Planning a dinner party
Created | Updated Jan 28, 2002
Music? Lights? Seating plans? None of these mean ANYTHING if the food is horrible, so unless you are an expert, stick to something simple. Pasta with a sauce and some part-baked bread always goes down well, even more so if you pick a good wine to accompany it! If you have to spend too much time in the kitchen, it'll ruin your own enjoyment of the evening and so defeat the object of a 'party'. My own solution is to transpose TV chef's efforts into a simpler 'me' style (ie without half the tricky ingredients). Try taking your own notes next time you see something on TV and simplify it - practice it once or twice for dinner before you attempt to cook it for lots of people, just in case it doesn't work, and you will soon have a whole selection of recipes in your head. My favourite at the moment? Fresh egg-tagliatelle with parsley, garlic, chilli pepper, crab and part baked ciabatta bread. Quickly fry up the garlic, crab meat (tinnned is fine) and 1 chopped chili pepper (you could also buy chilli-paste in sainsburys), add the chopped parsley and then the cooked pasta - stir, serve on hot plates with the cooked ciabatta and any cheap white wine from the supermarket. No stress, simple and sophisticated meal and you can enjoy yourself!
