I am especially partial to throwing dinner parties. After all, what’s better than sitting down to a fabulous repas at someone’s home, n’est-ce pas? For a dinner party is so much more personal than a meal at a restaurant and much more intimate and conducive to delicious conversation.
But planning the perfect dinner at home does take work and planning.
So here are a few fun and frisky tips:
Be sure to have a fully stocked bar. We’re talking vodka, gin, champagne and plenty of ice. (Return to my blog in the upcoming weeks when I shall teach you how to prepare the perfect bar setup, tell you what liquors to have on hand and give you the recipes for the hottest cocktails in town.)
Dim the lights. Nothing will ruin a dinner party more than bad lighting.
Light a candle in the bathroom, and stack some hand towels next to the sink.
Mingle, mingle, mingle to make sure your guests are comfortable and have found the perfect conversation partners during cocktail hour (actually, allow no more than 25 minutes for cocktails—more than that is excessive, and your guests will certainly be ready for the meal at that juncture).
And here’s my real insider tip: Maison Le Grand sauces.
Turn to the folks at Maison Le Grand for an amazing assortment of tasty tapenades, perky pestos and fab aromatic sauces to transform your hors d’oeuvres from boring to brilliant, your roast chicken from ho-hum to hallelujah! and your salads from so-so to sublime.
Here’s the deal: Maison Le Grand’s sauces come in easy-to-use packages that can be added to recipes or simply spread atop a meat or fish without the addition of any ingredients. And the sauces are simply amazing and packed with flavor. Plus, they are preservative free, raw and artisanally produced.
I love the 4 Nuts and Cheese Pesto, perfect for pasta.
The Mild Olive and Sun-Dried Tomato Tapenade works wonders atop toasted bread.
And the Sesame & Pink Peppercorn Aromatic Sauce is divine atop a fabulous fillet of beef.
OK, so there’s one of my big entertaining secrets, so get out there and plan a festive holiday affair.
Enjoy!