The idea of a dinner party seems simple enough, right?
It's the night of the party and everything looks great. Then your guests start arriving and you suddenly realize that you forgot to buy crackers to go with all those fancy cheeses, you're two wine glasses short of a dozen and you hear someone say "is something burning?"
You're sent into a frenzied panic running around the house like your hair is on fire, and at this point, it very well may be. But, breathe, this nightmare of a dinner party will not be the scene at your place. After planning a dinner party in honor of two good friends, I've got party planning down to a science. Follow some simple steps and throw a dinner party, that, yes, even you can enjoy.
Step 1: WHO's coming and WHAT are you cooking?
This is the first and most important step for many reasons. You don't want to make a big roast and then remember 15 minutes before your guests arrive that 5 of them are vegans. You don't need guests getting into heated discussions on meat packing & animal cruelty that are bound to follow. Talk about killing the mood.... On the subject ofwhat to cook, make something that isn't labor intensive or time sensitive. More importantly, prepare a dish that you have experience with! This isn't the time to try out a new extravagant recipe. What happens if ends up taking two hours longer to cook than expected? Hungry, angry friends aren't fun. So stick to what you know and it will save you time and grief.
Step 2: The Master List
One of the hardest things about planning a party is thinking about everything you'll need. I'm not talking about food alone either. I'm talking soap and towels for the bathroom, plenty of cups, chairs, table settings, flowers, decorations, etc. Write EVERYTHING you can think of here. I even added a to-do list to mine. It was a lot more than I originally thought, but since I planned it out before, I only had to make one grocery stop! Yee-haw!
Step 3: Prep
Depending on what you're cooking you may or may not need to start prepping a day or two ahead. Our party was on Friday and I knew that I needed to prep one night in advance, so I did all the grocery shopping on Wednesday. Thursday night I was totally ready to prep! I chopped vegetables, marinated the meat, and set my table with place settings and flowers. All that was left to do was cook! Spreading it out over a couple of days keeps your stress level down and makes it much easier on you.
If you try to do it all in one day, you'll be too exhausted to enjoy the party, and we can't have a tired host/hostess!
Step 4: Party Day!
Know how long it will take to cook your meal and make sure you start early enough. Set out some appetizers for snacking and a drink station with wine/whiskey/water glasses so everyone can help themselves as they arrive. Have your plates stacked in the kitchen ready for serving too. The easier for you, the better!
Even though we're all sad that Whitney and Austin are moving to Lubbock, we had a great time — can't you see how happy everyone is?!
Again, you want to be able to ENJOY your own party, so keep it simple, plan ahead and have fun!
No comments:
Post a Comment