Fall Party Planning With Giacomino Drago
Excerpt From Beverly Hills Style Magazine
For Giacomino Drago – who along with his three brothers co-owns Beverly Hills iconic ll Pastaio and Via Alloro, and others in the Los Angeles area – fall provides an endless array of delicious options. Drago talked to Beverly Hills Style about what’s on his fall party menu:
Formal or casual?
“The first question to ask yourself is, what are we doing? A sit-down with a three-course meal? Buffet? Or just a casual get-together with friends?” Drago asks. “If it’s a casual with friends, you may just want to have some dips, some bruschetta, cheese, olives, little hors d’oeuvres like that, without stressing who sits where and what room to use. Once you get together, the food becomes secondary.”
Prepare, prepare, prepare
“Throwing a dinner party is going to be an all-day process, it’s not McDonalds,” said Drago. “Seventy-to-80 percent of the work should be done early in the day, and save that last 30 percent for making the meat and any other last-minute needs. It’s like shooting a film; you prepare the set and the actor comes and does the scene – the scene might last 40 minutes, but preparing it lasts four-plus hours.”
How Drago Does It
“Let’s say I’m throwing a dinner party for 25 people. I’m in the mood for something casual right now. I would have a little bar, have a table set up with some little hors d’oeuvres, some fresh figs with a little gorgonzola cheese, or a walnut, maybe a little prosciutto, some water and wine, and then do a buffet on another table. Do a nice pasta, which is easy to plan for because you can have your sauce made early, your bread can be made early and ready to come out just as the pasta is freshly done before you serve it.”