ENTERTAINING CAN BE ANYTHING FROM A LOT OF FUN TO A BIT OF A NIGHTMARE. MANY FACTORS CAN PLAY THEIR PART IN THE SUCCESS OF YOUR EVENING, LIKE HOW WELL YOU KNOW THE PEOPLE, HOW MUCH ENERGY YOU HAVE AND, MOST IMPORTANTLY, WHETHER YOU’RE READY.

Being relaxed is the key to you, the cook, having a good time, which is all Paul and I really care about. The aim is to get you through the night having enjoyed yourself, with a reasonably easy life and ideally spending some quality time with your guests. If you can combine that with putting a feast on the table, whilst not blowing the budget, then we’re quids in.

Most people find having folks over a bit stressful and, depending who you have coming over, those stress levels can vary a bit. The solution sounds boring but in truth is what makes it fun: planning. Scrabbling costs time and money, so doing as much in advance as you can (a lot, if you plan) is a really wise down-payment on a fun night. Choosing dishes or recipes you actually have time to cook – preferably while enjoying the experience – is always a plus (and I’d recommend checking through any recipes at least the night before for that immortal first line: ‘Marinate/soak overnight …’).

Supposedly with the economic downturn we’re all eating in more, and having friends round for supper. Somehow in my mind this is different from the dinner parties my parents threw in the seventies: I’d come down in the morning to find a cigar stubbed out in the remains of a meringue – and sense I’d missed out on a lot of fun. Because fun is what it’s all about. Fun can come from the people (relaxed), the food (impressed yummy noises are a good sign) or just an overall up-for-a-good-night feeling (wine helps).

But what you choose to cook for your best friend as opposed to the boss covers a huge spectrum: my sister Floss (one of the only two people who are not scared of cooking for me, the other being our eldest sister Binky) once served us three courses of pies: a slice of a veggie pastry pie (bought), followed by fish pie, with good old lemon meringue to round off. Top night.

Lots of recipes in this book outside of this chapter would suit being made for company (including the whole of Paul’s Gastropubonomy), but sometimes the occasion calls for a little something extra. More than any other chapter in this book, there’s a really wide reach of recipes here to try and meet the range of occasions when you’re having people over.

And though they’re not the cheapest recipes in this book (compared to, say, the Something Out of Nothing chapter), they’re all good value for money and, most importantly, come with in-built ‘talking points’.