Comfortable Entertaining
Comfortable Entertaining
by Nathalie Dupree
“If you’ve watched my television show, you know that perfect is not my thing!” says Nathalie Dupree, and in Comfortable Entertaining she has written the book that gives us permission — at long last– to entertain in a less than perfect world.
A much-loved cookbook and television personality, Nathalie Dupree has thrown parties on rooftops and in tiny apartments from San Francisco to Rome to Social Circle, Georgia. 
She has entertained as a young professional on a tight budget, a television personality, and cooking teacher; planned galas for hundreds and put on last-minute get-togethers. Her award-winning cookbooks have sold more than half a million copies, but Comfortable Entertaining is the book that shows us how to do what Nathalie does best — create spontaneous hospitality and great food.
This full-range cookbook features more than 250 life-is-not-perfect recipes, from the holiday classics to an eye-popping formal dinner for eight: from soup parties and brunches to fork meals and salad lunches. Nathalie reminds us of correct napkin and tablecloth procedures and explains how to seat feuding guests and what to do when dinner burns minutes before the guest arrive.
This morning I saw Carolina Gold harvested, the dew still on the ground. Some people want gold metal, I wanted to see the Gold of novels and books, the heart of the culture of the state of South Carolina for centuries. One look at the field of rice makes clear the reason for the name,Carolina Gold. The most coveted and sought after rice of those centuries is golden, riding on a sea of tall green stalks. The rice’s gold signifies it is the right time to start to dry the rice. The stalks are removed with a hook (a scythe) leaving a foot or so of stubble that will be turned back into the ground later. The sheaths of rice are then spread on top of the stubble to dry before being collected. At one time it would have been harvested starting at four in the morning, to beat the heat of the day, after a cold breakfast. 
August was the usual time in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, according to the meticulous records the planters kept – detailing dialing weather and rainfall, among other things. Thomas Jefferson loved this rice, his favorite among 98 varieties he collected. (Stories abound about people coming up to him and slipping rice into his pockets. Finally the planters had to tell him to stop sending new varieties – they liked what they had.) The fields have been flooded with fresh water and drained three times. Now it is up to the sun. At Middleton, historically dressed workers scythe the tall grasses that were formerly worked by slaves. 
Charleston, once the richest city in America, had a population that was more slaves than whites. When South Carolina was at its richest, the rice most plentiful, the economy collapsed with the aftermath of the civil war. Makes me think about the adage about riding high before a fall. Feels similar to the economy’s collapse last year.