I had to cook meals that were special and put flowers on the table. I started to make a list of dishes that would be a treat but that didn’t require too much work. A bit of luxury – scallops, steak, wild mushrooms – was in order. A bowl of pasta, unless it was unusual (linguine with prawns, hot ’nduja and cooling chunks of ricotta, for example), wouldn’t cut the mustard.
Before you tell me I clearly don’t have good enough friends, it isn’t just about the friend, it’s about what’s good for me as well. Cooking dishes that aren’t run of the mill makes your home buzz. With scallops sitting on the counter by the cooker and the smell of the sea filling your kitchen, you aren’t just at home, you could be on holiday.
You have to decide, depending on who is coming, whether to make a dish that requires last-minute cooking or low and slow. Beef cheeks braised in sherry can be cooked several days ahead and will taste better for a rest in the fridge, especially if you scatter on a final shower of flavour (grated orange zest, parsley, chopped walnuts).