The art of dining well, everyday
Don't save your best tabletop pieces for company
Use you best china and accessories and enjoy them on a dialy basis.
 For everyday casual dining, dress up your table. Choose attractive placemats and change them with the season. Set the table - even when you're eating alone - with lovely china, interesting glassware or crystal, and keep no-iron, brightly-coloured napkins on hand. You might keep a bowl of fresh fruit on the table to encourage healthy snacking between meals (and it looks so appealing).
If it's dinner for wo, set the stage for romance. A pillar candle will shed a flattering light. A pot of flowers in the centre of the table is a nice touch. And don't forget the stemmed glasses to share your favourite wine.
Everyday eating at home should be an event that sets up anticipation for every meal.
|
 |
Choose the right coffee
The best coffee is arabica. When you buy canned or packaged pre-ground coffee, you often get a mix of robusta and arabica. They are two different species of coffee and they produce totally different flavours.
Arabicas range from sweet-soft to sharp-tangy. Their unroasted smell is often likened to blueberries. Their roasted smell has fruity notes and sugary tones.
Robusta beans have twice the caffeine of arabica, but much less flavour. Most robusta coffee is of a lower grade and inferior to arabica, but there is a premium crop of robusta beans that is, in its category, the top of the line. This premium robusta is used in specialty espresso blends and is never found in canned coffee. |
Store your coffee tightly
If you grind your own coffee beans, store the
beans in a glass, air-tight container, because
air and moisture are coffee’s enemies. Glass is
ideal because it doesn’t retain the odours of the
beans or the oils, but don’t expose your glass
jar to light.
Preparing a great cup of coffee sounds like a
lot of work, but coffee lovers take their beverage
seriously (and they love to have the reputation
of serving great coffee). |
Coffee quality
Every meal deserves a good cup of coffee. A really great
cup of coffee depends on five things:
• Time since the beans were ground.
• Time since the beans were roasted.
• Cleanliness of the coffee maker.
• Quality of the beans.
• Quality of the water. |
