Entertaining Archives - home is where my story begins...

Early Summer Dinner Group – How to Host a Dinner Party Without Cooking Ahead

Becca — Mon, 20 Jul 2015 18:00:00 +0000

Every few months I share photos from my dinner group and tell you all about how much fun we have. For those of you who are new to my blog, here’s how it works. Every few months (we shoot for once a month) the hostess chooses four recipes that she has never tried before. She purchases the ingredients for those recipes and sets up four cooking stations in her kitchen. When the guests arrive, we each choose a recipe that we are interested in making and start cooking. When you are at your own house, in your own kitchen, cooking alone, it can sometimes seem like a chore. But, when you are cooking with friends, it is so much more fun!

This time, we had Dinner Group at my friend Dawn’s house. She has a beautiful backyard and the weather was sunny and warm. We ate outside, after dinner was done.

(I usually bring my fancy camera, but I forgot this time. It was a good chance to try out the quality of the iphone 6 camera. I think the color/white balance was slightly off, but overall it took nice photos. Gotta love technology that you can take with you!)

I’m not a drinker, but we usually have some sort of cocktail along with dinner. This one was called a Hula Girl. I stuck with water, but this smelled really yummy!

Ooh, check out the bokeh (background blur) with my iphone picture. Not bad, Apple!

We had salad, pasta, drinks, and dessert. The pasta had chicken, tomato, spinach, and cheese. You can’t go wrong with that combination!

The salad was very interesting because it was a combination I would never have thought about putting together. It had fruit, spinach, and quinoa. It was really tasty and I was surprised that I liked it!

The recipe I made was the cheesecake puffs for dessert. Um, I think you can tell just by looking that these were SUPER tasty. It was a puffed pastry, stuffed with cream cheese filling and strawberries, topped with powdered sugar, chocolate, and almonds. I could live on these!

I think I say this every time I post about my dinner group, but I will say it again. This is really the perfect dinner party! You don’t have to do any cooking ahead of time and it’s just a great way to spend quality time with friends. I also love the fact that it gets me trying new foods, that I know I wouldn’t try on my own, and trying new recipes too!

Happy cooking!

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The Best Way to Host a Dinner Party – Chapter 4

Becca — Tue, 10 Mar 2015 03:20:00 +0000

I feel like I share about the BEST way to host a dinner party quite frequently. When something is the BEST, you just can’t help but share.

It was Angie’s turn to host this month. She told the dinner guests to come in comfy clothes and her theme for the dinner party was comfort food. Now, if you haven’t read my previous blog posts about my dinner club, here’s how it works. The hostess selects 4 dishes to cook for the party, purchases the ingredients, and sets everything out on the counter. Each of the guests and the hostess selects a dish to prepare and we spend the evening cooking together. Doesn’t that sound lovely? The goal is to select recipes that are new to us. Angie said she chose a few recipes from the Pioneer Woman website. I love P-Dub. You just can’t go wrong there.

There was salad, grilled cheese, tomato soup, and strawberry crisp.

And yoga pants.

And cocktails.

I forgot to read all of the recipes, so I don’t even know what was in everything. I will say with certainty that it was really yummy and comforting. The grilled cheese sandwiches were made with rye bread, white cheddar cheese, tomatoes, onions, something green that I didn’t want on my sandwiches, and a dijon spread. I was licking my fingers as I ate the gooey-ness.

The salad also had a hint of dijon. I’ve decided that I really love nuts in my salads.

I picked the tomato soup for my contribution. I have a confession to make. Never, in my life, have I tasted tomato soup. I know, I know. Some of you are thinking that it must be because I don’t like tomatoes. Ummm. Tomatoes happen to be one of my favorite foods of all time. So, my only reason for not ever trying tomato soup is that Campbell’s tomato doesn’t look too yummy to me. The recipe that we used was a creamy tomato basil. It was pretty good. I can see why people consider this comfort food. The verdict? I think I’d make it again and I think my family would like it. It was a good choice for the dinner party!

We finished the night with strawberry crisp, which was TO DIE FOR. It didn’t photograph well, so it didn’t make the cut for the blog, but it was my favorite comfort food of the night.

I love my dinner club friends. It’s so nice to have a chance to sit and talk with other adults, find out how my friends’ lives are going, and just try out a few new recipes at the same time. Now, don’t you agree that this is the BEST way to host a dinner party?

Thanks dinner club! I can’t wait until next month!

Happy cooking!

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Dinner Group in August

Becca — Thu, 07 Aug 2014 20:56:00 +0000

Last night was my turn to host the dinner group that I do with a few friends. I posted about this dinner group before, explaining how it is the best way ever to host a dinner party. My friend, Krystal, came up with the plan. She said a friend had done a dinner group like this one and loved it. We started about a year ago, with the intention of getting together once a month. Some months are crazier than others and we have to skip, but I was excited to host this month! Everything is just easier in the summertime.

