Table Talk

Table Talk


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Articles Tagged with entertaining
Julia's Seafood Gumbo

Julia's Seafood Gumbo

I've been making this gumbo ever since I was in college and found a similar version in a Junior League cookbook, the name of which now escapes me. When I lived in New York in the 1980s and '90s, I served it along with a bucket of Popeye's fried chicken to my Yankee friends, who found both things wildly exotic. The okra added in the beginning gives the soup body, while the okra at the end provides texture. The all-important addition of andouille lends a deep flavor to the broth. If you can't find andouille, Polish sausage will do.
Julia's Milk Punch

Julia's Milk Punch

I adore a properly made Bloody Mary and I would not turn down a refreshing screwdriver, but there is no better hangover cure on earth than a milk punch. Addictively tasty and immediately restorative, it is a staple in bars and restaurants that understand such things (Galatoire's offers up an especially good one, as does Commander's Palace), and de rigueur at daytime Mardi Gras gatherings.
The Crabmeat Caucus: A Brief History

The Crabmeat Caucus: A Brief History

I can see it even now, all these years (and, in those days, a good bit of Jack Daniel’s) distant: a seemingly bottomless silver bowl, sitting on Julia Reed’s dining table at the far end of her spectacular double-height-ceilinged apartment on East 78th Street in New York. Bill Clinton had just been re-elected; Osama bin Laden was a familiar name in only the most elite policy circles; there was no email, and to “cc” someone still meant trying to find a sticky piece of carbon paper.
Summer Squash Casserole

Summer Squash Casserole

My friend Nancy Peterkin’s squash casserole has made the rounds! Nancy, a justifiably renowned Houston hostess and a cook of uncommon talents, gave my mother the recipe years ago and since then, I’ve published it in the food column I used to write for the New York Times Magazine and two cookbooks, including Julia Reed’s South. I’ve also tinkered with it over the years and served it at more parties than I can count. The shindig I’m hosting this coming Labor Day Weekend is no exception.
Julia's Hostess Tips

Julia's Hostess Tips

I threw my first “grown-up” party when I was nine, for my father’s birthday. It featured surprise balls and Quiche Lorraine from Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Though my party throwing skills have evolved a bit since then, that basic formula—good fun and good food—remains the basis of any successful shindig, and I still love a surprise ball. Here’s the formula: Delicious food and a lot of it; more booze and wine than you think you need; good music (even if it’s just a playlist and a speaker); a great mix of people and a festive host or hostess.
Fourth of July Sangria

Fourth of July Sangria

Which means that this year I’ll kick off my Independence Day celebration with a pitcher or two of sangria.
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