I somehow managed to put together a dinner party at my house this sunday. Even more impressive is the fact that there will be about 6 girls and 2 guys, one being me. So Im curious what would be the best type of food to serve. Its pretty cold here in Italy right now so I was going to go with some type of stew but Im not sure if the guests, ok the girls, would prefer something lighter. Im definately going to go with one main dish and a bunch of appetizers. So what should the main dish be? Any tips would be appreciated.
Sweet deal!
When I was single (and now that I’m married) I always loved throwing dinner party’s.
I’m a barbecue fanatic, so I usually always have a steak dinner; special potatoes on the barbecue, steamed vegtables, ceasar salad with homemade dressing, some nice thick tenderloin steaks (oh yeah and lots of alcoholic beverages: nice red wine, coolers, martini’s etc.).
Another cool dinner party is dim sum. So steam up some rice and buy some frozen dim sum that can be steamed and/or deep fried. I suggest:
- Curry triangles
- Gyoza
- Har Kow (Shrimp dumplings)
- Egg rolls
- Chinese Sausage
- Pork wonton
And a big ass poy of green tea with jasmine!
The key to good dinner party’s is being a good host. The #1 golden rule is to always make sure your guests have a full glass of their favorite beverage! A well stoked bar is an absolute must!
Enjoy and good luck!
MtM
Stew sounds fine, especially if people serve themselves from a communal stew pot, since then everyone can have as much or as little as they like. Winter is a time for stews. Have you checked non of your guests have any dietry restrictions you should know about?
As an alternative, I kind of like tortes as a communual meal–I make a spinach and carmelized onion torte that even dedicated spinach-haters try and rave over–but that it a lot of work if you’re not experienced in cooking. Stews are easy and always a good choice (and don’t require elaborate timing); as Bippy says, they can get as much as they like. You might make some finger sandwiches or rolls and fixings as well, and a couple different types of wine, if that’s your thing.
And desert; that makes the meal memorable. It doesn’t have to be fancy…it just has to look fancy (and taste good). I’m always surpised at how people will rave over strawberries and blueberries served with whipped cream in a frosted cocktail glass. That takes like five minutes to set up, keeps in the fridge, but people eat it up like a tiramisu I spent hours making. And it goes great with a B&B or cordial.
I hate being social (or, at least, I’m not very good at it) but I love the planning and work that goes into the dinner part of a dinner party, and after a split of wine, a glass of B&B, and a post-prandial Jameson 1780 or Glenmorangie Port Wood I’m all kinds of happy and quietly friendly.
Have fun. And don’t worry…it’ll all work out. The blunders are the most memorable, and most entertaining part of the meal.
Stranger
Dude, you’re having a dinner party. Get a nice big joint of beef, new potatoes (or roast potatoes if you can manage it), and Yorkshire (batter) pudding. Add other vegetables as desired (carrots and peas are good). Serve with a good strong red wine.
I think Im going to go with a stew of some type. I have a good recipe for a tawny port beef stew. Its very comforting and warm. Then Ill just throw together a few appetizers and make sure theres plenty of drinks. I guess its more cocktail party than dinner but I promised a couple friends (girlks) that I would cook for them so I think theyre expecting more than just cocktails and appetizers. I think the dim sum idea would be perfect but getting the ingredients here in Italy is really really tough if not impossible. Im a little short on prep time so anything that requires a lot of baking will be tough to pull off. Im definately a little stressed because one of the girls is a new interest of mine so I want this to come off smoothly…maybe Ill buy a little more liquor than originally planned. haha
You should also serve a nice salad and some good bread for people who don’t want heavy stew or don’t eat meat.If you have time, you can also make a second batch of stew with beans and/or mushrooms for the veggie folks
This is a good idea for any gathering that includes food.
And always have some non-alcoholic drink on hand, and accept a “no, thanks” fro any guest towards alcohol. Pushing booze on guests is beyond the idea of rudeness. So is asking them why they don’t drink alcohol. To quote Lora Brody: For any number of reasons, a guest may refuse your offer of a drink. The reason doesn’t have to be explained to anyone, including you.
I have plenty of non-alcoholic drinks on hand…its called water! JK
I will have non-alky stuff. Thanks for the information…I hadnt evn thought of it.
Also, for a side dish, cheese tortellini with basil (or spinach/basil) pesto serves numerous dinner party functions:
- Most non-vegan vegetarians will eat it.
- You can serve it at room temperature, so its one less thing to fuss with right at dinner time. It can be made ahead. If there is an unexpected crisis you can serve it as a “first course” without raising eyebrows and buy yourself a half an hour’s panic time in the kitchen.
- It’s green so its visually pretty with most other dishes.
- Pesto is not hard to make; or you can buy it premade and it’s still darn good.
- For some reason, at least in the US, people consider it “fancy” – not an everyday thing to eat for dinner.
For a dessert at dinner parties I often make an apple crumble. You can prep the dish and pop it in the oven while guests are eating dinner, and serve it hot, or make it ahead of dinner and serve at room temperature.
Apple Crumble
Peel, core, and slice apples till they fill a baking dish the right size for your number of guests, like a 2L casserole or 6x10 cake pan. Take a half a stick of butter (~60g?), a cup of brown sugar, 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup raw oatmeal (or cookies pounded into crumbs, I suggest ginger cookies) and some cinnamon and “cut it together” – use a knife to slice and slice the butter into the other stuff till it forms crumbles the size of peas. Sprinkle the topping on top of the raw apples, bake 350F for 20 minutes. Serve with vanilla icecream or vanilla custard or whipped cream.
Good luck!