For those of you who aren’t regular readers of my blog, the whole idea behind our dinner group is that the host chooses the recipes and purchases the ingredients, but doesn’t do any of the cooking ahead of time. Each guest and the host cooks one of the dishes. The rule is, that you can’t choose recipes that you’ve ever made before. It has to be something new. Now, those of you who know me know that I am NOT an adventurous eater. Sometimes the recipes have really prompted me to venture out of my comfort zone!

I decided we would have a honey themed party this time. Each recipe I chose involved honey in some way. We started off with a honey and cheese table.

I went down to my local Central Market, which has a lot of specialty items. I told the people in the cheese section what my plan was and they got REALLY excited. Honestly, I think I made their day! They guided me in my cheese and honey pairings and explained way more about the flavors of cheese and honey together than I would really ever need to know. Williams-Sonoma also has a great blog post on honey tasting. One of the cheese blocks I bought (the one that practically made the cheese man jump up and down with joy) used crushed honey comb from bees outside of a monastery in France, around the edge of the cheese. (At least I think that’s how his story went. I started hearing, “Wah, wah, wah. Waaaah. Wah. Wah.” It was a little overwhelming.) By the way, when you go to a fancy cheese store and they show you the cheese you should buy, look at the cheese but then ask for something less expensive. Wow! Who knew cheese could be so expensive!

We were all kind of shocked by different flavors that the different honey had. We used Clover, Raspberry, and Blackberry honey. Obviously, the cheese had different flavors too. I should have kept track of the different types of cheese, but I forgot to write them down for later! I tried to remember which honey was supposed to go with certain cheeses, but in the end, I couldn’t remember. We just snacked and enjoyed our cheese and honey pairings.

I’m not a drinker, but my friends usually serve some sort of yummy drink when they host the dinner group. I found a recipe for a peach and honey drink that sounded good. It called for Jack Daniels’ Honey Whiskey. Ummm. That’s a $32 bottle of alcohol that I will never use again! My local Safeway had Jim Bean Honey Whiskey for $10, so that’s the one I chose to use. I forgot to take a picture of the drinks but they were very pretty. The recipe called for equal amounts of whiskey, peach nectar, and sparkling water, with a little honey mixed into the drink. Yes, I tried the drink! I took a taste and it was very honey/peachy. I had about half of the drink and then I promptly handed it over to my hubby. I just don’t like the alcohol flavor. Bleck.

I set up a little table on my deck so we could eat dinner outside. I love that tablecloth. It’s a pretty linen cloth that was my grandma’s from many years ago. The folding chairs were my grandparents’ too. I just love the antiquey feel.

On the menu tonight was grilled corn with honey basil butter, chicken with a honey Thai rub, and a pear and blue cheese salad with honey glazed walnuts. Overall, I LOVED the salad and HATED the chicken. I thought the grilled corn was really yummy. I’ve never grilled corn right in the husks so that was something new for me.

For dessert, we had a apple tart drizzled with honey.

I’ve never been a huge fan of honey, so this was something new for me. I’ve used honey in recipes, but I don’t usually put honey on anything and just eat it. I have to say, I kind of like it, especially the honey and cheese pairings. That was surprisingly yummy!

It was such a nice party and a perfectly relaxed evening. Thanks for coming, friends!

Happy party planning!

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Triple Insert Crock Pot

Becca — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 16:40:00 +0000

I bought a really fun new toy this weekend. I hosted a birthday party and we were having Mexican food. I knew I’d need to keep taco meat, beans, rice, and shrimp warm for several hours. I had a large crock pot at home and also a small crockpot, but I wasn’t sure how I’d keep everything warm. As I was walking through the store, picking up the last few things I needed, I swear this jumped into my cart!

I had been eyeing this for a few years. My hubby’s grandma had asked if this was something I wanted. Although I thought it was pretty cool, I wondered if I really needed it and where I would store it. Ultimately, the desire for warm taco meat, rice, and beans won out. It worked perfectly. I love the fact that it has temperature controls. My small crockpot, which has the same size insert, only has one heat setting. My triple crockpot has high, low, and warm settings.

Here’s the link, if you’re interested. Just click on the picture below.

Are you wondering where I’m going to store this? My hubby’s not happy, but I saved the box and I’m going to store it in the garage. It’s worth it.

Happy shopping!

