The "Throw a Dinner Party!" Recipes featured below are a continuation of my previous post, Throw a Dinner Party! I've included many helpful setup tips and tricks for you. Click on the link above and take a look.
Are they gourmet dinner party recipes?
Are they easy to prep?
Are they simple dinner party recipes to make?
The answers to these questions are relative to each person, so you'll have to decide. Yet, I believe most people will find each recipe to be pretty straight forward and easy to execute.
DINNER PARTY MENU FOR SIX
What to Drink
When your guests arrive, pour a sparkling wine that's tasty and inexpensive. For dinner I suggest that you serve a Cotes du Rhone or Syrah and Chardonnay. Delicious!
Hors d'oeuvre Course
The best pre-dinner appetizers don't leave you feeling stuffed. Set out bowls of Whole Foods veggie chips, store bought marcona almonds, along with a platter of yellow wax beans, cucumbers and carrots that you'll serve with the whipped feta and pepper dip. If you want to cut corners, serve Whole Foods Whipped Feta Dip.
Whipped Feta and Pepper Dip
(Printable Recipe)
4 oz. cream cheese
6 oz. feta cheese
10 small (or 5 large) peppadew peppers removed from brine
1 tsp. brine from peppers
1/2 tsp. hot smoked paprika
1/2 tsp. coarse salt
1 tbsp. water
Combine the cream cheese, half of the feta, half of the peppers, and all of the remaining ingredients in a food processor. Blend them until smooth. Add the rest of the feta cheese and peppers and pulse until chunky. Chill and serve.
Salad Course
Baby Field Greens with Strawberries and Manchego
(Printable Recipe)
10 cups of mixed, baby Bibb, frisee, oak leaf, spinach and red leaf
12 strawberries, tops trimmed - no stems
2 oz. shaved manchego cheese
2 tbsp. minced shallots
2 tbsp. sherry wine vinegar
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. coarse salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup (plus an additional 2 tbsp.) extra-virgin olive oil
1. Wash and dry greens. Thinly slice strawberries and combine with greens and manchego cheese shavings. Cover with a damp paper towel and refrigerate.
2. In a small bowl, whisk shallots, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper. Slowly drizzle in olive oil until combined.
3. When you're ready to serve, remove paper towel and toss salad with vinaigrette.
Dinner Course
These recipes are like dinner party building blocks - delicious and pleasing to the palate with the ability to become your "signature dish". If you'd like to test your cooking chops and switch up the recipes without any risk, introduce seasonal ingredients.
For example, this dinner menu partners the Cornish game hens with grilled asparagus, sweet bell peppers, Portabella mushrooms and new potatoes. However, the Cornish game hens are nice to partner with fresh-sliced Heirloom tomatoes and sugar snap peas, or roasted root vegetables. Again, go with seasonal, Or, think of it this way... It's your party, so you can do whatever you want!
Herb-Roasted Cornish Game Hens
(Printable Recipe)
1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves, packed into cup
2 tbsp. rosemary leaves
2 tbsp. thyme leaves
2 cloves of garlic, peeled
1/2 lemon, trim ends then cut into wedges and seed
1 and 1/4 tsp. coarse salt (I like Kosher salt), plus more for sprinkling
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper, plus more for sprinkling
1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
6 - 1 and 1/2 pound Cornish game hens
4 tbsp. butter, softened
1. Place parsley, rosemary, thyme, garlic, lemon, salt and pepper in food processor. Blend until finely chopped, With processor running, add olive oil.
2.Loosen skin from your six hens.Put i tbsp.of herb mixture under the skin of each hen, smoothing to cover breasts. Place the birds on a large rimmed baking sheet, over with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.
3. Remove hens from refrigerator and bring to room temperature (for about 1 hour). Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
4.Place hens on clean rimmed baking sheet (if they touch each other, it's okay). Brush butter over surface of hens and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast in oven, rotating pan once until golden brown and cooked through (meat thermometer should read 165 degrees when placed in the thigh), about 50 minutes.
