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How to Host a Dinner Party

Majority of students probably spend most of their social gatherings with kegs, popcorn, Kraft Dinner, and loud noises. While partying can be fun, it can also be tiring and repetitive, and sometimes it’s good to mix things up with something totally different — like a dinner party. After all, who doesn’t like food, wine, and good company?

Learning how to host a dinner party is a great skill to have, and university is the perfect time to perfect those skills because your guests will be forgiving and grateful for a good meal.

Anyone can host a dinner party. All you need is some smart planning and a little education.

Step 1: So you want to host a dinner party?

The basic rule is, the simpler, the better. Your guests won’t expect a five star experience, complete with multiple courses and a string quartet. The goal is a relaxing evening with good food and conversation.

Limiting the number of guests is key. Five to ten guests are ideal, and any more than that you’ll feel the strain in your attitude, your kitchen, and your budget. If it’s your first dinner party, keep it closer to five. The more people you invite, the more likely it is you’ll scrap the dinner party idea and change the event into another pre drink or movie night.

Step 2: Designing the menu

When you’re planning your dinner, decide on what you’re serving and then make a list of what you’ll need for every course. Be sure to consider appetizers, salad, entree, dessert, and beverages for before, after, and during the meal. Keep in mind that you don’t want to spend your whole party in the kitchen, so any dishes you can prepare ahead of time are great choices.

At this point you should already be able to picture how you want the meal to look — you don’t want to get stuck with hot food ready to be plated, with no idea how to present things nicely.

Don’t break the budget. Take time in the grocery store to browse and locate the best deals, and try to use fruits and vegetables that are in season. It’s always good to have a couple of recipes in mind when you go shopping, then choose the one that has ingredients on sale.

To avoid being in a rush, make a trip to the grocery store a day in advance, which will also ensure that the ingredients are fresh.

Step 3: The day of the party

One of the greatest challenges of throwing a successful dinner party is coordinating courses — you want them out of the oven at just the right time and on the table while they’re still hot. Again, it all comes down to planning. Washing, peeling, and chopping ingredients can all be performed in advance.

Also wash as many dishes as you can while you’re cooking, and make sure your dishwasher is set before the meal so you’ll have space for all of the dirty dishes after the meal.

Finally, when the guests arrive, offer them a drink right away. Have the table set, music playing in the background, and appetizers set out. You’re guests will feel comfortable and pampered, and the party will step up from typical student living to pure class.

Tips on Food

Appetizer:

When you’re deciding on an appetizer or hors d’oeuvres, pick anything that you can prepare in advance. Some good options are dip with chopped up veggies and bread, a cheese and cracker spread, or stuffed mushrooms.

Food presentation:

Food presentation is one way to really impress your guests and trick them into thinking the food is even better than it is. Focus on preparing a simple meal but take some time to plate everyone’s food before hand.

When it comes to food presentation, use contrasting colours and shapes. Odd numbers are more appealing to the eye, so avoid using an even amount of items. Plan for a variety of shapes and forms — flavours aside, a plate with radishes, cherry tomatoes, meatballs and round potatoes would look strange. Rice, asparagus, and one round item such as a filet steak would be better choices. You can also manipulate the shape of food items by cutting them up. Potatoes can be mashed, cut into rounds, or sticks, which can be used to contrast the shape of the main item.

Try to have at least three different colours presented in the entrée. Feel free to add some garnish, sprinkle, or purposely-placed sauce to make the plate a feast for eyes as well as the stomach.

When it comes to portion sizes, a little white space on the plate looks good. Also make sure to have a focal point, such as the meat, and then work everything else around, or under, that item.

Dessert:

Dessert is one area that you can cheat a little bit. Feel free to pick up some pre-made items and then take time fancying them up with whipped cream, sauces, and appealing presentation.

One of my favourite desserts to serve is an easy trifle. The presentation makes the dish look impressive, but it’s actually very simple to make. The nice thing about trifle is that there is an endless amount of ingredients you can use — different types of fruit, pudding or custard, cookies, brownies, cake, and so on. Combine your favourite dessert items and layer them in a nice container for the ultimate crowd pleasing, fast and easy dessert.

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