I enjoyed your article and comments on keeping your cool while entertaining with a dinner party.
One alternative to the stress of a traditional dinner party is to organize a pot luck dinner party where you are the host and you provide the main course. That way, your guests can bring their favorite dishes and accomodate any dietary restrictions or preferences.
Some of the best meals I've had recently are the Holiday Brunches we have with my Quilt Guild. We have a sign up sheet for the course we want to contribute and can see what other members are bringing.
Some of the most enjoyable social events I've hosted around food are more like the casual drops ins by friends you describe. I'm not stressed, the dinner is more improvisational, everyone is pitching in (a great icebreaker for people who haven't met before), and it's not a performance. I agree that is best to admit when something went awry; one time my mom made breaded fish for company and she accidentally used cookie crumbs in place of bread crumbs and it was terrible! But we all ate it out of politeness.
Argh, I have only two issues of Gourmet from 2001, and sadly not one of them has this. This cake recipe looks delicious. Thanks for the visual. And I loved the article about entertaining. Have been there many times.
Interesting that I also did a get-together for a group of 16 people--not a dinner, but a fund-raiser for a charity and scholarships. We all had such a great time that the end, everyone applauded!
Love this! I can’t fathom throwing a dinner party anymore. I’d love to know, seriously, how many I don’t eat “xyz’s” you heard and the I’m allergic, no gluten, anything white, etc. I’m not diminishing the importance of anyones food challenges. I have no idea where to start to feed a group of friends successfully. Best- D
Thanks for all the strolls down memory lane. All so familiar and good of you to give the antidotes. Wondering if you can steer me to a place to view the table of contents to the August; 1949, issue of Gourmet. Want to plan a dinner party around that cover. Just completed a 1000 piece puzzle of that issue’s cover.
When my Partner and I were still together, we'd have a Sunday movie night with friends and I'd usually make something like a dark meat chicken stirfry, beef enchiladas, spaghetti with homemade "American Mom's Idea of Italian" red sauce, or soft-shell tacos. Sometimes our friends would bring their favorite dishes over, and almost always they brought dessert and beverages, so it was nice, casual, and nobody made a fuss when I pulled out Chinet paper plates and plastic cutlery!
I enjoyed your article and comments on keeping your cool while entertaining with a dinner party.
One alternative to the stress of a traditional dinner party is to organize a pot luck dinner party where you are the host and you provide the main course. That way, your guests can bring their favorite dishes and accomodate any dietary restrictions or preferences.
Some of the best meals I've had recently are the Holiday Brunches we have with my Quilt Guild. We have a sign up sheet for the course we want to contribute and can see what other members are bringing.
Marjorie
Some of the most enjoyable social events I've hosted around food are more like the casual drops ins by friends you describe. I'm not stressed, the dinner is more improvisational, everyone is pitching in (a great icebreaker for people who haven't met before), and it's not a performance. I agree that is best to admit when something went awry; one time my mom made breaded fish for company and she accidentally used cookie crumbs in place of bread crumbs and it was terrible! But we all ate it out of politeness.
Argh, I have only two issues of Gourmet from 2001, and sadly not one of them has this. This cake recipe looks delicious. Thanks for the visual. And I loved the article about entertaining. Have been there many times.
Carolyn
Interesting that I also did a get-together for a group of 16 people--not a dinner, but a fund-raiser for a charity and scholarships. We all had such a great time that the end, everyone applauded!
Love this! I can’t fathom throwing a dinner party anymore. I’d love to know, seriously, how many I don’t eat “xyz’s” you heard and the I’m allergic, no gluten, anything white, etc. I’m not diminishing the importance of anyones food challenges. I have no idea where to start to feed a group of friends successfully. Best- D
That shrimp recommendation is spot on.
Sucking heads . . . I'll take your word for it and give it a try . . . maybe.
Thanks for all the strolls down memory lane. All so familiar and good of you to give the antidotes. Wondering if you can steer me to a place to view the table of contents to the August; 1949, issue of Gourmet. Want to plan a dinner party around that cover. Just completed a 1000 piece puzzle of that issue’s cover.
When my Partner and I were still together, we'd have a Sunday movie night with friends and I'd usually make something like a dark meat chicken stirfry, beef enchiladas, spaghetti with homemade "American Mom's Idea of Italian" red sauce, or soft-shell tacos. Sometimes our friends would bring their favorite dishes over, and almost always they brought dessert and beverages, so it was nice, casual, and nobody made a fuss when I pulled out Chinet paper plates and plastic cutlery!
That's the way to throw a dinner party....
I still have that cake recipe torn from the magazine in my "desserts" recipe binder. I should probably make it some day, eh?
It sounds like you threw the perfect dinner party!
Totally agree on that "empty dishwasher" pre-party! Thanks for sharing all of your old treasures with us too!