Pad Warmer

The Time is Moving day plus one; the place, your new digs, where the furniture hasn't even begun to scrape up acquaintances with the floors and walls; the people, a number of your easygoingest friends from your old fiefdom. You can be sure that when you phone your invitations, your invitees will get the impression--what with the nervewrenching ordeal of uprooting, transporting and replanting--that you're the captain of the Titanic asking them to join you on the bridge. And that's the secret of your party's success. The very fact that a (continued on page 182) Pad Warmer (continued from page 100) dinner party among rolled-up rugs and vacant bookshelves seems so wildly out of gear fosters a what-the-hell spirit that makes the big platter of browned Bratwurst, the foaming beer and the shrimp, apple and pistachio salad twice as tempting as they would be if offered in a well-ordered dining room with every bread-and-butter dish and every little saltcellar meticulously in place.

You can turn the great upheaval into an evening of relaxed fun simply by taking first things first. It's always a wise move to carry in your own car the contents of both your liquor cabinet and your wine racks, as well as barware, silverware and valuable glassware. China and kitchen equipment, from carving sets to Dutch ovens, will arrive with the total van load but will be easily found in identifiable crates or cartons.

Setting up the food and drink should be as effortless as possible, but don't pin all your hopes on too-easy options; they're sometimes deceptive. For instance, you may decide to turn your party into an indoor picnic by arranging for a local caterer to supply the goodies. If you intimately know the caterer's offerings, his punctuality, etc., well and good. But if you have to begin scouting the neighborhood for a new caterer, the time spent in preliminary visits, planning and phone calls may only lead to the conventional deli sandwiches on plastic platters, dull salads and last week's cheesecake.

However, there are some party dishes turned out in your own kitchen that at first may seem like extended culinary stints but which, in fact, are often free and easy. A boiled-beef platter, for example, is one of the most gemiitlich of all dishes for a pad-warming party. It takes three to four hours' cooking time. But the main job consists of nothing more onerous than lowering a piece of beef and vegetables into a pot of water. While the brisket is slowly getting tender, you can unpack several wardrobes or fill a wall with books. It's the kind of party dish accompanied with garnishes that you can expand or keep down, following your own epicurean whims. In France it's called bouilli; when a chicken is added to the beef, it's a pot-au-feu. Hollanders sometimes cook salt pork with the beef and call it hutspot. The German and Austrian versions, known as gedämpftes Rindfleisch, often come to the table looking like elaborately groomed productions, but almost all of the garnishes outside of a fresh horseradish sauce are tart salads--imports from Germany--that are available in this country in jars.

Many lightning-fast dishes are a matter of knowing where to shop. If you've access to a specialty cheese shop, it's a simple matter to assemble a tray of French cheeses such as cantal, brie, reblochon and roquefort, delectable with the predinner drinks or with the fruit bowl at the dinner's end, or both. A skewered antipasto would suggest a shop featuring Italian foods; it's a no-hassle appetizer made up in minutes by jabbing folded slices of Genoa salami, prosciutto, artichoke hearts and other delicacies on a wooden spear. For the best large veal Bratwurst, you would go to a German part of town or to a shop specializing in freshly made Wursts. The shrimp, apple and pistachio salad that follows is assembled from shrimps freshly boiled and shelled, available at any reputable seafood shop; cooked fresh crab lump or cooked fresh lobster from the same source could fill the salad bowl just as sumptuously and as easily.

A house is not a home unless it's toasted. To insist that the only way to warm a new pad is with iced French vintage champagne is a form of Bacchic racial snobbery now generally outmoded. Obviously, French champagne is in a different class from American sparkling Burgundy. But just as many a vin du pays is enjoyed not because it's less expensive than a prestigious chateau wine but because its easy drinkability fits in with modern informal living, so do the other bubblies, from German Sekt to sparkling rose, serve perfectly for any pad launching. Each sparkling wine within its own family is endowed with its own personality. Americans who taste one asti spumante and then generalize about all asti spumantes have much to learn about the liveliness, flavor and relative dryness of the charming bubblies from the Piedmont region of Italy. The uncontrolled tidal wave of bottled cold duck that has flooded the U. S. is a reminder that the original cold duck from Germany was a half-and-half mixture of iced sparkling white wine, iced still wine and orange peel; it's one of the most magnificent after-dinner drinks you can uncork; it can be mixed in a large pitcher or in the individual glass.

