Cooking at Home: $100 Dinner Party for 10 People

Gerald Hirigoyen, one of the world’s most remarkable chef-winemakers, hosts a terrific Basque dinner on a budget of only $10 per person—including wine.

 Plus: More Spanish Recipes

When F&W asked chef Gerald Hirigoyen to give a $10-a-person dinner party, we made the task even more difficult by including wine in the budget. Hirigoyen, owner of the Basque restaurant Piperade in San Francisco and an F&W Best New Chef 1994, proved as savvy about the wine as the food, which was not exactly a surprise: He and former sommelier Emmanuel Kemiji make wine in the Spanish region of Montsant. He created a $100 menu for 10 people based on his forthcoming small-plates cookbook, Pintxos, featuring chicken braised in a lightly sweet, tomatoey puree and crisp potato wedges—basic ingredients given a smoky kick with the chile powder Piment d’Espelette. For wine, Hirigoyen looked to Spain, pouring a berry-rich $8 Monastrell with the chicken. For dessert, he made beignets with pantry basics. The doughnuts were fluffy and addictive—a splurge at any price.

Related Recipes:

Affordable Recipes for a Crowd

Affordable Star Chef Recipes

Low-Cost, Luscious Recipes

Humble Ingredients, Incredible Food

Published January 2009