Five Tips for Hosting a Great Dinner Party

I have given probably hundreds of dinner parties in my life. I want to share a few tips that have helped me over the years.

Tip 1: Bite off what you can chew

When you are planning your menu try not to overreach your cooking skills or what you are comfortable with in your entertaining space. Serving simple food is OK! Look for recipes that don't need a lot of last minute work and attention. Risotto for a crowd = not good. Try to test recipes in advance. If you have to try out a new recipe try a side dish recipe. If it fails, you have the entree to fall back on.

 It’s also OK to buy things instead of make them. Dessert is a good candidate for this.

Tip 2: Do things in advance

Try to prepare as much of the dinner as possible in advance without compromising the quality of the food. Here’s what I usually do:

Start with dessert. It’s better if dessert is not something that you have to fuss with during a party. Make dessert the day before, store it and forget about it.

Next I consider side dishes. If we are having a salad, I make it in advance and store in the fridge (without dressing of course!). Vegetables such as carrots and asparagus can be parboiled in advance and stored in the fridge. I just warm them briefly in a pan with butter or olive oil and serve. If I am doing a potato dish I choose one that can be made in advance and either cooked or reheated prior to serving. If you do need to cook a side dish just prior to serving, all of the prep work should be done in advance.

The main dish is the only thing we are likely to cook while we have guests. Try and select dishes that need minimal time and attention - grilled meat or something that goes in the oven and can stand a bit before serving.

Tip 3: Have a timeline/action plan

I typically have a general idea of the timeline for my dinner party.  It should be a bit flexible in case someone is running late, but it’s a good idea to have a sense of how long you want the cocktail period to be (about an hour is best), what time you want to serve dinner and a list of what needs to be done prior to serving dinner along with the sequence/timing in which they should be done.

Tip 4: Think beyond food
Dinner parties are not just about the food. Take some time before your party to pull out all of the serving dishes you will be using. Set the table and figure out what dishes and glasses you need to accommodate your menu. Make sure you have water on the table.

Your house should look somewhat presentable. I have a quick checklist that I go through prior to a dinner party to make sure that some basics are covered - the table is set, the porch light is on, the guest bathroom is clean and the garbage is out, etc. I actually have this list written out because I found that when I did not have it I forgot things. The list also keeps me on track so I can get that critical extra 10 minutes before a party to change clothes.

Tip 5: Have fun!

Presumably you like the people you have invited to dinner so relax and have fun. Something may go wrong, but things happen. If all else fails you can call out for pizza and open another bottle of wine.

What are some of your tips for successful dinner parties?

Party Favors

 

Restaurant favor boxes

I love the idea of party favors. There is something so fun about getting to take home a little memento after a party.  It seems I am not alone. Many nice restaurants have a custom of sending guests home with little treats for the next day. I have tried to adapt this to my own entertaining  Here are my criteria for successful party favors:

Must be made ahead. Party favors can’t add stress to your party.  Look for something fairly easy to produce in some quantity that you can make and forget about until it’s time to distribute it.  For me, that usually means a sweet treat. I have done homemade marshmallows and shortbread cookies. One time I gave out teacup shaped cookies after a tea party.  It could also be something savory. I made a lot of preserved lemons earlier this year – perhaps I will decant them into smaller containers and use them as my next party favor.  Homemade vinegar is another good choice. Have an abundance of home-grown tomatoes? There’s your party favor.

Heart-shaped marshmallows displayed in a copper heart

Beautiful packing. Take a tip from fancy restaurants - their take-home treats are always beautifully packaged, often in a box with the restaurant’s name on it.  You don’t have to get personalized boxes, just use a cellophane bag (the ones made for corsages or boutineres work really well or there are many others online - here and here  for example), add some pretty ribbon and you’re done.

Neon shortbread towers for a summer BBQ

Adds to the party décor.  If your favor is seasonal or is related to the theme of the party, so much the better. Think about how to make it part of the décor. Perhaps make the favor a part of the centerpiece or let it act as a placecard.  I sometimes display my favors on a sideboard in the hallway by the front door. Guests see them on the way in and can take one on the way out. It gives some flair to the sideboard and is functional.

 

The Christmas version of the shortbread towers

Have you ever given out a party favor? If so, what was it?

 

Cracking the Code on Gougeres

Up until about a year ago, my success rate with gougeres was not good.  My past efforts at gougeres included the recipe in The New Basics. Fail.  A recipe I was trying to help a friend troubleshoot. Fail. I resigned myself to the fact that gougeres were just a restaurant food.