5. Remove from oven and let stand at least 15 minutes before placing on individual plates. No carving is necessary.
Garlic-Rosemary Mashed Potatoes with Crispy Smoked Bacon
(Printable Recipe)
8 oz. 1/4 inch thick slices of smoked bacon, cubed (substitute maple bacon if you'd like)
3 lbs. baby red skin potatoes
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk, add more if needed
5 large cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
3 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 tbsp. salt
1. Saute bacon in a skillet over medium heat until browned and crisp, about 8 minutes. Drain on paper towel.
2. Place potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold salted water. Bring to a boil and cook until fork -tender, about 12 minutes, Drain. Transfer back to pot.
3. Meanwhile, place heavy cream, milk, garlic, and rosemary in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer until liquid reduces by half (about 20 minutes). Remove rosemary (it's OK if a few stray leaves stay in liquid) and pour mixture into pot with potatoes. Season with salt and coarsely mash.
4. Sprinkle with bacon and serve immediately. Or, if making the night before - reheat potatoes over medium heat, adding more milk to get desired consistency. Then add bacon.
Roasted Mushrooms, Sweet Peppers and Asparagus
(Printable Recipe)
1 bunch green asparagus
1 each of red, yellow and green sweet peppers
1 package of Portobella mushrooms
2 to 3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp. coarse salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place vegetables on rimmed baking sheet. Toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast in the oven just until tender, or about 12 to 15 minutes. Serve immediately or serve room temperature, if you'd like.
What to Drink After Dinner
As a nightcap, pour "his" and "hers" vodkas or scotches.
Ciroc vodka, distilled 5 times, is ultra-premium and refined, and Grey Goose vodka is good and smooth, and served as a Martini - is good to the last sip.
Macallan Fine Oak 15 Years Old Scotch, served over ice, is light and delicate, and Macallan Cask Strength is bold with a toffee-like aroma.
It's your choice. You decide which is his and which is hers. Whatever you decide, you won't go wrong!
Dessert Course
This decadent, no frosting, single-layer cake tastes good, but will come out of your oven funny looking or imperfect. Foodie people, like caterers (like me) and such, call it "rustic".
I love this cake! I usually serve it with coffee ice cream. You could add the remaining fresh strawberries (from the Baby Field Greens salad) on the side. "Waste not, want not!" - as my mom always says.
Decadent Chocolate Cake
(Printable Recipe)
12 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped12 large eggs, separated and at room temperature2 cups sugar2 tsp. pure vanilla extract1 tbsp. dark rum3 and 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened and cut into tablespoons1/4 cup all-purpose flour1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder (Valrhona brand is real good)1/2 tsp. saltConfectioners sugar (powdered sugar) for dusting
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 10-inch springform pan with non-stick cooking spray. Place chocolate and 3 tbsp. of water in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until melted and smooth; set aside to cool slightly.
2. Place egg yolks and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on high speed until pale and thick, roughly 3 minutes. On a medium-low setting, add vanilla and rum. Switch to paddle attachment. On medium speed, gradually add the chocolate mixture and the butter, mixing them together until smooth.
3. Transfer mixture to a large bowl. Sift flour, cocoa, and salt over the top of mixture, then fold in; set aside.
4. Place the egg whites in a clean bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat the whites until almost-stiff peaks form. Fold them into the chocolate mixture in two additions (being careful not to over mix). Carefully transfer the batter to the pan and bake about 1 hour and 20 minutes, until puffed, cracked, and set.
Note: Stick a toothpick into the cooked cake. If the cake is cooked the toothpick will come out clean, with no batter on it.
5. Remove cake from oven and let it cool completely in pan on top of a wire rack. Just before serving, remove the cake from the pan and dust with confectioners sugar.
Your guests will be impressed with this simple, easy yet elegant and delicious meal that you serve at your dinner party for 6.
Leave a comment below. I'd love to hear about your dinner party!
Image credit: Carlo At Your Service Productions
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