For men on the move, we offer the following explicit ways of saying welcome. Each recipe serves six.

[recipe_title]Skewered Antipasto[/recipe_title]

[recipe]3/4 lb. bel paese cheese in one chunk[/recipe]

[recipe]9-oz. jar tiny artichoke hearts in olive oil[/recipe]

[recipe]3 3/4-oz. jar marinated mushrooms in oil[/recipe]

[recipe]13-oz. jar Italian sweet red and yellow peppers in wine vinegar[/recipe]

[recipe]6 large red radishes (or more, if desired)[/recipe]

[recipe]1/2lb. thinly sliced Genoa salami[/recipe]

[recipe]1/2lb. thinly sliced prosciutto ham[/recipe]

With scissors, cut off sharp ends of 6 wooden skewers. Cut cheese into cubes about 3/4 in. thick. Drain artichoke hearts and mushrooms, reserving liquid. Cut peppers into 18 strips about 1/2 in. wide and 1 1/2 ins. long. The above will supply enough for 6 skewers, with leftovers. Portions may be enlarged with duplicate pieces, or additional skewers may be made up for second helpings. Fasten a radish at the end of each skewer. Allowing 3 pieces of pepper for each, fasten balance of ingredients alternately to skewer. Chill well. Brush each skewer with reserved oil just before serving.

[recipe_title]Bratwurst with White-Bean Salad[/recipe_title]

[recipe]2 to 2 1/2 lbs. large veal Bratwurst[/recipe]

[recipe]2 16-oz. cans small white beans (not baked beans)[/recipe]

[recipe]1/3 cup French dressing[/recipe]

[recipe]2 tablespoons wine vinegar[/recipe]

[recipe]2 3-oz. cans chopped mushrooms, drained[/recipe]

[recipe]2 tablespoons very finely minced shallots or scallions[/recipe]

[recipe]Salt, pepper[/recipe]

[recipe]Butter[/recipe]

[recipe]Salad oil[/recipe]

Drain beans; wash well to eliminate thick liquid and drain well. Place beans in mixing bowl. Add French dressing, vinegar, mushrooms and shallots; mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste. Let salad marinate in refrigerator at least 3 to 4 hours. Place Bratwurst in large pot with cold water; slowly bring to a boil. As soon as water boils, drain Bratwurst; wipe dry with paper toweling. Melt enough butter to cover large skillet. Add an equal quantity of oil. Sauté; Bratwurst until well browned. Serve hot with sharp mustard and cold bean salad.

[recipe_title]Boiled-Beef Platter (Bouilli)[/recipe_title]

[recipe]4 1bs. (first cut) fresh beef brisket or bottom round[/recipe]

[recipe]2 large onions, peeled[/recipe]

[recipe]2 leeks[/recipe]

[recipe]2 stalks celery[/recipe]

[recipe]8 sprigs parsley[/recipe]

[recipe]1 parsnip[/recipe]

[recipe]2 large fresh tomatoes, cut into quarters[/recipe]

[recipe]Salt[/recipe]

[recipe]1 medium-sized head cabbage[/recipe]

[recipe]6 large carrots, peeled[/recipe]

[recipe]6 medium-sized potatoes, peeled[/recipe]

Bring 3 quarts water to a boil in large pot. (A bouquet garni of a bay leaf, a few sprigs thyme and a few peppercorns is sometimes added to pot; beef purists prefer the bouillon without these grace notes.) Add beef, onions, leeks, celery, parsley, parsnip, tomatoes and 2 teaspoons salt. Bring to a second boil; skim; reduce flame and let barely simmer 3 1/2 to 4 hours. Cut cabbage into 6 wedage, leaving each wedge attached to core. About half an hour before cooking of beef is completed, add cabbage, carrots and potatoes and simmer until tender. Remove and set aside beef, cabbage, carrots and potatoes. Strain broth and serve as first course, if desired. Or cool bouillon and serve on the rocks with vodka as bull shots. Carve meat against grain with very sharp knife. Arrange cabbage in center of platter. Place beef with slices overlapping on cabbage. Garnish with carrots and potatoes. Pour a small amount of hot broth onto beef just before serving. Serve with cold prepared horseradish or hot horseradish sauce (below), small sour pickles, sharp mustard and coarse-salt.

