Simple + Classy Dinner Party

Entertaining October 19, 2019

Gourmet Dinner Party Made Easy

Thank you to Harry and David for sponsoring this post. All opinions are my own.

Y’all know I love a luxurious and gourmet dinner party. Nothing makes me more excited than dreaming up a beautiful tablescape, spending hours planning and cultivating the perfect menu and inviting our friends over for an incredible evening.

Sometimes, though, there just isn’t enough time in this busy life to do the shopping and planning needed for a WOW-worthy party – Especially true for Landon and me as we get acquainted with a new city AND with a baby on the way. BUT! This doesn’t need to stop us from hosting the jaw-dropping dinner parties we all love… We may just need to outsource a bit 🙂 ! And that’s where Harry and David comes in.

I recently discovered Harry and David Gourmet when I wanted to host a dinner party for some of our new friends in Denver; however, I honestly didn’t have the energy to put everything together (hello 1^st trimester sleepiness). I’ve always been familiar with their annual pear and fruit deliveries but had no idea that Harry and David Gourmet had an inspired collection of thought-fully chosen appetizers, entrees, desserts and wines that are perfectly curated for the well-defined palette and for those who love to host dinner parties… Ummm, hello! I needed this in my life! I wanted to show our guests the full Everyday Hostess experience with a unique theme and ambience. With Harry and David’s ready-to-serve premium gourmet meals and paired sparkling wine, I was set!

Ever since we visited friends in Boston, I’ve been dying to bring that east coast, nautical charm to one of my dinner parties – and this was the perfect excuse! I set my table accordingly with a color palette of red, navy and white and incorporated the cutest lobster plates, starfish, boating rope, and of course this adorable lighthouse candle set as the centerpiece. I ordered two of Harry and David’s ready-to-serve gourmet meals and sparkling wine, and that’s literally all I did for this event. Harry and David did all the rest!

A gourmet charcuterie board is a classy way to open any dinner party, and Harry and David did a masterful job with theirs – pairing Artisan cheeses with salamis and crackers. After some mingling we enjoyed our main event, which was Harry and David’s Gourmet Lobster Truffle Mac and Cheese meal. Y’all, I could rave about this meal for hours. The quality, the presentation, the ease was absolutely superb. And it meshed wonderfully with my theme to boot!

You wouldn’t believe what was included in the Gourmet Lobster Truffle Mac and Cheese! This beautifully crafted meal included Citrus Herb Scallops with a mouthwatering Truffle Lobster Mac and Cheese and the sweetest fresh peach crisp made of ripe peaches and topped with a toffee crumble. Un.be.lieavable.

Harry and David could not have made this dinner party any easier on me. Not only was everything perfectly presented with the scallops displayed in individual sea shells and the Truffle Lobster Mac and Cheese in individual ramekins, everything was already prepared and just needed to be heated for a maximum of 25 minutes. So quick and easy, yet with the seafood coming from Maine, it tasted so fresh as if it had been caught and flown in on the same day. All I had to do was un-package the boxes and set the table, and voilà! A spread made to impress! And did I mention the paired sparkling wine they included with the meal?! No detail was spared.

The party looked like I had been preparing for days and all I had to do was review all of H&D’s gourmet options, click to order, and it showed up on my doorstep fresh and ready to wow in just a matter of days!

It’s the perfect way to host a luxury event with friends and family without getting bogged down in all the details leading up to the evening. I also love the idea of sending these meals to friends and families as gifts or as part of a meal train for someone with an illness or to new parents (no casserole from you!).

Check out their full list of gourmet selections for your next dinner party. It’s sure to impress and you’ll have all your guests asking for your recipes and tricks!

Enjoy!

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Dinner Party Tablescape June 1, 2019

Top 5 Entertaining Tips and Tricks

From a casual tailgate party to a swanky New Year’s Eve soiree, we love putting our personal touch on any event! At the same time, no party discriminates – they can all lead to some serious stress!

And since we probably shouldn’t legally recommend always having a spare bottle of wine at the ready (but like, you should), we’re here with five entertaining and party planning tips and hacks that will make your hosting life easier! The key in my book: Prepare, prepare, prepare…

Let’s get to it!

1. A Few Weeks Out

You can never give yourself too much time to prepare for a party! I prefer to front load all of my preparation in the weeks leading up to the event so that I can enjoy the day of! No matter what, something will pop up day-of that you weren’t expecting (you ran out of ice or one of your ingredients went stale and you need to go back to the store) and the last thing you want to do is have to deal with that plus something else (like trying to select the best floral for your centerpiece) that could have been handled earlier in the preparation process.

The best types of parties are when the hosts are relaxing and enjoying time with their guests, so prepare in advance to help reduce any last-minute stresses!

2. Set up the Night Before

This is my number one party trick and key to success! I always set up as much as I can the night before as if it’s the actual party. So what does this exactly mean?