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Sharing

Becca — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 14:00:00 +0000

This pretty set of dishes belonged to my great grandmother. It’s not fancy or expensive, but I think it’s beautiful. The pieces are worn, from many years of use. I have about a dozen dinner plates, almost as many salad plates, and a few special pieces like the vegetable server below.

The really great thing about this set is that there is an identical set of these dishes. You see, my great grandmother and her sister had identical sets of dishes. That way, when they had large dinner parties they could share the dishes they needed. Isn’t that brilliant?

Well, my sister and I thought it was a fabulous idea. If our great grandmother made it work, then we certainly could too! My sister and I lives just minutes from each other and we take turns entertaining when we have family parties. Our family has traditionally enjoyed sit-down-dinners when we get together. There are 20 of us. Twenty. Twenty dinner plates. Twenty salad plates. Twenty dessert plates. You get the idea. I don’t know about you, but I don’t have room to store all that, plus serving pieces! Our arrangement for sharing works out perfectly.

We both have a full set of Friendly Village and we each have a few serving pieces. At Thanksgiving, I pack up my dishes and drop them at her house. At Christmas, she packs up her dishes and brings them to my house. We live close, so we don’t even wrap the dishes. We just put them in a box and take them for a little drive.

I absolutely LOVE these dishes. They are perfect for winter holidays. You’re probably wondering what we do for the other holidays and family parties. Don’t worry, we have the same everyday dishes and serving pieces too.

Our great grandmother and her sister had a pretty smart idea. Sharing is such a good thing.

Happy entertaining!

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All Wrapped Up In The Holidays

Becca — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 20:00:00 +0000

I was so wrapped up in the holiday festivities last week, that I forgot about my own linky party. We have spent a lot of time with friends and family and a good chunk of the weekend watching my son’s basketball games. Little time was left for craftiness and homey goodness.

Here’s a peek into Thanksgiving in our neck of the woods. My sister and sister-in-law hosted our meals this year. We all live in the same neighborhood, so we didn’t have to drive far between parties.

There was turkey, of course…

unless, you are 7 and dishing your own plate… then it will look like this. Olives. Potatoes. Giant cinnamon roll. Jello. Yep, that’s all you need for a perfect Thanksgiving meal.

Look at those cute little leaves on the pie! My mom loves to do that.

Green bean casserole

Sweet potato puffs

A good nap afterward

Happy Holidays!

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Entertaining, As It Should Be

Becca — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 13:00:00 +0000

What do you get when you combine 13 girls, 10 boys, 2 movies, 2 nights, and 7 bags of popcorn?

Well, you’d get my weekend. Last weekend, to be exact. There was no special occasion. No fancy invitations. No fancy appetizers. No last minute stress to make sure the house was all clean. We sent out evites on Monday and invited the girls from my daughter’s kindergarten class to come over on Friday for pizza and a movie. Saturday was my son’s turn. He invited the boys from his class and we had the same party all over again. My daughter chose the new Barbie movie and my son chose Karate Kid.

The kids were only over for about 3 hours each night. It was low key, low stress, but tons of fun. The parents appreciated the time to themselves. My kids appreciated the way we opened our home to their friends. I appreciated seeing my childrens’ gratitude, for something that was really no work for me. So often, when I plan a party, it involves huge themes, party favors, way too much food, and the overall grandeur that comes with entertaining. This was different. It was just friends hanging out. No expectations, just fun times with friends. Isn’t that the way entertaining should be?

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Family Lunch Tablescape

Becca — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 01:07:00 +0000

Every other month, or so, my family gets together to celebrate birthdays. This time it was my turn to host. We never know who’ll be able to come. Some of our family members have a three hour drive to get here. Today, I was expecting twelve adults and eight kids.

Growing up, we always had an elegant supper. It was always on a Sunday, at 1:00. There was fancy china, homemade cinnamon rolls, mashed potatoes, and something like swiss steak or turkey. My mom would usually have five different pies prepared for us to choose from. Imagine a beautiful Thanksgiving dinner for 25… that was family dinner.

My grandma is now in assisted living and my mom has downsized to a smaller home. The reality has finally hit. The “kids” are now responsible for taking on this family tradition. It’s a little more laid back now that the kids are in charge. We don’t always break out the china. Most of the time the dinner is buffet style. The floors will probably not be freshly waxed. It may not be my mother or grandmother’s party, but there are a few things that are always the same. There will always be lots of food. There will be kids running through the house, happy to have time to play with their cousins. My brother will still organize a game of some sort (most likely wii, instead of ping pong or wiffle ball like we did in our younger days). We will all be too full for dessert, but eat it anyway. It will be time for family. Some things never change.

So, here’s a glimpse of the table, from family dinner at my house. I can’t wait to post this on Tablescape Thursday, at Between Naps on the Porch.

Linking to:

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