[recipe_title]Horseradish Sauce[/recipe_title]

[recipe]1 cup beef bouillon[/recipe]

[recipe]1/2 cup light cream[/recipe]

[recipe]1/4 cup fresh white bread crumbs[/recipe]

[recipe]2 tablespoons butter[/recipe]

[recipe]2 tablespoons prepared horseradish, drained[/recipe]

[recipe]Salt, pepper[/recipe]

In saucepan, combine bouillon, cream, bread crumbs, butter and horseradish. Bring to a boil; simmer 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Boiled Beef, Viennese Style: Prepare beef as above. At the table, pass hot horseradish sauce and a compartmented tray of assorted relishes on the sweet-tart side. These are available in jars and should be chilled before emptying onto tray. They include sour pickles and small white onions in the same jar, Senfgurken, pickled beets, celery salad, pickled squash, pickled vegetable salad and pickled red cabbage, which may be served hot or cold. If served hot, allow 2 jars for 6 people and omit cabbage in recipe above.

Pot-au-feu: Add a 4-lb. fowl to pot after beef has simmered 1 hour. Serves 8-10. If a 3-lb. spring chicken is used, place in pot after beef has simmered 2 hours.

[recipe_title]Shrimp, Apple and Pistachio Salad[/recipe_title]

[recipe]2lbs. (cooked weight) shrimps, boiled and shelled[/recipe]

[recipe]4 large Delicious apples, peeled and cored[/recipe]

[recipe]2 cups celery, 1/2-in. dice[/recipe]

[recipe]1 1/4cups mayonnaise[/recipe]

[recipe]1 tablespoon very finely minced chives[/recipe]

[recipe]2 tablespoons lemon juice[/recipe]

[recipe]2 teaspoons sugar[/recipe]

[recipe]4-ozs. shelled salted pistachios[/recipe]

[recipe]Salt, pepper[/recipe]

[recipe]Boston lettuce[/recipe]

Cut apples into 1/2-in. dice. In large bowl, combine shrimps, apples, celery, mayonnaise, chives, lemon juice, sugar and half the pistachios. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add more mayonnaise if desired. Chill several hours. Line serving platter with lettuce leaves. Place salad on top and sprinkle with balance of pistachios. Salad may be further garnished with wedges of hard-boiled egg and tomato, if desired.

For unveiling your pad at a late-night supper, try these light fundue sandwiches along with a bubbly or beer.

[recipe_title]Grilled Fondue Sandwiches With Ham[/recipe_title]

[recipe]6 eggs[/recipe]

[recipe]1/2 lb. Shredded gruyère cheese[/recipe]

[recipe]Softened butter[/recipe]

[recipe]Salt, pepper[/recipe]

[recipe]6 large slices boiled imported ham[/recipe]

[recipe]12 slices large white sandwich bread[/recipe]

Beat eggs well in top part of double boiler. Add cheese and 1/3 cup softened butter. Place over bottom section of double boiler with simmering water and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture becomes thick and resembles soft scrambled eggs. Add salt and pepper to taste. Chill slightly. If butter separates from cheese mixture, stir to blend ingredients. Sauté ham slices in butter until lightly browned. Spread cheese mixture on 6 slices of bread. Fold or cut ham slices and place on cheese. Top with remaining slices of bread. Cover or wrap with wax paper and chill in refrigerator until serving time. Spread top slice of bread with softened butter. Place sandwiches buttered side down on preheated skillet or griddle. When bottom is brown, spread top with butter, turn and sauté until brown. Cut sandwiches diagonally before serving.

It's your move.