Just about everyone knows the story about the loaves and the fishes, right? But the question is, how do you plan an instant dinner party for eight? Here are some impromptu dinner party basics that will help.
Start by keeping items on hand for setting a nice looking table and extra staples in your kitchen for cooking a spur-of-the-moment dinner that won't cause you a lot of stress.
Don't have any extra money in your budget for flowers for your dinner party centerpieces? If you have ferns and indoor plants, use them. Small plants like African violets, ivy, cyclamen, and azaleas, a small topiary, and mums will work perfectly. When you can place them around something as simple as a soup tureen or a pretty pot, they'll replace a bouquet and save you money.
If you don't have a green thumb, place an attractive bowl of fresh strawberries, Red Delicious or Granny Smith apples, lemons, limes, seashells, pine cones, or simply a family heirloom like a covered bowl in the center of your table. Add four to six candlesticks and you've made an instant "statement piece" that will give you a chic table setting to be proud of. You have a lot of party supplies in your home to use - you just have to look at things differently.
Keep a variety of ingredients in your pantry and in your freezer to produce dinner party menus at the drop of a hat. The goal isn't necessarily to serve an impromptu gourmet meal, but to produce delicious easy dinners for your on the spot dinner party. Serve something like baked spaghetti (that you can make in advance, freeze and later defrost in your microwave, and serve with lots of melted cheese on top), with a simple salad, and a loaf of crusty bread. If nothing else, take it back to the food basics and take out a basic hamburger recipe or your basic meatloaf recipe with bread crumbs and use it.
Afterward, serve your guests French roast coffee with store bought chocolate chip cookies (or homemade, if you have them), and you've prepared a nice meal in around 30 minutes or so.
There is no right or wrong way of going about this. And because there are plenty of easy dinner recipes (hence easy dinner ideas) available to choose from, you have a lot of options for menu ideas for dinner parties. So thankfully that's one good thing you won't have to worry about. You know what they say... The dinner party (like the show) must go on!
When you keep a small supply of the right items on hand (that encompass several dinner party ideas and dinner party recipes), you will instantly have the perfect elegant dinner party menu and become a spontaneous hostess or host that will leave your unexpected guests impressed by your ability to whip something up like magic, in relatively no time at all.
What's the number one goal for impromptu dinner party suggestions? Have fun dinner parties!
Image source: faith goble
Dinner party, Impromptu dinner, Home, Chocolate chip, Cooking, Granny Smith, Red Delicious, Baking and Confections, Bread, Cookie, Food, Blog, Blogs, Blogging, Weblog: Technorati Tags
