Party Archives • Reviews by Kathy

Choosing The Perfect Menu For Your Dinner Party

December 18, 2020 1 Comment

Recently, we explored the key steps that you need to take to ensure that you impress your guests at a dinner party. Regardless of whether you are having friends, family members or even colleagues over it’s important to get this right. A key part of this is the menu which we didn’t fully explore on the previous post so let’s sink our teeth into some of the options.

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Starting Right

First, you need to think about a starter. You could think about preparing a delicious prawn cocktail. Any chef will tell you that you can have great fun with the presentation here. You can layout the prawns however you like and it’s a great way to show off your dining ware. Some of the key ingredients of this dish include the mayonnaise, lemon juice and lettuces. You also need to consider adding a little paprika. This is the perfect way to dust the dish.

The Main Course

You definitely need to think carefully about the individual preferences of your guests before selecting your main cause for the dinner party. If you are having numerous guests over, then you might even want to think about preparing a few different mains. However, one delightful option would be roast duck. You can serve this rosemary and figs to provide extra flavor. You might also want to consider adding a side of garlic fried potatoes. This is definitely an aesthetically pleasing dish and the mixture of flavors will ensure it’s a fantastic hit with your guests.

Delicious Desserts

Next, you have to think about dessert. There are a lot of fantastic choices for desserts. However, we think that pizookie could be a real treat for your guests. Served in a skillet, you can add some rustic charm to your dinner party. It’s great for evening parties and you can find a pizookie recipe here that is sure to impress your guests.

Or, you could be a little more adventurous and bold by preparing a full gateau. One of the big benefits of these cakes is that they can look absolutely beautiful and make a wonderful centerpiece for your table.

Don’t Forget Drinks

Last but not least, you need to think about the drinks that you are serving at your dinner party. The drinks that you choose are going to depend on the main that you are serving. The right drink can provide the perfect compliment to the dish. For instance, if you are serving a red meat course such as beef, then you need the perfect red wine. You must explore a guide to ensure that you are mixing and matching the right flavors here. Alternatively, a great white wine will work perfectly with a fish course.

We hope this helps you plan the perfect menu for your dinner party with delicious treats that your guests are sure to love. If you take the right steps here, then this is just one more way that you are guaranteed to impress your guests.

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Filed Under: Party Tagged With: dinner party, don't forget drinks, perfect red wine, pizookie recipe

Throw an Un-brie-lievable French Dinner Party

November 2, 2017 Leave a Comment

Would you describe yourself as something of a Francophile? If you can’t resist all things French, one of the best ways to indulge your passion is through food. French cuisine is one of the most highly regarded in the world and found all over in fine dining restaurants. But you don’t have to go to a restaurant to enjoy French food, especially if you love the homely and hearty stuff over the tiny, refined plates. For your next dinner party, why not give it a French theme and inject a little je ne sais quoi into your evening? Try these ideas for some French fun.

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Design the Perfect French Menu

For any dinner party, it’s always good to start with what you want to cook. There are so many options for a French menu that you might not know where to start. If you’re not sure what to do, perhaps begin by choosing which courses you want to serve. You probably don’t want to do too many, so perhaps try to stick with three at the most, possibly with canapés to start or cheese to finish off the meal. Look through French cookbooks and food websites for inspiration and choose something that doesn’t need too much attention on the night, so you can still be there for your guests. Try Delish for some good ideas. And don’t forget the wine!

Get the Table Dressing Right

If you’re going to eat French food, you might as well have a French theme around the dining table too. You can dress your table for a fun French evening with just a few simple touches. Try a red and white checked tablecloth, or perhaps a table runner for a slightly simpler look. Some bistro-style napkins from Richard Haworth will make a nice addition to your place settings. You don’t have to worry too much about having a perfectly Parisian dinner set, but you could get some accessories for the table, like silver dishes or some French water jugs.

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Add in Some French Atmosphere

Another way to make sure you’ll be singing je ne regrette rien when your dinner party is over is to add some French atmosphere. Music is the perfect way to do it so, whether you prefer Edith Piaf or Daft Punk, get some French music playing. Edith Piaf might be slightly more appropriate for a dinner party, though. Some other ways to up the atmosphere include lighting some candles and maybe even hanging some French art for the evening.

Be Super Social

Your earlier selection of your menu is crucial for the rest of the evening. A French dinner party might be partly about being a good host, but it’s also about the food and spending quality time with friends and family. So it’s important that you don’t abandon your guests to spend the whole evening in the kitchen. Try to either prepare your meal in advance or have something you can just put in the oven and leave so that you can talk into the night without worrying too much.

Put on a beautiful French evening for your friends, and everyone is sure to have an incredible time.

Filed Under: Dinner Party, Family, Food, Home, Party

7 Layer Dip, Recipe + Love One Today® Avocado Party

August 28, 2017 Leave a Comment

“This post was sponsored by Fresh Avocados – Love One Today® as part of an In-Home Party Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.”

Growing up, my mom served avocado with just about every meal we had. She loves them more than anyone I’ve met before, except maybe me. I don’t know if it was due to her influence of serving avocados so much or if it’s because I have the same cravings as she does, but like her, my kids were raised on avocados. From tacos to salads to my 7 layer dip recipe, I serve avocado’s just about daily. I even use them in my smoothies. As much as I love avocados, I equally love to host parties. Of course, I show off my favorite avocado recipes during all of my events. Some I’ve created myself and some I talked my mom out of. I’ve tried just about every avocado recipe online that I could find as well.

There are several reasons why it’s easy to get the kids to eat avocados. In fact, they were my kids first fruit. They are smooth and have a creamy consistency along with a mild taste. I would mash them up and feed them from a spoon until they were old enough to have slices of them. Like my own kids, even before I knew about the nutritional value of fresh avocados, I loved them. After learning that Avocados contribute nearly 20 nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber, and phytonutrients, that are important to infant/toddler nutrition, I started giving them to the kids even more often than I already was. My mom probably knew all of this when she served us avocados, but being a child, all I knew was that I loved the taste. She was counting on that when she served us meals with avocado in them. I’m sure she also knew that wholesome, fresh foods are less likely to contain added sugars, salt, and other processed ingredients.

Today I’d like to share my favorite 7 layer dip recipe with you so you can encourage your own kids to enjoy avocados. It’s sure to be a party favorite so go ahead and bookmark my post to save my recipe.

Ingredients:

5 Ripe Avocados. Use 4 in recipe and dice 1 for the top.
1 can of refried beans.
16 ounces of sour cream.
1 pack of dry taco seasoning mix.
1 to 2 lemons (need 2 teaspoons) or lemon juice.
Garlic cloves (grind 3 cloves).
Green onion (chop 3 to 4 stalks)
2- 8-ounce blocks of cheese, grated (I use mild). If you’re in a hurry, pre-grated cheese works well.
1 small can of sliced black olives.
1 medium-sized tomato diced, chunky sizes.

Instructions:

In a glass bowl spread the can of refried beans evenly along the bottom.
Combine the sour cream and the dry taco seasoning, then spread on top of the beans.
Mix the avocados with the lemon juice and garlic. Sometimes I mash them, sometimes I cube them. Add on top of the sour cream mixture.
Add the cheese, green onions, black olives and tomatoes to top it off.

Serve with Tortillas.