Welcome. Dear guests?

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

How nice it is to wait for the doorbell to ring. Just about, any minute they will appear. Smiling, smart, with a bouquet of flowers. Take turns loudly wet your cheeks. They say cute traditional nonsense, something like: "How are you doing ??? How long have I been with you? Oh, are you still the same? What dress do you have? And where to wash your hands ???" Moreover, they all chat at once. Not caring at all if you hear them. Kind, lovely, cute, not drunk yet?

Why, in fact, do people go to visit each other? Make some noise, overeat, get drunk, forgetting completely about extra calories and oath promises: not a drop more in your mouth … And that's it? It’s kind of a weird thing to do - eating a lot of food together. Is not it? There is something primal about this. Invite all relatives after a successful hunt to your cave for a roast of mammoth. Let the weak and the unlucky survive in this way?

It is a pity, of course, when going to visit or receiving them turns into only a tedious and troublesome task to satisfy the gastrointestinal needs. Although for some poor relative this is a real holiday. One of my Korean friends with great pleasure regularly went to visit all of her numerous relatives just to eat to the full. She really loved the national cuisine performed by grandmothers and aunts. After all, she could not afford a Korean restaurant, and she herself did not know how to cook so masterly.

In my opinion, no other way of human communication is replete with such an enormous number of invented conventions as receiving guests. Let's start with an invitation. How to invite: by phone, in person, send a postcard? And what kind of postcard, with a vignette, an embossed rose or a gold border? Then what napkins to choose: also with a border, with roses or striped, or maybe in a circle, to match the wallpaper of the room, or even contrasting ones? Offer guests slippers or is it better to remove carpets and rugs? If the tablecloth is pink, then the ice cream is pink. And the guest name labels on every cutlery? Is it better to decorate in Japanese or peasant style? Is serving a Chinese diploma?

Much depends on who is sitting at the table. Uncle Vasya, an old Cossack, or Eduard Vladlenovich, an experienced diplomat. Dasha is a student with her reckless friends and admirers or a cheerful Hare Krishna Petya. For Uncle Vasya, the main thing is that the glass contains more liquid. But with Eduard Vladlenovich it is worse. Give him gold rims and napkins folded in a special way, on which reindeer are embroidered, because E. V. is drinking. only Finnish vodka. And Hare Krishnaite Petit is allergic, so he eats only boiled rice and black bread, sipping everything with kefir. But Dasha's friends love fried sausage and jacket potatoes. They don't need napkins at all. All you need is a knife and sausage on a wooden plank: they will cut it themselves, eat it themselves, you won't have time to look back. But kind Liza, a music teacher, cannot stand the non-melodic sounds made by Dasha's company and sausages. She needs three days marinated chicken rolls with nuts and a salad with lettuce. And also together with E. V. they often shock the audience with their skill with a knife and a fork at the same time, and never drink champagne from a glass intended for white wine. Lisa is the same critic, polite and merciless, who will definitely pick up on goodbye. Everything, they say, was wonderful, but the wings were burnt?

However, I want, I really want to be on top. So that everything is like in the best houses? And the ringing of crystal, and the tablecloth hard from starch, and clever conversation at the table, and a gentle soufflé, and Lisa's little improvisation on the piano, and a sparkling anecdote from Dasha and Co, and Petya's sad smile, and the friendly whinnying of Uncle Vasya, and a contented shake of his head a la E. V. They are so different, but they are my friends and relatives. And I want to make them happy.

Therefore, I first wash everything, clean, scrub for several days. So that Dasha's friends have nowhere to spit. And nostalgia for a home sedentary existence swept over their wandering souls and responded with a quiet smile in their eyes. A house shining with cleanliness, what could be better for guests?

