The key to a good dinner party is keeping it relaxed, Alice Levine and Laura Jackson, the authors of Round To Ours, tell Keeley Bolger

DINNER parties. The term can't help but conjure visions of Hyacinth Bucket fussing over napkin rings and place settings. But radio and TV presenters Alice Levine and Laura Jackson are keen to set the record straight.

Over the past four years, the pair, who met at a jumble sale, have devoted any spare time from their respective Radio 1 and ITV2's Take Me Out: The Gossip hosting duties to cooking for paying guests at their London supper club. And it's not as fusty as the name implies.

"I don't think dinner parties have all those Eighties connotations of it being avocado mousse or melon and Parma ham now," says Levine. "It's a very modern way to have all your friends around the table and have a catch-up. You go to a restaurant and you've got to be out at a certain time and maybe the wine is a bit too expensive, or maybe there's a vegetarian and there isn't a vegetarian option. With a dinner party, you call the shots. It's just about having all your friends around the kitchen table and entertaining."

And now they've compiled their meal collections into their first cookery title, Round To Ours. They're clear the book isn't a one-stop shop for definitive recipes; it's more a collection of meals for loosely themed food events, including hungover brunches, movie nights, late summer barbecues and summer garden parties. Each is designed for ease of entertaining.

"If it all goes wrong, you can order pizza," says Levine. "Our evenings are about people leaving and thinking, I've had such a fun time, I've been well looked after and the food's been plentiful.

Here are three recipes from the summer garden party menu, all designed to feed 12 people.

WATERMELON WITH ALMONDS AND DILL

2 large banana shallots, thinly sliced into rounds

Cider vinegar, for soaking

300g almonds, roughly chopped

1 small watermelon, peeled and cut into 2.5cm cubes

300g feta

300g radishes, thinly sliced (ideally with a mandoline)

Large bunch of dill (about 75g), roughly chopped

Sea salt and black pepper

Place the shallots in a bowl and pour over enough cider vinegar to cover. Mix, making sure all the shallots are coated in the vinegar, and set aside. Place the chopped almonds in a dry frying pan over a low to medium heat. Toss until toasted and the skin has turned golden brown; this will only take about five minutes, so don't leave them unsupervised. Tip onto a plate to cool. Place the watermelon in a large bowl and crumble over the feta. Remove the shallots from the vinegar and add them to the bowl, along with the radishes and toasted almonds. Scatter over the dill, season and mix well with your hands. Transfer to a large platter and serve.

ROAST SALMON STUFFED WITH WATERCRESS

115g unsalted butter, softened

Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon

200g watercress, woody stalks removed, roughly chopped

120g breadcrumbs

1 small banana shallot, finely chopped

1 whole salmon, about 2-2.25kg, gutted

1 lemon, thinly sliced

Sea salt and black pepper

Preheat the oven to 170C/gas 3. Put 90g of the butter, the lemon zest and half the juice, the watercress, breadcrumbs, shallot and plenty of seasoning in a bowl and mash together with your hands until well mixed. Spread the stuffing inside the cavity of the salmon. Tie the salmon together at intervals with kitchen string, so that the space between each set of ties is roughly one portion - try to achieve equal portions while taking into account that the salmon tapers towards the tail end. Cut a slit in each segment of salmon and insert a half-slice of lemon (you may not need all the slices). You can protect the head and thinner tail end of the fish with a layer of well-greased foil, to slow their cooking. Squeeze the remaining lemon juice over the fish and spread the remaining 25g butter over the top. Cook in the oven for 30 minutes, or until it is cooked through but still pink and lovely and moist.

  • Round to Ours by Laura Jackson and Alice Levine (Quadrille, £20)