How to cook up a sudden feast

Just when you were planning to eat a quiet dinner with your spouse and snuggle up with a book, close friends call to say they are dropping in. What do you do? Order food in or calmly rustle up a meal? Friday gleans the secrets of last-minute meals from hosts who are ever prepared...

It happens to most of us sometime or the other. You've decided on a soup and sandwich dinner, a bit of TV and an early tuck-in. But the best laid plans...

Your last-minute guests arrive and your finger is hitting the panic button hard. What can you rustle up that's not an affront to a palate? Is your larder a giveaway to your poor kitchen management skills?

If you are a troubleshooting homemaker, the above two questions simply don't concern you.

Beacause you are always prepared. Not in terms of pushing the numbers of your favourite home delivery restaurant (that's the easy route to shirking the challenge) but by turning the gas knob to high and filling the kitchen with aromas and bubbling liquids in pans, all in a matter of the time it takes for your guests to find their chairs and sit down.

The latter sounds terribly hard to master but it is not. Hundreds of homemakers have kitchens that are set up to instantly meet the hungry needs of unexpected guests.

The prerequisites are a smart pantry, a well-stocked freezer and a bit of forethought. There are a number of quick-fix recipes that may be resorted to in such situations.

A homemade meal is in a league of its own and is miles ahead of fast food or takeaway fare. Guests, even though uninvited, don't deserve fast food!

Friday visited some homes to get a preview of how people react in crunch situations. Do the best of cooks stand the test of time when faced with a real-life situation of creating culinary wonders with limited resources and more importantly, limited time?

Angela Giles
Homemaker; specialises in Spanish and Italian cuisine