Adventures as a Bookalokal Host
For those who have read my blog, you know I am a huge fan of dinner parties. I love bringing people together at my dining room table. A year and a half ago, I met Evelyne White, a fellow American in Brussels who founded Bookalokal, Inc. Bookalokal matches “hosts” who sign up to prepare a dinner party for guests who are open to the supper club experience. She began in Brussels and it is quickly expanding to other cities in Europe and the US. When Evelyne suggested I become the first DC hostess, I was delighted with the idea. It is a great merger of two of my favorite things: entertaining and connecting people.
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| Hosting at Home |
I hosted my first Bookalokal dinner last week. The theme of the dinner was “Noche Latina” (Latin Night). The menu consisted of ceviche (a Peruvian dish) as a starter, followed by arroz con pollo (a Puerto Rican dish of saffron rice and chicken), and coconut flan. The meal was inspired by my Peruvian friend, Jimmy, who taught me how to make ceviche in Brussels. The meal was paired with South American wines from Argentina and Chile. What made the dinner truly interesting was the mix of people who signed up. Out of all of the guests, I only knew one, a Canadian colleague of mine, the rest I met for the first time. Hosting a house full of strangers can be a little intimidating at first, but after my awesome co-host, Carlis from SpicyCandyDC treated the guests with tinto de verano as an aperitif (a Spanish summer drink of red wine and lemonade) the ice was broken and conversations flowed at the table.
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| Assembling the Ceviche Plates |
One of the things I enjoy the most of entertaining is bringing people together. I loved having people at my table young and established, single and married, and from different countries and backgrounds. Over Argentinan Pinot Grigio, stories of travel, work, and food were shared. New friendships were made and by the time we were having our dessert and coquito (a Puerto Rican drink made of milk, coconut, and rum) numbers were being exchanged. What I value more about this experience is being able to share my love for food and hosting with new people. I am currently working on my upcoming dinner: Belgian Nostalgia, based on my favorite Belgian dishes from my years living in Brussels. I decided to share my coconut flan recipe on the bottom as I find it one of the best recipes to make for a dinner party (can be made the night before).
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| The Group at Dinner |
Coconut Flan Recipe
Caramelo:
1 Cup of Sugar
¾ Cup of Water
Flan:
1 Can of Evaporated Milk
1 Can of Condensed Milk
1 Can of Coconut Milk
6 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla
1 tsp ground cinnamon
Topping:
1 Cup Coconut Flakes
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
To make Caramelo (the caramel syrup on top): On a shallow pan mix water and sugar over medium high heat. Stir frequently until sugar dissolves and browns (be careful, it can get very hot). Cover the bottom of a large cake pan or ramekins (recipe fits 10) with a light layer of hot caramel.
While the caramel cooks, mix all of the flan ingredients in a blender. Fill pan or ramekins ¾ full. Place on pan or ramekins on a larger pan to create a “bano de Maria”. The easiest (and least dangerous way to do this) is to place the pan or ramekins inside the larger pan and place in the oven, then fill the larger pan with water until it covers ½ of the outside of the pan/ramekins. Cooking time is approximately 30 minutes or until fork comes clean. When done, remove and cool (can be made one day ahead).
Once ready to serve, toast the coconut flakes in a frying pan over medium heat until brown (around 5 minutes), stirring often. To assemble the flan, run a butter knife around the inside of the pan/ramekins and invert onto the serving plate. Ensure you hold on tight to the serving plate as the caramel will run a little.
Don’t be intimidated by the bano de Maria, this flan is my go to dessert when I don’t have the time to bake a cake and deal with frostings or decorations!
CONVERSATION