscous and tagine, the vessel and the dish are often referred to by the same term. The cooking method is to fill one of these with meat, vegetables, herbs, spices, and other aromatic ingredients, set it directly on top of a bed of hot coals, and let it slowly bubble away for three to six hours or more. This yields a mouth-watering stew that, on top of a bed of rice, can feed a very large extended family. I don’t think there’s anyone who grew up in southern Africa who doesn’t have fond memories of these hearty stews, and this is exactly the dish for our outdoor Hamptons dinner.
The trading routes encompassed so many cultures with so much to offer in cuisine and decor. I tried to reflect that international style in our table arrangement. The tablecloth was a West African kente cloth, woven into a beautiful geometrical pattern with the typical stripes and bars, which is traditionally draped over the shoulders as part of ceremonial dress. The table setting also featured cast-iron flatware from Thailand; Indonesian woven-straw brass-rimmed chargers; hand-crafted Chinese pottery serving plates, and hand-painted ceramic monkey design plates from Portugal. You’d very likely encounter objects from any and all of these countries in a home in southern Africa. Nowadays in the United States, we’re discovering many corners of the globe, like the one where I grew up, places where the cross-pollination of cultures has created beautiful arts and crafts and delectable cuisines.
Africa is all about feast and famine, death and procreation. The spiritual and the mundane, the profound and the quotidian, are continually juxtaposed on a daily basis. I tried to reflect this phenomenon in the table arrangement. Corn having been the staple of the African diet for centuries, I featured it not only in the appetizer course but in the centerpiece for the table. No need for cut flowers if you can create an eye-catching piece with a common grocery item like this and a few strategically placed candles.
The table and buffet layouts may look complicated, but they’re not. They take literally fifteen minutes to set up; the trick was that I’d taken the time, over a period of years, to assemble all the objects. But that’s the fun part: If you’re someone who likes to entertain, anytime you go shopping, keep an eye out for items that might enhance your tabletop arrangements.
Menu
Ponana Souk
Maize Fritters with Garlic Aioli
Tomato Sambal
Tomato Lamb Potjie
Cape Brandy Tart with Brandy Sauce
Peach Chutney
Timing
The dough for the maize fritters should be prepared in advance. The fritters can also be fried in advance, then reheated in the oven or the microwave; or they can be fried at the end of the cocktail hour, drained, then served immediately. The lamb stew should be simmering in its pot by the time the guests arrive. The tomato salad can be prepared in advance and allowed to marinate in its dressing. The peach chutney can be prepared in advance or store-bought. The brandy tart can be made in advance and even frozen.
Tips
Cultivating an International Style
Deep Frying Oil Temperature
Sambals
