Dinner Party

Below is a menu for a dinner party for about 20 people I did that looks extraordinarily elaborate. However, it isn't that hard to pull off, and the concepts can be applied to any meal.

Strategy

1. Done properly, you can feed a bunch of people and still enjoy yourself. Great food doesn't need to be stressful.

2. Avoid elaborate offerings that require recipes. High quality ingredients with minimal prep is key. 

3. Plan last minute prep or skill dishes near the beginning such as an appetizer or fish course. This includes things like shrimp, scallops, arranged salads, and anything that needs to be under the broiler. 

4. Cooking something live is always a crowd pleaser, but plan it so it will be low-stress and guaranteed to succeed. Have everything ready to go and plan it so that you don't have other items to think about at the same time. 

5. Keep up with dishes! Wash and reuse when possible. 

6. Do many things ahead of time, but not everything. Appearing to cook effortlessly is an art form. Think of it like a cooking show.

7. Select a bullet-proof no-brainer dish as your main course. My Chicken Thighs with Ancho Chili and Shiraz is a perfect example. Other options are large roasts that can be slowly cooked to a precise temp like boneless leg of lamb, rack of lamb, or beef tenderloin. If you are going to do steaks, use my reverse cook method. Having the main course done is a huge stress reliever

8. Avoid things that can easily end in disaster. Notice that it is rare for me to use the broiler, it is too easy to turn your offering into charcoal and there is no way to cover it up so that the guests don't notice; smoke alarms and the fire department are hard to ignore!  You can, however,  mitigate risk. For example if you are going to use a broiler, let it get good and hot before placing the food under it. This will shorten the cooking time and you will be less tempted to wander off.

For this dinner I carefully selected some interesting cheeses and provided descriptions. Almost everyone likes cheese and very little needs to be done at time of service. The other appetizer items were also a low degree of difficulty, which allowed me to focus on the next course.

The duck breast takes a little attention, but with a thermometer I know that if I take it out of the oven at 126 degrees it will be perfect. I don't have to keep checking it or slicing it or poking it to see if it is done. Instead I prepare the platter that it will go on and wait for the temperature alarm to go off. The beets and cucumber were done ahead. That left the shrimp which represented the only dish so far that I really needed to watch closely because it is very easy to overcook shrimp. I was careful to avoid having overlapping critical dishes. The main course was also relatively simple. The tenderloin was prepared ahead of time, and tied with string. It slow roasted for 2 hours so all that had to be done around service time was carving. The chicken was prepared earlier in the day.

----- Appetizer -----

Artisane Cheese Board - Point Reyes Original Blue • Saint Nectaire

Parmigiano Reggiano • Humboldt Fog • Robiola Rocchetta • Berkswell

Roaring Forties Blue Cheese • Mt Tam • Red Hawk

Fresh Chevre - with olive oil, fresh herbs, soy nuts

Caprese Salad -Tomato, Buffalo Mozarella, and fresh basil salad

Antipasto tray - Selected meats and olives

----- Second -----

Muscovy Duck breast - with ginger balsamic reduction

Shrimp - stuffed with goat and Parmesan cheeses

Beet Salad - Red and Orange beets, lightly seasoned

Korean style cucumber - Rice wine and chipotle peppers

----- Main -----

Boneless Chicken Thighs - braised in Shiraz Red Wine and Ancho Chiles

Beef Tenderloin - rubbed with black pepper, kosher salt and fresh rosemary, slow roasted and served with red wine reduction.

Roasted red potatoes

French green beans - Dijon, grated parmesan, olive oil

Sauteed Crimini Mushrooms – garlic, olive oil, capers, white wine