Hello! I’m a friend of Jen’s, my name is Joan.

To give a brief explanation; I’m half-English and half-American. One thing I grew up with in the UK – and enjoy doing now, as an adult living in Washington D.C. – is throwing a casual dinner party. It has all the makings of a perfect night! Friends, food you know you’ll like, drinks, good music, no line for a bathroom of questionable patronage, no awkward moment when the bill comes at the restaurant or bar, etc.

Please note; we Brits would have more ‘backyard barbecues’ but I’m guessing you’ve heard about our weather…

There are no hard and fast rules to having a ‘successful’ dinner party but what I’ve learned over the years is this: Be comfortably classy. Make foods you know how to make. Know who is allergic to fish, if someone’s new boyfriend is a vegetarian. Have a tidy up, clean and then set aside the dinner plates/cutlery/wine glasses/water glasses before you cook anything. Make a bit too much. Offer to make coffee to go with dessert. It’s good to have a nice bottle of scotch or bourbon on hand as a way to wind down the evening. Invite as many people as your dinner table can hold, but no more. The idea is that everyone can sit, chat, eat, drink and relax – including YOU.

I always say that everyone should bring wine and I’ll handle the food. If someone wants to bring dessert – let them. Focus on a lovely appetiser or two, and the main course.

This past weekend, I invited a fun group of work friends over. I made enough for eight people, even though I had six people coming for dinner that night. I just can’t handle the idea of anyone leaving hungry! This is what I served/made:

*Out on the table as people arrived: wine glasses, a chilled Chardonnay, an open Pinot Noir, organic tortilla chips, salsa from Costco. Yes, Costco. Homemade salsa is very good and easy to make, but I prefer to make it a day ahead so it can sit overnight and soak up all the flavor…and, well, sometimes life gets in the way, right?! Costco to the rescue!

*Starter: Tri-color pepper salad with mozzarella and basil. To make this, take nine bell peppers (three red, three yellow, three orange) and cut them up into slices. You can use anything but green peppers. Not too thin, about eight pieces per pepper. Get rid of all the seeds and the core/stem. Throw the peppers and a healthy splash of olive oil into a frying pan, over a medium-high heat. Turn them quite often, bearing in mind you want them to char and get a ‘roasted’ flavor. I actually used two frying pans, as you don’t want them piled on top of each other. Cooking time is about 15 to 20 mins. When they’re done, drain the oil and keep it to one side in a bowl, move the peppers to the bowl you’re going to serve the salad in. You’ll need a cup of fresh basil leaves – can do a bit more or a bit less, up to you. Just buy the fresh packets of basil from the produce section, two is usually enough, tear the leaves off and throw away the stem . You’ll also need and cup and a half of fresh mozzarella, cut into bite-sized pieces. Allow the peppers to have cooled for 20/30 mins, then add the basil leaves, the cut-up cheese, the olive oil you set aside, three to four tablespoons of balsamic vinegar – add some freshly ground black pepper and a pinch of sea salt – mix it all together, then serve. Oh, if you prefer, you can substitute feta for the mozzarella.

Now, I have to be honest – I live in an apartment so cooking for eight people means using all available kitchen space:

*Main course: Roast pork loin with apples and onions, roast portobello mushrooms and asparagus, mashed sweet potatoes.

Step one: Prep all the food. Peel and chop into 1 inch chunks six sweet potatoes, put them into a big pot and fill with cold water – set aside. Wipe off eight whole portobello mushrooms, removing the dirt with a damp paper towel – set aside. Chop three red apples and two red onions into chunks, get a BIG roasting pan and cover the bottom with olive oil, then add the apples and onions and give them an olive oil splash too. Add two 2.5 lb boneless pork loins, in that same pan, separated and surrounded by the onions and apples. Take one pound of fresh asparagus stalks, give them a quick rinse in a colander, set aside on paper towels.

Step two: Turn the oven on, 400 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s ok that the pork sits out while the oven heats, you want it room temperature. Take garlic puree and a bit of olive oil and coat the pork loins with it, set them in the pan with the fatty side facing UPWARDS. Add some freshly ground black pepper and a light dusting of ground cayenne pepper. When the oven has heated up, put the pan with the pork and apples and onions on the middle rack. Set the timer for 30 mins.

Step three: Get a roasting pan or dish big enough to fit all the mushrooms in, cap side down. Spray the bottom so they don’t stick once you’ve checked they fit, then put the mushrooms in. Take another cookie sheet or roasting pan, spray the bottom of that, spread the asparagus out on/in that – a bit of crowding is ok. Then, set both of these things to the side and put the pot with sweet potatoes on the stove on a medium-high heat. Once the pot boils, turn them down to a medium heat.

Step four: Drink a glass of wine – if you want.

Step five: Take a stick of butter, the juice from one big lemon (or two small ones) two table spoons of fresh thyme leaves – put it all in a saucepan on a medium heat. Once it’s all melted together nicely, stirring it often, turn the heat off.

Step six: Once the pork has been in for thirty minutes, give the apples and onions a flip and stir – you don’t want them to stick. Add a splash over them (but NOT the pork loins) of apple cider vinegar and red wine, about a half a cup total, if you want.  Put the butter/thyme/lemon mixture in the mushroom caps – distribute equally, but it’s not a perfect science. Add a nice sprinkle of olive oil to the asparagus and plenty of freshly ground pepper and either a pinch of sea salt or a splash of lemon juice. Put both pans in the oven on the lower shelf. It should all fit – and now you have everything in there except the sweet potatoes. Set the timer for 20 mins.

Step seven: Once the sweet potatoes chunks are nice and soft, drain them and put them back in the pot they were cooked in. Add two table spoons of brown sugar and half a stick of butter quickly, so the heat does the work for you. Mash and stir it all together; it’s not supposed to be super smooth like normal white mashed potatoes. Put it in a ceramic dish that can go in the oven, sprinkle with freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Step eight: When the timer goes, put out the asparagus and the mushrooms and set them to the side. Check the meat – is it lovely and pink at it’s thickest part if you cut into it? Should be! Let it sit for five minutes out of the oven. If you’re worried it’s still too raw, scoop out the apples and onions and put them on a good sized serving plate, then pop the pork by itself back in for five minutes, and after that, let it sit out of the oven for five minutes. Once you’ve pulled the vegetables out, put the mashed sweet potatoes dish IN the oven so the parmesan melts a bit.

Step nine: Serve! Cut the pork as thin or as thick as you like and put it on the serving plate/platter with the apples and onions, covering it all with any juice left over from the roasting pan. Put the asparagus and mushrooms on a plate, together if you want; take the sweet potatoes out of the oven. Put all of the food on the dinner table with serving spoons and forks, and let people help themselves. Make sure you have salt, pepper and a nice French or grain mustard on the table as well.

Step ten: Eat, drink and be merry!

P.S. One of my friends brought to-die-for cake bites from Dean and DeLuca, so no dessert recipe to share this time around. Although, I’m pretty sure Jen has you all covered as far as good recipes on that front!