freshly steeped

Last week, I got to combine two of my very favorite things: the Olympics and hosting dear friends. I had a few people over to watch the Opening Ceremonies, eat, drink, catch up, be merry, etc. I think probably my favorite thing about my current apartment is that it’s a great place for hosting — which, for me, means it fills two key requirements: there’s seating for more than two people, and the kitchen is large enough. I love cooking as a part of my everyday life, but cooking for friends is a special kind of joy. (This is probably why I’ve developed somewhat of a reputation for always having a lot of food around when people come over.)

For this round of entertainment, I made: spicy cayenne cheese twists; a take on a seven layer dip with avocado crema, homemade refried beans, homemade salsa, pickled jalapenos, watermelon radish, and cheese; a take on potato skins with cheese and avocado crema and fake shiitake bacon (I swear, it’s delicious); homemade tater tots with a spicy mustard sauce and a tomato sauce; and cupcakes with chocolate frosting and little international flags, to get in the theme.

Now, that may seem like a lot. (It was.) But I try to follow a few general rules when prepping to host people, and they have served me well, keeping me mostly on the side of fun, rather than anxiety, on the day of. These rules are:

1. Start by picking some kind of inspiration. Is there a recipe you’ve been meaning to make? Some kind of food you’ve always wanted to try? A restaurant recipe you’d love to imitate?
2. Make food that excites you — food you want to eat. As a general rule, I won’t ever make things I’m not excited to sit down and eat. There are some loose exceptions to this, but if you’re not looking forward to tasting it, then it’s hard to want to make it (especially when people are coming in 45 minutes and you have yet to do your makeup).
3. Be flexible. If you get to the day of, and you’re scrambling, it’s okay to substitute. Pick an easier recipe, or choose not to make it at all. (I had originally planned to make buffalo cauliflower for last week’s party too, and ended up ditching it at the last minute.) The whole point is still just to have fun.
4. Plan ahead. Now, I’m an inveterate list-maker — constantly scribbling down bullet points and side notes, composing ordered lists in my head, crossing things off in Google Keep — and that definitely helps here, but this can mean lots of things. Making a list of everything you have to do can be one way to keep track of all of the little things, but this can be as simple as pre-chopping some vegetables, so you don’t have to do it all on the day of, and reading through recipes in advance to make sure there are no surprises (hello, random 2-hour “you must chill this in the fridge” instruction that’s thrown in halfway through).

But the real truth, after all this, is that there are no rules that really matter. The most important thing is to have people over who won’t care if they show up and all you have is a bottle of wine and some Girl Scout cookies.

PS – my best tip, if you want to feel super fancy, is to pick up a pack of cute cocktail napkins. This is probably the first time in years I’ve used napkins that are meant to be napkins, and it was a truly wonderful lifestyle creep.

No one who knows me well would be surprised to hear me talk about how much I love lists. They’re a way for me to wrangle the constant hum of thoughts rushing through my head — work tasks, meals I’d like to make, appointments I shouldn’t forget. If I can just formulate that maelstrom into an orderly list, I can put it aside for a moment, content that, even if I haven’t checked anything off, I’ve at least done something about it.

Routines give me much the same sense of satisfaction. The bulk of my day may be chaotic, stressful, and unpredictable, but if I can at least walk through the same steps every morning, I sometimes think, maybe that order and peace will positively shape the rest of the day.

All this to say: man, I love coffee. The ritual of making coffee is one of my favorite and most consistent habits. Come rain or shine, good day or bad, early morning or lazy one, you’ll find me in the kitchen most days, slowly pouring hot water out of a gooseneck kettle and watching the steam curl over the brew. Those few minutes every morning are the best — unhurried and peaceful (with the promise of fresh coffee at the end, no less).

When I moved across the country a little over a year ago, my housewarming gift to myself was a nice coffee-making set. I may not have any friends or family in this city, but I’ll be damned if I can’t at least drink good coffee, was the thought, I suppose. The Wirecutter is generally my go to source for all these kind of recommendations. For single serve pourover, I love the Kalita Wave. Nowadays, I’m most often making coffee for two, and so I’ll use my Chemex. Either way, this Bonavita Kettle> is the best kettle I’ve ever owned; it heats up quickly, and its gooseneck shape is perfect for making pourover coffee. I have this single-setting one, but I know people who love the advanced multi-setting one, especially if you’re into tea. In an almost surprisingly hipster move, I also subscribe to a Scandinavian coffee delivery service, Kaffebox, which I love. When I’m out of coffee from them, I’ll usually pick some up from my favorite local coffee shop.