An Interview With the Authors of In The Small Kitchen

by The Hairpin

In 2008, Cara Eisenpress and Phoebe Lapine founded the blog Big Girls, Small Kitchen to help twentysomething cooks navigate their tiny (to normal-sized) kitchens. They now have a new book: In the Small Kitchen, which features tasty-looking recipes and strategies for entertaining. And so, because they want to sell it and our house is on fire, we asked them for tips on handling a few common kitchen situations.

If your house were on fire and you were about to go to… another house, where you were supposed to host a dinner party, what five things would you grab to take with you? OK that’s ridiculous, but basically what five things would you need to have at a dinner party?

So not ridiculous — our agent has been urging us to burn down our kitchens for the last two years!

You’d definitely need to take a little bit of cooking equipment. The best would be to take a LeCreuset enameled Dutch Oven, especially as LeCreuset is expensive, and you wouldn’t want that pot to go down with the ship. Best of all, you can serve your meal, whether it’s Panko-Crusted Spinach Dip to start or Late Summer Chicken Stew or Shrimp Risotto with Sweet Peas and Leeks as mains, out of it.

Make sure you grab your knife and a cutting board — that’s #2 and #3 — so that you can slice up the baguette you buy from the nearby, not-burnt-down bakery. The baguette will act both as an appetizer for your hungry guests and a side dish for any of the above one-pot meals. If you have plenty of bread, you’ll never worry about anyone going hungry at a dinner party.

Don’t worry about packing your wine stash; if you read our section called “Teaching the Tenets of BYOB,” you’ll know that if you play it right friends will supply you and your parties with booze. However, don’t forget #4: the corkscrew.

Last but not least, #5 (and #5a): Grab some ice cream and the full tin of cookies you just always keep around. Every good dinner hostess will serve at least a little something for dessert.

If a crazy person forced you to host a cocktail party for 20 people in two hours what would you serve your guests?

Crostini and more crostini. As above, we rely on baguettes to fill up the bellies of our friends. You can make virtually any spread, salad, pesto, or cheese into a crostini. You simply cut baguettes into thin slices, toast them quickly under the broiler, and spread your topping across the surface. In the book, we feature Sweet Pea, Eggplant Caponata, Spiced Corn, Roasted Butternut Squash, and Leek Confit as crostini toppings. On the blog, we’ve got even more, like Sweet-Sexy-Zesty Crostini and Mashed Avocado and Pink Radish Crostini. The idea is that the process of assembling all the crostini is the same, so it’s incredibly streamlined, but you still give the appearance of making a variety of dishes, thereby impressing all 20 of those people you’re being forced to serve.

Also, it’s never a bad idea to make a big bowl of guacamole and set it next to another big bowl of corn chips.

In a moment of late-night affection, you promised a new guy you’d make him dinner, forgetting you don’t usually make dinner at all. What now?

First, and this is kind of dorky, make sure you actually trust the guy you’ve invited over to your humble abode. Have you been on more than three dates with him? Does your roommate/friend know she should check in on you by phone, text, and intercom at 9 p.m. on the dot?

OK, now that safety is no longer an issue, you should make your date Beer Beef Stew. This stew, which is in the Dating section of our book, has led to many marriage proposals — albeit mainly fake ones. When the guy arrives at your apartment, he’ll smell the meaty, rich scent of the stew in your apartment and be won over instantly. And when he learns that beer is a central ingredient, he’ll probably never leave. Serve the stew with our Semi-Sweet Potato Mash, Garlic-Rosemary Mashed Potatoes, or good fresh gnocchi from an Italian specialty store.

What are some little things you can do while hosting a brunch at your house that’ll convince your friends house-brunch is better than restaurant-brunch? And that one of them should do it next week/time?

First off, you should make the Baked French Toast with Berry Compote from our book. [Ed. note — Always with the book, these guys!] And if you need to be extra convincing, substitute croissant halves for the brioche.

Next, ask half your friends to bring a bottle of cheap sparkling wine and half to bring orange juice. Each person will spend about $5 on drinks…and then come over and eat for free. And, if they’re particularly into boozy brunches, they’ll have the opportunity to get much drunker and say more inappropriate things at a louder volume than they would if you were out in public.

Third, send them home with any leftovers. When they go to eat a slice of your Zucchini Bread as an afternoon snack, they’ll remember how awesome brunch was, how generous you were to host it, and how they should be having everyone over this time next Sunday.

In the Small Kitchen is currently available on Amazon.