I think it takes a certain confidence not to serve a lot, to serve simply and even repetitively. If you know people like it, why not just make it? There’s no need to try something new.
Everyone knows someone like this — the woman who entertains effortlessly, never looks like she’s breaking a sweat, and is always serving the perfect thing for the perfect moment without an unattended detail.
This woman, of course, is also the queen of tablescapes. Not the kind with fancy flower runners, but in my mind’s eye I see her pulling together her style like this: she walks into her backyard with a phone wedged against her shoulder deep in a purposeful conversation, cuts flowers off a bush, and trims them to fit low vases that will run the length of her table. It almost looks like a perfectly casual afterthought.
At her meals, there’s never too much variety, but the components are thoughtful and spot on. I think it takes a certain confidence not to serve a lot, to serve simply and even repetitively. If you know people like it, why not just make it? There’s no need to try something new.
But it’s more than that. When you repeat foods that go over well, and that the people you’re cooking for clearly enjoy, that’s the making of a trademark dish. Eventually you won’t be able to go into Yom Tov without it, and maybe you’ve even become famous for it. And you’re just doing what you do best.
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