How To: Throw a Successful Dinner Party

Now that Halloween is over, it seems that there are some people in this world that are so gung ho to get Christmas started, that they are going from spooky ghouls and pumpkins to evergreens and mistletoe in 3 seconds flat.. Don't get me wrong. I love Christmas and all of the synthetic Christmas scents that the geniuses at Yankee Candle have magically contained in a jar, but what about Thanksgiving? What about wicker cornucopias and pumpkin pie?? Oh yeah, and family...

Around this time of year everyone goes in to hyper-drive when it comes to entertaining. Soon, cookie parties, gift exchanges, and open houses are going to be filling up what precious spare time we have left, and I thought it would be a good idea to address how to not only entertain a house full of people, but to do it as stress free and easy as possible.

We've all be over to a friend's home and the party, for whatever reason, was a flop. I don't want that to happen to you. Also, I don't want you to pull your hair out and go nuts. Entertaining should be about enjoying yourself and spending time with people that you genuinely care about - not about being one heartbeat away from going batshit crazy and throwing tables.

How to Throw a Successful Get Together

Step 1. Select a Venue.

This is crucial because everything else is going to stem from this. (I'm assuming that you already have a reason to have the get together - but if you don't, you have to figure out why everyone is coming together first. Wine tasting? Birthday? Gift Exchange? Karaoke Night?)

Step 2. Guest List. 

How many people can comfortably fit in this space? 10? 20? 30? 100? Do you have enough seats if everyone wants to sit down? If having a game night, can you feasibly sit everyone around the table?

Step 3. Menu. 

I would say out of all of the steps that this is the hardest. Look, we all want to be Bobby Flay and/or Martha. We want to amaze and wow with the food. No one wants guests to walk away from a party saying: 1. I'm hungry. 2. That food sucked. 3. I couldn't eat anything because of my dietary restriction.  To be a gracious hostess or host, you have to have your guest list in mind when preparing the menu. It's great that you love spicy food, but your Nana might not. Same goes for Ribs on the barbecue. Any vegans in the crowd would be super bummed to be stuck eating side dishes only. If you don't keep your guests' preferences in mind, then they won't feel welcome and at ease.

If you are the chef for this event - stick to tried and true recipes. You don't want to be 45 minutes in to cooking and realize the new recipe that you are trying is a bust and you no longer have a tasty main dish. Also, try to stick with recipes that cook themselves. What I mean is, whip something together and throw it in the oven. No constant stirring, flipping or things that need to be made in tiny batches. You will spend all evening in the kitchen and have no fun. Boo. Don't do that.

Last thing about menu, I promise. When I have people over I always have a variety of appetizers on hand. Pita chips, hummus, fresh veggies, brie with crusty bread, etc and then have one or two hot appetizers. No matter what the theme of the party or why everyone is together, these items never fail and almost everyone can find something to munch on.

Step 4. Prepare! Prepare! Prepare!

By nature I am a procrastinator and hate doing things until they are absolutely necessary, but you will thank me and want to send me many gift baskets for this one little tip. 

DO AS MUCH AS YOU CAN AHEAD OF TIME. 

I AM NOT KIDDING. 

PREPARE.
PREPARE! PREPARE! PREPARE!

Buy all of the ingredients necessary at least the day before. Get out and wash all serving trays/utensils (let's be honest - the blow method to remove the dust is NOT sufficient.). Anything that can be done ahead of time, do it. Having a dinner party? Set the table. Having a game night? Get out the games, paper, pencils, and prizes. Set up drink stations, appetizer spots, and buffet areas. If altering decor, get extra chairs out, put up decorations, and get balloons a day in advance (Pro tip: if you tell the person filling the balloons with helium that this is for the next day, they will overfill them a little bit so they are still looking fab for the party and bag them up so you don't have 20 rogue balloons). Stock the bathroom with extra toilet paper and make sure the hand soap is full. The last thing you want to be doing in the middle of game night is having a guest come up to you in front of everyone and say, "Hey. Um. You're out of toilet paper." EMBARRASSING for both you and the guest. If you go into the day of the event with only really having to throw some food in the oven and get yourself looking pretty, then when you hear the first DING DONG of the doorbell, you won't be covered in flour, running around, trying to entertain while not burning the house down, and will be able to actually enjoy yourself.

Step 5. Delegate.

It is never a bad thing to ask for help. Is your friend a whiz with desserts? Good. Have that person in charge of desserts. Someone offers to bring the wine? Super. Let them know what you are making and what type of wine you prefer, but are open to their suggestions too. Once guests start arriving, people offer to help plate and carry the food out? Awesome. It'll save your back. One thing that I never really delegate with is clean up. Most of the time I clean as I cook, so by the time the evening is over, there are really only some things that need to be put in the dishwasher, left overs put in the fridge, and the linens washed. In my opinion, if I invite people over, it isn't ok to let them clean up. They are guests. 

Step 6. HAVE A BLAST!

No matter what the circumstances or crazy curves that are thrown your way, have fun. Having a karaoke night and your gaming system won't load? Free style. People are sitting on the couch like bumps on a log? Turn up the music and start a dance party. No one talking? Put conversation starters in a bowl and go around the room. You can't go wrong if you have good food, good people, and a go with the flow attitude. 

There are a 100 other things that I could have thrown in here like come up with a cocktail of the evening or make sure no one on the guest list has beef with another person on the guest list, but I'll save those for another day. Who knows. I might tell you about the time that I made Budapest Pork and almost gave food poisoning to some loved ones. But alas, I'm not writing a book here. Maybe I'll do a part 2 at some point.

Forever Yours,

The Unemployed Diva.

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