D Magazine

Three Perfect Poolside Parties:
A Twilight Dinner
by Catherine Newton, D Magazine, May, 1996

WENDY KRISPIN, WHOSE EPONYMOUS CATERING company has been pleasing Dallas palates for five years, knew exactly what we wanted when we asked her to design an elegant but essential kind of party - a simple get-together for four to eight friends. "The kind of party where you walk in and take off your shoes," she sighed. Wendy's known for her perfectionist attention to details at parties she's catering, but at home she always opts for a more easygoing attitude. Her ode to spring features fresh, clean-lined decorations and an easy menu that plays with tastes and textures.

Serve buffet style for simplicity's sake. The table setting begins with a crisp white cotton tablecloth and white cotton napkins, tied with strands of raffia and springs of rosemary. Keep it simple - stack large white buffet plates next to flat-bottomed, clear-glass tumblers that are perfect for both wine and water. Decorate with spring flowers in wreaths or garlands, or compose a runner of eucalyptus, artichokes, rosemary, and limes, with touches of white spring tulips. To present your food, try large wooden or pewter platters with clean lines.

To keep your stress level low, Wendy suggests using as many store-bought and prepackaged ingredients as possible, She begins her menu with a wide range of hors d'oeuvres, passed casually and often, providing a comforting, cosseting counterpoint to the evening's other enjoyment - conversation.

Choose simple recipes that can be made the day before the party and kept warm in the oven. White bean hummus and Brie quesadillas are two of Wendy's favorites, but even easier, she also suggests fried spring rolls from Mai's on Bryan Street ("These are really great to serve while you're getting the buffet ready," she notes. "Don't forget to get their special sauce, too.") Rosemary sprigs from a spring herb garden season a salt- and sugar-cured boneless leg of lamb. Add an assortment of sliced breads from the Empire Baking Company, an argula salad - Wendy likes hers with fresh figs and prosciutto with a honey-lavendar vinaigrette and a crock of Dallas Mozzarella Company goat cheese placed to the side - and sugar snap peas and seared red peppers to complete the buffet. For dessert, serve apple cobbler with ginger ice cream and mugs of decaf.