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

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Would suit someone who often hosts people and prefers no fuss cooking that still looks and tastes amazing.

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. McAlpine’s father favoured “relaxed but over-the-top tables, where he’d lay bowls of cherries, big bunches of herbs or pots from the garden as decoration”, she recalls of the days of living in both Hampshire and then Venice, before her parents divorced in 2001. Much like Lord McAlpine, she doesn’t think twice about filling the table with overflowing bowls of fruit, abundant bunches of flowers, candelabra, vintage china and antique glasses. Her recent collection with the global lifestyle brand Anthropologie reflects this mismatched style, with bowls, plates and cake stands softly splattered in the style of Pugliese ceramics, and long oval platters, jugs and mugs illustrated with delicate jasmine, lilac and forget-me-nots. “If you have the right dishes, all you need are some ripe tomatoes and a creamy burrata, or lentils dressed with olive oil and herbs, and within five minutes you have lunch – but it looks inviting too,” she says. It’s a winner – a book I’ll turn to again and again, especially when friends come over’– Delicious magazine 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.As WISH wanders with McAlpine on a hot July day around the shady cobbled streets of Venice, the author is heading early to the canal-side fruit, vegetable and fish market in Rialto. “Food is such a source of joy in Italy, where everyone talks about what’s coming into season, what they had for lunch, what they’re cooking for dinner. It creates such a wonderful quality of life,” she muses as she shops for fresh peaches, which she will later poach in Amaretto, and pretty, sunshine-yellow zucchini flowers for dressing the top of a deceptively simple taleggio puff pastry galette. 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. 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. 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. You’ve not been able to host many parties of late and you’re dying to host some soon; I have what you need.

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.” 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. Setting the table and serving plates –the sections you’re dying to read if you’re anything like me. Publishers Text 'This is a beautiful cookbook, full of joyous, life-enriching recipes. I love it.' Nigel SlaterIn a small bowl, lightly beat the eggs with a fork. Add the eggs to the melted chocolate and stir vigorously until well combined. Now add the flour to the chocolate and stir vigorously until you have a smooth, chocolatey cream. 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 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”. This travels most easily on the tray it was baked on, just covered with reusable food wrap. It keeps for up to two days in the fridge, just warm gently in the oven to serve.

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 Set out in four chapters – stars, sides, sweets and extras (McAlpine “doesn’t do starters”) – the recipes are bookended by guides to cooking by number of guests (highlighting dishes to make at the last minute for small parties, and those to prepare in advance for large gatherings) and by timings (make-ahead menus and tips for how to store them).

The recipes themselves are charmingly simple; this is unpretentious food that affords the host more time with their guests. The recipes 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. Tidying and washing up – well, if you bought this book, chances are you don’t employ someone to do the job, so it comes in handy. 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!