Friday, January 22, 2010

Dinner Party Plans

And the winner is...dinner party. The people have voted (19 for Dinner Party; 6 for Housewarming Party; 6 for Learn to Knit; 2 for Learn to Sew). Who am I to refuse? I'm flattered that you have faith in me. Or maybe you just want to see if I can survive the challenge.

The first thing I need to do is set a date -- not too soon because I won't be prepared and not too far off because then I'll have too much time to fret about the daunting task ahead.

Second, I must draw up a guest list. It's going to be challenging finding an interesting and compatible group who is free on the same night.

Third, I will draft a menu. My mom suggested that I keep the dinner party simple, including several dishes I can make in advance.

Avo will be in charge of pre-dinner cocktails and I can certainly pick up some tasty cheese and crackers from the co-op. But what then?

I have so many questions to answer: How many courses will there be? Will I prepare dishes I've made before or something entirely new? Most importantly, do we have enough chairs to seat everyone?

In the coming weeks, I plan to work out these and other details. I'm also excited to survey some local dinner party experts and solicit their advice. First up is Giulia Melucci, the Brooklyn-based author of the appetizing memoir "I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti," which was published to much acclaim last year. Look for Giulia's dinner party tips next week.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

oooh, i can help with cocktails! call me! xo susan

Bernie Bernstein said...

It's Me, Mom - Yes, simple always works. My suggestionis, cheese, maybe a dip such as cajun crab both to serve with crackers and drinks. Then, a green salad, main chicken dish (see last posting) with Brussels sprouts and candied carrots and then a wonderful dessert prepared by Paula. Maybe coffee apple cake served with ice cream, coffee and tea. Yum. Perhaps we can be your first guests.

Tasty Trix said...

Whatever you do, make sure you can make at least some things ahead of time so you aren't panicking at the last minute!! There's always buffet style!