Mondavi says effort, not expense, charms guests

Most of us will never have to fret over what to feed guests at a $50,000 dinner - or a $20,000 one, for that matter. But, then, Margrit Biever Mondavi doesn't fret either, even though that's what

Wednesday, April 19th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Most of us will never have to fret over what to feed guests at a $50,000 dinner - or a $20,000 one, for that matter. But, then, Margrit Biever Mondavi doesn't fret either, even though that's what some people have paid to eat at a Robert Mondavi Winery chef's table. Instead, she makes sure they feel the meal was worth every penny.

But don't think she walks in Robert Mondavi's shadow. Far from it. As was evident at a Dallas Morning News Wine and Food Festival luncheon devoted to "Entertaining Mondavi Style," she, too, presides over the empire her husband built - as its hostess. Mrs. Mondavi accompanied her husband to the festival, where he received the Publisher's Award.

She made a point of telling her sold-out audience that entertaining well does not necessarily mean entertaining expensively. What's important is a personal touch.

For example, the former art student makes her own place cards, illustrated with some symbol of the season or the event. During the luncheon, several name cards and hand-lettered menus were on display. Each had a different spring theme. The menus, and recipes for the meals inscribed on them, are scattered throughout the Mondavis' cookbook, Seasons of the Vineyard (Simon & Schuster, $40). But you don't have to be an artist to make something clever and simple.

"Entertaining is not so much spending a lot of money, it's making it look and feel like you spent a lot of time and effort. You can serve chicken if it is a good, organic chicken with fresh vegetables and if it is nicely prepared, you can have a fine dinner party. The entertaining is a package, you know: the food, the flowers, the light. It's everything together that makes the evening successful."

Born in Switzerland, Mrs. Mondavi speaks six languages (her native Schwyzer Deutsch, English, Italian, French, German and a smattering of Japanese) and says that other than food and wine, the crucial ingredients for entertaining successfully are music, candlelight and flowers. For a Mondavi event, flowers come from a hillside near her Napa Valley home in addition to what she grows. But, she noted, any city with an outdoor market will have good variety.

"When we first married, we didn't have a lot of money, so dinner guests might get a big pot of minestrone, fresh cheese, home-made rolls and a big chocolate cake," she says. "And maybe a big salad between the soup and the cake. If we wanted to be extravagant, we'd throw some shrimp in the salad. For decoration, I'd pick wildflowers. Then, once I got caught picking them by the side of the road and had to promise not to do it again."

To illustrate the importance of keeping floral arrangements low - so guests can see one another - Mrs. Mondavi showed guests how she decorated the length of a table for 10, alternating candles and floral arrangements in pots of varying sizes. All were positioned well below each diner's line of sight. The simplicity of the arrangements, while decorative, also enhance the coziness of the table.

She also cautioned against using flowers with too strong a fragrance. Like perfume at a dinner table, strong scents distract from the smells and flavors of food.

As she spoke, she deftly arranged tulips, freesia, daffodils and irises in rabbit-shaped terra cotta flower pots and spread them the length of her demo table.

"I don't like to have more than 10 people at the table at one time," she says. "Otherwise people don't get a chance to talk with one another."

To maintain an intimate atmosphere, she removes the chandelier from the dining room ceiling and installs instead a candelabrum with real candles.

"Then I put on music, because I think it should be playing when guests arrive," she says. "Maybe I start out with some Mozart as I greet guests and offer them a glass of champagne or wine. Then maybe we have some [guitarist Andres] Segovia, some quiet piano music for dinner, and by the time dessert is served, maybe some Sinatra. The important thing is to remember entertaining should be as much fun for hosts as for guests."

Mrs. Mondavi left her luncheon guests with a few simple rules:
* Plan a menu based on seasonally available fruits and vegetables.
* Allow ample time to prepare whatever you decide to make, so that you are not exhausted just before dinner.
* Do simple decorative touches, incorporating what's available in nature, such as twigs, pine cones and bark.
* Work within a theme for the evening, which gives guests a launching point for conversation.
 Hire someone to serve the meal, even if you prepare it yourself, so you can spend time with your guests and feel less stressed.

And with those parting words of advice, the 79-year-old sprite was off to ski in Aspen.

Minestrone
2 ounces salt pork, minced
1 onion, diced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 celery stalk, diced
3 quarts chicken broth
4 ounces green beans, cut in 1-inch pieces
8 ounces Savoy cabbage, cut in about 1-inch pieces
12 ounces fresh peas, shelled
2 small zucchini, about 4 ounces each, quartered and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
2 fresh tomatoes, about 6 ounces each, peeled seeded and diced, or 1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes
4 ounces small shell or tube pasta
Salt and fresh-ground pepper
1/2 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2/3 cup fresh grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Render the salt pork in a soup pot over low heat for about 10 minutes. Add the onion, carrots and celery and sweat the vegetables, covered, until softened, about 10 minutes.

Add the broth and simmer for about 15 minutes. Add the green beans and cabbage and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the peas and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the zucchini, tomatoes and pasta and simmer for 10 minutes. Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste.

Just before serving, mix the parsley, garlic, olive oil and Parmigiano together in a bowl. Ladle the soup into serving bowls and add a spoonful of the parsley-cheese mixture to each serving. Serve hot. Makes 6 servings.

Note: You can cut the amount of fat in this recipe by about half by substituting defatted chicken broth.

Per serving: Cal 462 (54% fat) Fat 28 g (8 g sat) Fiber 8 g Chol 16 mg Sodium 2,870 mg Carbs 37 g Calcium 225 mg

Source: "Seasons of the Vineyard"