DON'T BE THE HOSTEST WITH THE MOSTEST
We’ve all been “that host” before. The one who serves the four course meal and forgets that they have to eat as well, or the one who tries a recipe for the first time and blows it, or the one who goes over the top with mixology and forgets that dinner needs to be more than crackers and cheese. And the one thing these have in common, is the fact that they are going to blow the budget for both your wallet and your time.
So we did our own experiment and this is what we’ve realized is the ONE (yes, only one) key to a great dinner party.
1 - Find a recipe to rule them all! Make it a simple, one dish recipe.
If you only have a four burner stove or a mini oven, don’t plan two things that have to be cooked in the oven or a dish that requires everything to be warmed separately. First of all this will increase your budget, the time you spend going from store to store trying to find those white rice noodles shaped like bunnies, and limit your evening to the kitchen while your friends feel bad for eating without you.
As much as we love a four course meal on occasion, dinner parties are exactly what they sound like ½ dinner - ½ party. So if you want to help out your budget, plan it that way. Make a simple, fast meal with copious amounts of game or social time. Don’t have your guests in the kitchen with you for 2 hours before you serve your chicken cordon blue. And really... just don’t serve chicken cordon blue.
Our favorite go-to dinner party meal is Tacos.
They’re fast, guests serve themselves and everyone loves ‘em. So long as you have one type of meat (usually carnitas – cause you can slow cook this to perfection), people with dietary restriction will have no problem making them delicious without the meat or without the tortilla.
THE RECOMMENDATION
The most difficult part of this recipe is getting the chilies from the store. Unless you’re a heat fiend, you probably won’t have them lying around.
You can make this in either a slow cooker or a dutch oven, therefore reducing the amount of cooking time at the last minute when your guests have already arrived. Don’t lose faith when you see the 5.5 hour prep time! You don’t have to do anything after the first 30 minutes. Plenty of time for a long bath, some grooming and a nap.
The most expensive purchase will be the wine/beer, but you can even bypass this if you start a tradition that the host hosts the food (and does the dishes!) and the guests bring the booze. Usually if you start this tradition, you’ll end up with more bottles than you can drink and a lot of guests with an after dinner desire for chocolate. So don’t skimp on dessert!
You can’t go wrong with tacos, light beer and a round of Cards Against Humanity... or Apples to Apples if you have a few button-down guests.
Mainly, as the girls, guilty of trying to do too much, we say that simplicity it key... and don’t forget to pop a beer for yourself.
give yourself a break,
the guilty girls
