My First Dinner Party: A Success
One good thing that came from last year’s quarantine was that I had time to rediscover my passion for cooking. When I was younger, I was able to cook a lot. But the hustle and bustle of life has a way of shifting our priorities.
Fortunately, my rediscovered culinary skills plus hours, days, and months of isolation gave birth to my genuine desire to entertain.
Yesterday, I had the honor of hosting a dinner party for my mother, grandmother, and aunts in celebration of my new apartment and my Mom’s birthday. Check out the details below to see how I pulled it together!
The Menu
I designed the menu using Canva. I started with the “Beige Elegant Floral Menu” Template and made adjustments to suit my personal taste. After I designed the menu, I printed them and used a regular glue stick to adhere them to blue cardstock, cut them out, and voilà!
Recipes
These are the recipes I used. The only menu item I didn’t get to make from scratch were the jalapeño poppers with bacon-wrapped quail, which I purchased from Buc-ee's and cooked on a cast iron griddle.
Image courtesy of Vivino
Torta de Queso al Horno (Basque Cheesecake)
The Wine
I chose a bottle of Bottega Oro Rosa, a light-bodied, off-dry, Italian sparkling wine with flavors of strawberry and peach and a lingering finish. This wine paired well with the chosen menu options and fit the celebratory mood of the occasion perfectly!
The Table SettingToasting flutes from Dollar Tree
Dansk drinking glasses gifted to me by my Dad 🥰 This glass is no longer in stock by Dansk, but I was able to find something similar on the Bed, Bath & Beyond website
Silver charger/serving plates from Michael’s for $1.99 each
TrueLiving patterned ceramic dinner plates from Dollar General for $2 each
Blue patterned ceramic side plates from Dollar General for $2 each
Navy blue cloth napkins from Amazon for $7.99
Light blue classic ramekins for dipping sauces ($9.98)
Light blue 3-piece ceramic bakeware set for serving the roasted veggies and shrimp scampi ($29.99)
Honestly, this experience—planning, preparing and serving a three-course meal as a sit-down dinner for my family—greatly exceeded my expectations. I got many compliments on the food and the set up. We laughed, conversed, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. I cannot wait to host my next dinner party!
