Turn Your Dinner Date From Good to Great!

[ 0 ] March 26, 2018 |

Good food is one of the best ways to get people together, and sharing a meal can allow you to connect to people on a different kind of level. Whether you want to host friends or impress a date, serving up some delicious food and drink is always going to go down well. As someone that loves food, chances are you already know your way around the kitchen- but entertaining can be a little trickier. It’s not just like dishing up your families weeknight dinner, you’re really out to impress. So what can you do that will turn your dinner party from good to spectacular?

Don’t Overlook Appetisers

These tiny morsels might be overlooked when you’re planning your food for the evening, but actually it’s well worth including some canapes at your dinner party. These will really whet your guest’s appetites and get them geared up for what’s to come. It also gives them something to nibble on while they have a drink and mingle at the start of the evening. Appetisers should be small, easy to eat but very tasty. You want to get your guests feeling hungry not filling them up at this stage, so absolutely nothing filling here.

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Match Up The Courses

You might be able to cook an incredible starter, main and dessert without an issue. But to make your dinner party really stand out, you should choose these carefully so your food is coherent. For example, if you have a very heavy main course then you could perhaps go lighter with the starter and dessert. You should choose flavors that work well, or maybe base the food on a theme or type of cuisine so it all makes sense. That way you won’t end up with flavors and dishes that just don’t go well together.

Serve The Correct Wine

The wine is a very important part of a dinner party, and you will of course need to keep the drinks flowing and ensure your guests glasses are always topped up. Do some research to find out which types of wine go best with the meat, fish, vegetables and general flavors you’re serving. A full bodied red will work well with red meat flavors for example, whereas a white will balance with the more subtle flavors of chicken or fish. A sweeter wine will marry well with your dessert course. You need to decide between red, rose, white, still, sparkling, you even need to make sure the temperature is right. Some wine will need to be served at room temperature and others chilled. You can find advice and support this as well by doing your research on knowledgeable websites. Don’t overlook your wine or leave it until the last minute and grab whatever you can find at the supermarket. The right drink with each course can take your meal from just fine to spectacular.

Think About Presentation

When you’re serving up food for a dinner party, the presentation can be as important as the food itself. This is really a chance to impress, and you want it to look as good as it can be! Individual portions of things work well, for example rather than making one large dessert and cutting it up, get small dishes and create a mini one for everyone. Don’t just throw things on the plate, put each thing on nicely- you could even look online for examples of how the dish you’re making can be presented.

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Choose Make- Ahead Dishes if You’re Likely to Get Flustered

Even a seasoned cook can feel the pressure when it comes to cooking for a group, especially in a formal dinner party setting. The last thing you want to do is burn the food or make a disaster of it by getting timings wrong or realizing at the last minute you’ve forgotten an ingredient. For this reason, it’s well worth making as much as you can in advance. Desserts can be made earlier in the day and be left to chill in the fridge. Starters like soup can be made even a couple of days ahead of time and then reheated on the night. That way you have less elements to concentrate on when your guests have arrived. The party needs to be fun for you or it defies the whole object, so you don’t want to be stuck in the kitchen all night. Choosing the right foods and preparing what you can in advance will make your life much easier.

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Category: Food.Fun.Stuff., guest post

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