So you want to plan a dinner party

How to relieve some of the stress of having people over

making name tags for people can be helpful when it's time to decide where to sit

Planning a dinner party can go from fun to stressful in 5 minutes. From guests arriving late, to you leaving the oven on and burning the roast. There can be so many variables to inviting people over to your home for dinner. We have all been there before, so don’t feel alone on this one.

Hosting dinner for a few people has now turned into a giant event that people stress about for days in advance. We all already have enough stress in our lives as it is, you don’t need the negativity of thinking how people are going to view your choices of making a gluten free cake for dessert

it's also good to stay hydrated while you cook, mainly for stress reasons

I have a few things to say about planning dinner parties...

#1 You’re having people over at you’re house for dinner, so you can be however sassy you want to be when it comes to your house as you want to. Your house, your rules…end of story

#2 Please don’t stress so much about the menu and cooking for people. You’re opening your doors and house to people, so they should appreciate all you are doing for them. Honestly most of the time they actually do. If working in the food industry has taught me anything, it’s if people open their doors and want to cook for you, then go!

#3 Plan a menu that you actually want to cook. Things that you actually want to eat and not things that you are planning on making for other people to please them. I encourage you all to try new things when a group of people are going to eat with you. That way you can see what works and what can turn out to be a fail

#4 When you plan the menu or figure out what you are going to make, see how long it is going to take to make it all. You need enough time to do all the prep and also have some time to get ready and set it all up without running out of time. There is nothing worse than looking at the clock and seeing you have a half an hour to get ready before people arrive

#5 Make sure you have all the ingredients you need for the whole night. This even includes things like napkins and glasses or plastic forks and cups. Who wants to run to dollar store when you have people arriving in 45 minutes because you forgot to get napkins? MAKE A LIST!

#6 If you are going to serve wine, then make sure that is also ready to go when people arrive. If you have bought a big Barolo to go with your pasta, it needs to be opened an hour before being served and will most likely need to be decanted. If you need to serve white wine, make sure it is chilled properly.

*insider tip: If you need to chill wine fast, get a bowl full of ice water and place the wine bottle inside. Turn it a few times to help the chilling process start. You can always throw it in the freezer and hope for the best

Well I hope some of these tips have been a little helpful to you all. Maybe the next time you host the in laws at your place you will use some of this info…

Maybe the next time you use this information, I’ll be invited over for dinner!

Much love fam!