2008 Woodie Awards
Rhody Eat Beat: Meals on the fly
Rebecca Long
Issue date: 11/29/07 Section: Editorial/Opinion
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11/29/07 - I confess: I love throwing dinner parties. But one thing I learned early on is it can be very easy to ruin the party for yourself.
One of the ways to avoid this that I have discovered: don't plan on doing all the cooking after your guests arrive; you'll spend all night alone in the kitchen. Find ways to prepare things ahead of time that can be easily reheated, or better yet, don't have to be reheated.
Another good way to ruin your party is trying to prepare a dish you've never made before. I always do a test run of any new recipes the week before a party to make sure it's edible and to work out any kinks in the preparation.
Also, don't think you have to serve a multi-course meal for it to be a "dinner party." I usually have fruit and cheese ready for people to nosh on and people inevitably bring chips and other snacks. I provide the main course and usually someone turns up with dessert in some form or another.
Finally, don't try to do it all yourself. My friends have never been offended when I suggest a potluck and it's a good way to ease the burden. I usually tell them what I'm making and everyone else brings what they are comfortable making.
With these things in mind, here are some of my recipes that I have found especially conducive to dinner party menus:
Chopped Salad
This salad is great because it doesn't have any lettuce, so it doesn't wilt after it's dressed and you can easily make it a few hours ahead of time and put it in the fridge. Although you can pretty much vary the vegetables to what you have and like, I generally use cucumber, red onion or scallions, green pepper and celery. The essential ingredients are good, sharp cheese, and black olives.
All the ingredients get chopped into small pieces, quarter-inch cubes or smaller. Once these are mixed, dress with extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice to taste and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until you are ready to serve it.
One of the ways to avoid this that I have discovered: don't plan on doing all the cooking after your guests arrive; you'll spend all night alone in the kitchen. Find ways to prepare things ahead of time that can be easily reheated, or better yet, don't have to be reheated.
Another good way to ruin your party is trying to prepare a dish you've never made before. I always do a test run of any new recipes the week before a party to make sure it's edible and to work out any kinks in the preparation.
Also, don't think you have to serve a multi-course meal for it to be a "dinner party." I usually have fruit and cheese ready for people to nosh on and people inevitably bring chips and other snacks. I provide the main course and usually someone turns up with dessert in some form or another.
Finally, don't try to do it all yourself. My friends have never been offended when I suggest a potluck and it's a good way to ease the burden. I usually tell them what I'm making and everyone else brings what they are comfortable making.
With these things in mind, here are some of my recipes that I have found especially conducive to dinner party menus:
Chopped Salad
This salad is great because it doesn't have any lettuce, so it doesn't wilt after it's dressed and you can easily make it a few hours ahead of time and put it in the fridge. Although you can pretty much vary the vegetables to what you have and like, I generally use cucumber, red onion or scallions, green pepper and celery. The essential ingredients are good, sharp cheese, and black olives.
All the ingredients get chopped into small pieces, quarter-inch cubes or smaller. Once these are mixed, dress with extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice to taste and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until you are ready to serve it.