I had lunch with Youngjoo. She is a friend of my younger sister and now teaches piano in college. She was delighted when I invited her to Hampton house on July 4th weekend one summer. She stayed overnight, and we watched the fireworks on the beach.
We finally went out for lunch when the pandemic was almost over. She had been asking to treat us to thank us for the weekend. She said that it was the best weekend she had in years. So, I asked her what I made for her that weekend.
“Oh, bibimbob with fresh sprouts from your garden,” she recalled. It sounds healthy and fancy, but it’s a fake bibimbob. Instead of namools that take time to prepare, I just throw in whatever I have in my refrigerator. In this case, they are baby arugula, baby watercress, and lettuce sprouts from the backyard raised bed. It’s closer to a grain salad (brown rice) than bibimbob, and it takes less than 5 minutes to put together. You just need to fry an egg on top of the brown rice and greens and mix it with spicy gochujang sauce and sesame oil. I also put the cute little yellow flowers of my arugula.
“Oh, you also sprinkled it with roasted seaweed powders, and it was delicious!” she added. “Oh, I made it extra special for you!” I responded. This “extra care” is the most important aspect of hosting. I make sure things are simple and stress-free, but that doesn’t mean I don’t put in extra care every time. I opt for one-pot dishes for their simplicity, but I serve them on fancy plates with real cloth napkins and a few fresh flowers on the table. We have an endless supply of fresh flowers when we host at the Hampton house, and I don’t use disposable plates and utensils unless there are more than 20 guests.
My niece Jiwon, who worked at Jean George restaurant in NY, once invited us to her home for a homemade meal. She made a personalized handwritten menu for the table. It was almost a given that everything would be delicious, but we were already impressed even before taking the first bite by the menu. We felt so special. That’s what I mean by “putting in extra care.” Impressing others is actually a lot simpler and easier than you imagine. It’s often through relatively small gestures. For instance, I sometimes hand out a small party bag of homemade jam along with leftover scones or sourdough bread when guests leave. It makes me happy to imagine my guests enjoying them while reminiscing about the good time we had together.
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