Dinner parties - what has worked, what hasn't

[floridagal]

I'd love to hear complete menus from you guys - how'd you get it on the table, and what worked and what didn't.


I'm a decent cook (well, I like to cook and can follow a recipe) but would like to up my confidence in dinner parties.


I can start with one that worked:
# of people total:  4
Menu and plan: I did mashed potatoes in the crockpot in the am, and served ribeyes on the grill (my bf's job) and oven roasted asparagus with parmesan. Store-bought dessert.  Low stress having the potatoes done ahead of time. Totally worked.

[picote]

I feel like I’m out of practice on dinner party cooking because of moving/making new friends/small kids and covid. The last dinner party we had I made Natasha’s pork tenderloin (not Natasha here—it’s an online recipe). Super easy and so far 100% success rate. I usually make a jus from the pan juices with chicken stock or wine. We make it for dinner all the time too. I usually pair it with roasted or grilled asparagus and roasted new potatoes if we’re having guests.

For a nicer dinner, grilled lamb chops, asparagus with halloumi or feta and maybe potatoes. Or ribeye, asparagus and crash potatoes with sour cream and a bit of caviar. There’s an apple galette recipe from the nyt that’s amazing, if you’re feeling ambitious.

I think I’m going to make rack of lamb with popovers and something veggie for Xmas dinner.

I feel like meat is usually pretty easy. Hands off and a fair margin for error. Also most things roasted.

[witchypoo]

depends on the crew i've invited. 

family + close friends?  crackers with cheese, olives, whipped feta dip or hummus with veggies, big trays of lasagna or pastitsio, green salad, homemade bread, beer and wine.  fruit salad, pie w/ice cream, or brownies/blondies for dessert.  tea and coffee.

work folks/casual friends?  daintier apps, roasted meats of some kind, salad, rolls, cocktails and wine.  dessert is usually cheese, fruit, cookies, affogato, coffee. 

*I prefer the close friends menu - more mess, but easier on the brain.

[BonitaApplebum]

When I host dinner, I like to get most of the work out of the way well before guests arrive. That's my #1 tip for actually enjoying a dinner party.

For me, that means either prepping everything ahead of time or leaning on guests to contribute dishes. I do the latter pretty regularly, I have a group of friends where we've been rotating hosting of potlucks for over 20 years. We have that down to a science, the host makes the entree and everyone else brings a side. We usually pick a theme (cuisine, region, season, etc.) and the host announces the entree ahead of time so that everything matches.

If I'm doing ALL the cooking, I try not to make anything overly fussy that requires a lot of attention at the end, like sauce finishing or anything like that. Things that are good to prep ahead and then just heat or serve as required are great: soup course, a gratin or other casserole dish type thing, a salad...
I prefer plating dishes and serving over family style, but it really depends on the menu.

[Natasha]

I suck at dinner parties. I stress too much and make overly complicated dishes. I enjoy other people's dinner parties, though. The last one I went to was butter chicken, served with papadams, naan, tomato and onion salad, mango chutney and lime pickle. It was all made ahead so no stress about cooking while hosting, and a lot of the sides can be bought ready made. She made a pavlova for dessert which was nice and light but I think any make-ahead dessert is good.