Planning a Dinner Party

I have been asked many times about how to plan a dinner party and it is something that can be done easily with a minimum of fuss. A few simple common sense rules can be followed to get perfect results all the time. First the most important thing is to decide what type of party you plan to do. It all depends of your skills in the kitchen and the way you are equipped, in deciding what exactly you can deliver. There is no way you should attempt an 8 course tasting dinner for 15 people, if you can barely boil water without melting the pot.

One of the most common problems is attempting too much with too high expectations. I have been cooking all of my life, and I would not attempt a complex dinner without a properly equipped kitchen. It can be done, but it leads to an enormous amount of work. I remember a few years back making a 6-7 dish Chinese meal for 8 people that needed to be cooked on the spot, in our very small apartment kitchen with only a single small wok to work with. I did managed to pull it off, but it needed some very careful planning and critical scheduling of the actual preparation. It also helped that I prepared recipes that I was very familiar with and that I could prepare with my eyes closed and one hand tied behind my back.

Normally when I plan something very special I try to reduce the audience to 4 to 6 people maximum, and try to keep to easier stuff for larger crowds. Another thing to remember is not to attempt a recipe or technique you are not familiar with in such a setting, as the stress is too much and your guests should not be guinea pigs for you culinary adventures, unless they know what they will be in for. I normally try to stick to tradition when I plan a dinner party at the last minute. I plan some nice hors d’oeuvre and/or snack for when the guests arrive, and make sure that we have a variety of drinks for the occasion.

Once I have chatted with the guests for about an hour or so I normally adjourn to the kitchen to get going on the final preps of the meal. I usually star with a lighter first course, either soup, a fish course, or something unusual if I am in the mood, normally served with some white wine, if it matches the food served. I follow that with the main course which would be heavier like a meat course, normally with a red wine, again matching the food. The tradition in my family is to follow that with a nice salad if people are still hungry, and then to the dessert course, and then a cheese platter, as I am of French descent and I love some nice cheeses with the best bottle of red wine or some port after the meal.

It sounds like a lot, but we normally spend 3-5 hours or more at the table, so it does not feel that bad. The main ingredient is to have interesting guests, and with good food and wine you tend to solve all the problems in the world in the conversation during the course of the meal. By keeping it simple and sticking with favorite recipes it can be made with a minimum of problems. If you plan something more elaborate, plan ahead and practice all of your recipes and techniques ahead of time, and make yourself a schedule of what need to be prepared when, and a list of all the ingredients you need for all the recipes. I normally stick on the refrigerator with magnets, the actual menu I make for the guests to make sure that I do not forget anything, and also a list of ingredients for all of the recipes to make sure that a crucial step or ingredient is not forgotten in the heat of the moment. With proper planning you can easily deliver the fanciest of dinner parties, as long as you organize yourself and stick to your abilities.

Lucito