Set the table – If you’re hosting a sit down dinner, fully set the table as if someone will be arriving any minute (less the food and drinks, of course). I always have a vision in mind for the tablescape and then find ways to tweak it once I’m actually putting it together. Setting up the night before allows me some extra time to make these small little improvements as I see it coming together.
Set up Platters – Pull out your platters and serving pieces in advance and label them with Sticky Notes with what will be served on them. Then if you realize you need one more, this gives you more time to find one to borrow or buy. Also, this helps me to ensure that I don’t forget to serve anything on the day of the party! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had numerous appetizers to serve and then just forget one of them on the day-of. Having platters ready with labels helps to remedy this!
Prep the Meal – Most menu items can’t be made the night before, but they sure can be prepared in advance! For example, if I’m making a chili, I will cut all of the veggies in advance and store them in a plastic bag and refrigerate overnight. The same goes for any dry ingredients. Then all I need to do the next day is mix them together and cook! Gone are the times of hours of chopping on the day of a party!

On the day of the party, make sure you give yourself enough time to complete any final tasks, like doing a final house cleaning or last-minute food and drink preparation. In my opinion, I’d rather start earlier in the day and have an extra hour of free time to finish getting ready or enjoy a glass of wine in the quiet rather than working up until the minute your first guest arrives.

3. It’s all About the Details!

The devil is in the details… and by “the devil,” of course I mean wowing your guests when they walk through your front door or sit down for dinner!

Look, I love channeling my inner Gatsby at a lavish party as much as the next girl, but for one reason or another that kind of grandeur isn’t always realistic. I’ve found that you can make just as much of an impression on partygoers with a shrewd attention to detail as you can by writing a huge check for your event.

From colorful straws to personalized napkins, or coordinated centerpieces and place settings, there are myriad ways to show your attendees that you’ve poured love and care into your party. Some of my favorite detail hacks that go a long way:

Place cards – I love to incorporate personalization anywhere I possibly can and this usually starts with cute place cards for each guest.
Printables – Printables are an adorable and very budget-friendly way to add some customization to your party. Whether it’s a cute print for your cocktail bar or labels for each buffet item that corresponds with your party theme, these are the perfect way to add an extra tailored touch to your party.
Straws and Napkins – These may seem like a small detail, but when your paper straw or napkins perfectly correspond with your party theme, people notice.

4. The Menu

Since he’s probably reading this, I’ll go ahead and say my husband is a GREAT bartender and budding mixologist 😉 But I don’t want him to miss the mixing and mingling at our parties and then blame it on the a, a-a-a, a-al-cohol – even if Jamie Foxx says it’s OK.

So, I like to simplify the drink menu. I always recommend serving beer, wine, and then a signature cocktail that correlates with the party theme. Be sure to choose some crowd-pleasers, especially if you’re getting adventurous with your cocktail – but a signature drink is a great way to make a statement and also allow you (and your husband) to interact with your party guests!

Unless you’re having the party catered, I like to have as many menu items as fresh and homemade as possible; however, a multi-course meal can be difficult to plan and coordinate. Therefore, I like to have a signature and gourmet dish, a couple sides that are delicious but not too time-consuming, and then I’ll add a few pre-made options that I have tweaked to look homemade. For example, I’ll serve a cedar plank salmon with goat cheese mashed potatoes and a caesar salad. All will look homemade, but in reality, I’ll use a bagged caesar salad and then make homemade parmesan crisps to add to the top to make it look like I worked on this salad all day long!

5. Clean Up

Make sure your dishwasher is empty before people arrive. That will make the clean up and end-of-night tear down way easier on you and much fewer dishes will be staring at you from the sink in the morning. Also, try to avoid cleaning while guests are there! Sit back and enjoy and take in every minute with your friends and family. There will be no guest guilt associated with not helping and they will be able to fully enjoy as well!

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Entertaining October 18, 2015

This is the perfect, sure-to-impress menu for a date night or your last minute dinner guest.

In an ideal world all of our dinner parties would be on a Saturday or Sunday night with all the time in the world to prepare. However, we all know that with everyone’s busy schedules we don’t always get that much notice or have that much time to prepare. Sometimes you get word of a last minute dinner guest or the only available time to have family or friends over for dinner is on a weeknight after a busy day at the office.

Weeknight dinner parties are abundant at my house, as the only nights that line up for me and my boyfriend are during the workweek. Therefore, I always look for easy recipes that I can prepare the night before or over the weekend, yet are still fresh and beautiful and only require a little bit of day-of cooking. This simple and classy dinner party menu can easily be prepared last minute and is the perfect solution when you are short on time. Plus it is always a crowd pleaser and is sure-to-impress your guests!

I recently served this menu on a Monday night for a dinner party with my boyfriend and his family. Of course I wanted to make the best impression possible and wanted the meal to be perfect. With the easy Sunday night prep and table setup and the limited time on Monday this menu took to pull together, the night was seamless! It was the perfect combination of simple and classy that looked formal enough but not like I tried too hard.