Social networking: saying it with food

Greek salad on lettuce
Sunshine entrées

One of the reasons for this blog has been to increase awareness that our personal health and general wellness is linked to our circles of friends and how being sociable enables our this wellbeing and gives us reassurance during our daily lives.  We need friends to reassure us, especially if we are away from family, and indeed, if we don't have family to hand at all.

We rely on our friends for support, sometimes for affection or consolation, advice and at times, simply to hold our hand.

We are all driven to be sociable, even if its just going to a café to be around others after working alone or as a prelude to the mayhem that may be our careers.  As we have different layers when it comes to being this way, along with this some of us have different friends, or groups of friends, for different purposes.  Perhaps the friendships have different origins.  Some may have been met at at school or college, some at our place of work or at the gym or perhaps it was someone we kept seeing at that coffee shop and fell into a conversation.  We can all meet people in very different circumstances across the breadth of our lives.

However, there comes a time when we want to bring those different people together.  I think our greatest fear, perhaps the wrong word, perhaps our greatest concern, is how they will interact with another and how the dynamics of such a meeting will pan out.   Most of the time this concern is an illusion, a self made fear because quite early on we realise that the commonality between all of our friends are ourselves.  If they like us, then there is a very good chance that in the right setting, they will also get along.

That's where, you guessed it, food comes in.  It's a great soothsayer and discussion maker and, quite frankly, a lot of fun once you really get down to it. But depending upon what stage you are in your life, this very obvious statement, isn't necessarily so obvious.

I am sure that initial meetings, chats over coffee, over a glass of wine, will precede the dinner party stage but there is another level which most people think too complicated or too stressful that comfortably lies in between. 

Inviting people over for drinks, a snack or some light entrées, is a great idea and whether you're a busy professional, of any level, you need to make time for your friends, even though there may not be enough days in the week to see them all separately.  So inviting a group of friends is an obvious solution.

Small nibbles need not be time consuming and a few bottles of wine to help the conversation flow can be a straightforward start.  And, if you plan it right, and perhaps give it a time limit, and underline this by having people around in the middle of a work week, it can be simply something to look forward to. 

For your first try, I would limit your invitations to about five or six friends who you've known a while, you'll know what they drink so you can buy these well in advance,  Give them plenty of notice and then, plan a few things to nibble on during the evening.  The picture above is a miniaturised version of a Greek salad (made the previous evening) and served on lettuce leaves.  Only the platter to wash up afterwards so its a perfect dish, just hand out napkins to your guests.  You can do a similar thing with toast and spreads.  I've recently discovered Swedish round crisp breads that, once you have mastered a few toppings are a pretty spectacular addition to any mid-week party.  You could also put together a platter of cold meats and cheeses.

When choosing which friends to invite, you'll want some lively souls as well as some more quieter ones and then let the introductions take their natural flow.  A little music, perhaps a party game or two. 

Creating this inter relation with your friends may initially be a little nerve wracking but your friends will have more in common than you think and you will be introducing them to new friends which can only be a good thing.

As confidence grows, you can increase the number in the group and, if it catches on, your friends will do the same and the rest, should evolve naturally.