Then I got a copy of Around My French Table by Dorie Greenspan. And there, on the first page of recipes, was a gougere recipe. I tried it  and the gougeres didn’t puff equally. Well, I was used to gougeres not puffing. BUT, some of the gougeres did puff and that was encouraging.  I froze the rest of the batch and baked them later.  And something interesting happened.  The ones that I froze all rose EQUALLY.

At the end of the recipe Dorie mentions that freezing the gougeres is an option. It’s a gem of a tip and makes all of the difference in the world.  Just drop your unbaked gougeres on a cookie sheet and freeze them.  Once they are frozen put them into a freezer bag and keep in the freezer right up until you bake them (yes, you bake them frozen). You get all the convenience of frozen food and all the deliciousness of using your own high quality ingredients.  Also, it moves the recipe into the realm of the possible for cocktail and dinner parties and book club meetings and just because.  All you have to do is plop the gougeres on a cookie sheet, bake, and serve … preferably with Champagne.

Enjoy!

P.S. One more tip – I have found it’s best to bake the gougeres one baking sheet at a time in the oven.

Easy Way to Cook Asparagus

For the longest time, I struggled with cooking asparagus. I tried steaming, baking, grilling and microwaving. It never turned out right.  Then I read a recipe (I wish I could remember where) that used this easy method. I tried it and … drumroll … it worked!  Maybe you already know how to cook asparagus but you’d like another method to have in your repertoire. Maybe, like me, you never quite mastered it. Either way, you will love this easy, foolproof, three-step way to cook asparagus.

Start by gathering your equipment:

·        A fry pan. Yes, a fry pan. You use a fry pan for two reasons: 1) No need to cut the asparagus spears (it’s prettier to serve when the spears are not cut), and 2) You use the same pan for steps 1 and 3.

·        A bowl filled with half ice and half water (optional),  a dinner plate with a few paper towels on it

Step one

Wash the asparagus and either cut or snap off the ends. Bring a few inches of salted water to boil in your fry pan. Once the water is boiling add the asparagus and simmer until it’s crisp-tender. The time will vary according to how thick your asparagus is. I test it with a fork. It takes less time than you think, so don’t wander away or get sidetracked (this never happens to me … ).

Step two
You have two choices here:

1)    Plunge your asparagus into the ice water bath, remove and pat dry with the paper towels on the dinner plate.  I do this if I am serving the asparagus to dinner guests and there will be a gap between steps two and three. Note: this is a great dish for dinner parties because you can make it a few hours ahead and just do step three prior to serving.

2)    If you are making dinner for yourself and there is no gap between steps two and three, you can just remove the asparagus from the fry pan, pat it dry and continue.

Step three
Dry the fry pan and heat some olive oil in it. Add the asparagus and turn it to coat (use a fork or tongs).  Let the asparagus heat through and then add salt, pepper and perhaps some balsamic vinegar.  Remove from the heat and serve.

Tips for Hosting a Successful Dinner Party

I was recently planning a dinner party menu and got to thinking about how I approach dinner parties and how much I have learned over the years about hosting them. With the holiday season approaching, I thought now would be a good time to pass along some tips for hosting a successful dinner party.

When you are planning your menu don't overreach your cooking skills or what you are comfortable with in your entertaining space. Serving simple food is OK! Make sure you choose recipes that don't need a lot of last minute work and attention. Risotto for a crowd = not good. Make time to test recipes in advance. If you have to try out a new recipe try a side dish recipe. If it fails, you have the entree to fall back on.

The key to hosting a successful dinner parties is to do as much as possible in advance without compromising the quality of the food.

I start with dessert. Dessert should never be something that you have to fuss with during a party. Make dessert the day before, store it and forget about it.

Next I consider side dishes. If we are having a salad, I make it in advance and store in the fridge (without dressing of course!). Vegetables such as carrots and asparagus can be parboiled in advance and stored in the fridge. I just warm them briefly in a pan with butter or olive oil and serve. If I am doing a potato dish I choose one that can be made in advance and either cooked or reheated prior to serving. If you do need to cook a side dish just prior to serving, all of the prep work should be done in advance.

The main dish is the only thing we are likely to cook while we have guests. Try and select dishes that need minimal time and attention - grilled meat or something that goes in the oven and can stand a bit before serving.

Dinner parties are not just about the food. Your house has to look somewhat presentable. I have a quick checklist that I go through prior to a dinner party to make sure that some basics are covered - the table is set, the porch light is on, the guest bathroom is clean and the garbage is out. I actually have this list written out because I found that when I did not have it I forgot things. The list also keeps me on track so I can get that critical extra 10 minutes before a party to change clothes.

What are some of your tips for successful dinner parties?