Then I think over the menu and cultural program. Oh, the menu is a real art. How to please everyone and everyone at the same time? Moreover, so that the guests were able not only to mumble unintelligibly over the plates, but also to communicate nicely. After all, it is for this that they gather around me. Down with everything greasy and indigestible. And no experiments that can fail. Better are old, grandmother's proven recipes, branded family dishes like apple pie. We make a special composition of the dishes. It should sound like a wonderful set: two light salads to choose from, say, cauliflower, spring, Chinese, for an appetizer, boiled Portuguese eggs with tomatoes and anchovies (as a last resort, you can just sprat). Hot is, of course, the favorite. If even a simple potato roast turns out to be unusually tasty, then you should not be ashamed of such prose.

In general, it's great if you bake a rabbit in the oven or stuff a chicken. According to the season, you can take advantage of the gifts of nature: traditional cabbage rolls, stuffed peppers … And for dessert you can combine caramelized cream and cake with raspberries or apricots. Or even candied rose flowers. Not cream, real. Well, if not such a solemn gathering, then it is quite possible to get by with homemade jam of different varieties, lemon nut cookies, vanilla pretzels or three-layer cakes. Everything is exclusively homemade. The main thing is not to force guests to overeat. And for poor Petit, I will specially buy low-allergenic buckwheat porridge in the store and serve it with special chic on the most beautiful plate. He will not refuse buns with bran, too.

Before the very arrival of the guests, I will lift the lid of the piano and uncover the guitar. I will insert candles prepared in advance into candlesticks. We will sing quietly, fulfilling Uncle Vasya's wish, "Through the valleys and over the hills." And at the same time, candles will mysteriously wink on the piano. Romance!

Somewhere near Lisa's traditional guest spot, I'll adapt a few new fashion magazines. She is an expert on fashion trends. I discovered this talent in her quite recently. It turns out she collects magazines. Does Lisa have numbers from the end of the nineteenth century? She is such an interesting storyteller that even Uncle Vasya will be amazed.

Now you need to think about making sure everything is on time and beautiful. Cake cakes, cookies and marinade can be prepared the night before. We also prepare all the beauties in advance: napkins, funny predictions of fate, notes that the guest will find under his plate, bunches of dried flowers for serving, think over the serving itself and various little things.

And, of course, you should think carefully about yourself. It often happens that women take care of all the guests with great love, but forget about themselves. Therefore, when you casually look in the mirror half an hour before the arrival of the guests, you can see in it a haggard, tired face. And if you look tired, no makeup will help. The best beautician is relaxation and good sleep. There is no need to turn the preparation for receiving guests into a long-distance race. Get ready for the holiday in advance so that you have the opportunity to have a good night's sleep before the long-awaited day. Visit the beauty salon a couple of days before the celebration. Take care of your hair and manicure the day before.

On the last day, you can make a refreshing face mask and apply a fresh coat of nail polish on top of yesterday's manicure.

As for the outfit, there is no need to be wise. Better to give up frills. Let there be something democratic, not holding down movements and not scary for stains. After all, you still have to mess around in the kitchen! And you can always look elegant. Perfectly fun multicolored silk dress, light and cute. Not quite casual, but not overtly solemn either.

Almost everything is ready. There are only a few final touches left. Which ones - each hostess will come up with herself. It can be fragrant light bulbs in a chandelier. Soak a swab with your favorite perfume and wipe down the light bulbs. When you turn on the light, a light, pleasant aroma will spread throughout the room. Unless, of course, your guests are allergic!

You can also pin the heads of fresh flowers to the tablecloth instead of the traditional bouquet in a vase. This also does not apply to allergy sufferers. Choose those flowers that can last a long time without water.

Finally, serve the flaming drink to the guests. Each glass, with any drink, can be covered with a cookie, on which you can put a little dry alcohol and set it on fire. And for effect, turn off the lights and bring a tray of burning drink into the living room. True, you have to sacrifice cookies.

And remember: you should never be upset about, in your own opinion, imperfect reception. In fact, the evening will definitely be extraordinary and will be remembered for a long time. Even meticulous and pedantic Lisa. Be sure that she will forget about the burnt wings in an hour. But how she sang in two voices with Uncle Vasya "Unharness, lads, horses", she will remember for the rest of her life!