A Table for Friends: The Art of Cooking for Two or Twenty

Product Information

I would love to make the semifreddos, of which there are a few, but I bought a fridge without a freezer lately... I need a separate mini-freezer just to be able to make this! Each section is divided into stars, sides and sweets. And, the cherry on the cake, there are menu ideas at the bottom of each recipe too! She’s a sweetheart, and so organised. Dishes I look forward to enjoying Coffee and mascarpone biscuit cake –there are many beautiful cakes in the book, but it is the texture of this that I dream of; and the coffee, because I can’t drink coffee normally. How to cook by timings – dishes thrown together at the last minute; dishes you can prepare up to six hours ahead / 12 hours ahead / the day before / days before Skye’s recipes fall into four chapters, Stars, Sides, Sweets and Extras, which allow you to intuitively plan a simple and impressive menu, and, because juggling oven space is one of the biggest challenges when cooking for a crowd, each chapter is ingeniously organised into Throw Together, On The Hob and In The Oven so your menu works best for your mood, your kitchen and your time.

It is impossible to grow up in Italy and not love food,” enthuses bestselling cookbook author Skye McAlpine. British born but Venice raised from the age of six to 18, McAlpine recalls a childhood of long, convivial lunches and dinners thanks to her very social parents, the late property developer (renowned for his transformation of Broome in the eighties), art collector and former Thatcher Conservative Party treasurer Lord Robert McAlpine (best known as Alistair), and former magazine contributing editor Romilly McAlpine. “It was never just the three of us,” their daughter says. “For lunch or dinner there would always be friends, or friends of friends, joining us. It became a way of building family and creating a sense of home.” Would suit someone who often hosts people and prefers no fuss cooking that still looks and tastes amazing. I’ve had it a week or so and I’ve so far made the honey and lavender panna cotta –sublime, very creamy with that perfect wobbly texture–, the ambrosial apricots with pistachios –zesty mouthfuls of joy–, and the lemon and samphire potatoes, which I served with hake –deliciously lemony and naughtily salty.You’ve not been able to host many parties of late and you’re dying to host some soon; I have what you need.

I don’t often trust myself to cook pasta for more than four people, because the timings are too delicate. As they say in Naples: ‘people wait for pasta, not the other way round.’ Overcooked pasta is a cook’s worst nightmare, while pasta eaten cold when it should be hot is not much better. But this recipe – like eating a bowl of sunshine – is so simple that even I can happily chat and bring it together at the same time. I prepare the sauce in advance and leave it covered on the hob, then, while the pasta is bubbling, slice the lemon, shuffle everyone to the table and assemble the dish once they are sitting down, so they eat it hot.

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Alongside these beautiful, deliciously do-able recipes comes Skye’s practical, fuss-free guidance for hosting a stress-free gathering, from what to cook in advance to how to lay the table beautifully, allowing you to step out of the kitchen and relax with your guests. For a super-easy roast why not try her Honey-roast poussins, Butter-&-sage roast pumpkin, Saffron fennel, A really good chicory salad with creamy mustard dressing and Winter fruit & mascarpone tart? Or for a wonderfully soothing pasta supper, Tagliatelle with gorgonzola, pear & walnut and Chocolate chestnut meringue cake is sure to be a crowd-pleaser. A Table for Friends has recipes for every occasion, from last-minute weeknight dinners to large celebratory gatherings. Skye’s recipes fall into four chapters, Stars, Sides, Sweets and Extras, which allow you to intuitively plan a simple and impressive menu, and, because juggling oven space is one of the biggest challenges when cooking for a crowd, each chapter is ingeniously organised into Throw Together, On The Hob and In The Oven so your menu works best for your mood, your kitchen and your time. Alongside these beautiful, deliciously do-able recipes comes Skye’s practical, fuss-free guidance for hosting a stress-free gathering, from what to cook in advance to how to lay the table beautifully, allowing you to step out of the kitchen and relax with your guests. The recipes themselves are charmingly simple; this is unpretentious food that affords the host more time with their guests. The recipes Combine the white chocolate, butter and sugar in a small saucepan and set over a low heat to melt. Stir regularly to stop the chocolate from catching and take the pan off the heat as soon as it is melted.

Brush the pastry edge with the egg, then line with baking parchment and baking beans. Blind-bake in the oven for 10 minutes, until dry to the touch and lightly golden at the edges. Take out of the oven and leave to cool for 10 minutes or so. Christmas cake with glacé fruits –I promise you you’ve never seen a more sumptuous British Christmas cake. It deserves a poem or a painting. On the face of it, 2020 would not seem a good year to bring out a cookbook called A Table For Friends: The Art of Cooking for Two or Twenty. And yet Skye McAlpine’s new book is so full of the comforts of cooking and eating and the life-enhancing joys thereof, it turns out to be the perfect read for now. Besides, the dinner party element is never dominating, and even recipes rather more geared to larger numbers can often and easily be pared down to suit smaller gatherings. I suppose her style could be called sumptuous simplicity: Rigatoni with Mascarpone & Pancetta; Buttery Carrots with Chestnut Honey; Creamy Baked Leeks with Mustard & Parmesan; Panzanella with Tuna & Anchovies; and Limoncello Semifreddo. Those recipes all call to me, but the one I particularly wanted to share with you here is the cosy yet elegant Tagliatelle Gratin.

Publishers Text

A Table for Friends has recipes for every occasion, from last-minute weeknight dinners to large celebratory gatherings. Skye's recipes fall into four chapters, Stars, Sides, Sweets and Extras, which allow you to intuitively plan a simple and impressive menu, and, because juggling oven space is one of the biggest challenges when cooking for a crowd, each chapter is ingeniously organised into Throw Together, On The Hob and In The Oven so your menu works best for your mood, your kitchen and your time. Alongside these beautiful, deliciously do-able recipes comes Skye's practical, fuss-free guidance for hosting a stress-free gathering, from what to cook in advance to how to lay the table beautifully, allowing you to step out of the kitchen and relax with your guests. It is the author’s and very Italian-looking and sophisticated, full of fresh veg and sumptuous fruit, flowers and crusty bread as decoration; like a classical painting. Think dainty mauves and pinks. Writing Ongoing Covid restrictions, reduced air and freight capacity, high volumes and winter weather conditions are all impacting transportation and local delivery across the globe.

Drawing on years of cooking for more people than it ever seemed possible to squeeze into her kitchen, Sunday Times columnist and cookery author Skye McAlpine shares the secrets to her stylish and relaxed way of hosting, setting you up for success whether you’re cooking for two or twenty.I love the incredible lunches or dinners Italians have, where there are small kids and all the nonni (grandparents), but they are always very relaxed and beautiful,” she says. McAlpine hopes A Table for Friends inspires people, even those not keen on being in the kitchen, “to want to cook for friends and the ones they love”.