Please serve me something innovative like Thomas Keller's coffee and donuts. Because the moment I first stepped into French Laundry, I wept. And know that I am happy as a clam to pull a bubbling, cheese coated Pyrex pan from the oven - especially if it is heavy with comfortable homemade mac and cheese like my mom made and partner surprises me with now. What right-minded group of folks wouldn't consider a dish like that served with charred hot mitts charming and welcoming?
But the best part of a dinner party is that anything can happen with the food. Experimentation with a new recipe or even a pantry substitute for a missing item, can lead to something unexpectedly delicious and special. Standards like roasted chicken and pinot noir have the power to illicit talks of travel and countryside and maybe even force guests to slow down a bit. Yet disaster can - and does - strike. We have all done it: the undercooked roasted chicken, the new recipe that didn't come together (or substitute that didn't work), the tamales that didn't steam properly, the tough beef in the stroganoff, the guests polite comments ("Please pass more wine").
It is a risk, but also part of the thrill.
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