How to host the best dinner parties – Part 1

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Someday, COVID-19 will only be a bad memory and we’ll be able to see people again! In the meantime, you could start preparing yourself mentally to host the best dinner parties in your home. I have interviewed my grandma, Renée, to discover how she manages to host dinner parties (especially during the Holidays with all our families and relatives) and to stay sane. Learn how to host the perfect dinner party for large groups!

This post focuses on the whole menu. In the next post, I’ll focus on the before, during, and after of the party, and how to entertain.

Childhood memories

I have very fond memories of the Christmas dinner party at my grandparents’ house every year, even though I am the oldest child in the family and was often in charge of entertaining the younger ones.

My grandma always had everything prepared for our arrival: snacks, appetizers, drinks. Even if we always got there about 1-2 hours before dinner, nobody ever got “hangry” while waiting for the main course.

I also have to say that their house was always extremely clean. Like, perfectly clean. Not a speck of dust on sight.

My experience in 2017

In 2017, I decided I was going to host the Christmas dinner, as my ex and I had bought our first house and I was excited to show my family that we finally settled down. Oh boy, I think I still have PTSD over that night.

• I had no idea how much food was required
• I didn’t know how to plan my meals to make sure everything was ready for dinner
• My kids were 2 and 3 years old. How do you even keep a house clean with toddlers?!?

Here’s everything that went wrong:

• I forgot to put the appetizers in the oven prior to everyone’s arrival
• I didn’t buy enough drinks
• I forgot to put some sides on the table
• I didn’t have enough chairs
• I was stuck in the kitchen instead of entertaining my guests
• I spent hours afterward cleaning up (especially washing the dishes)

Listen, I was 27-28 years old, I was used to having my friends over, where we’d order pizza and use the pizza boxes as plates. If they are thirsty, they could just go see what’s in my fridge, I didn’t care.

I was not ready to host a proper dinner party.

How to host the perfect dinner party, according to my beautiful Grandma Renée

Determine the date, time, and number of guests

You need to find a date, ahead of time, and confirm the number of guests that will actually come, including their +1 and their kids.

Set a deadline for your guests to confirm their presence.

Decide the menu

Once you know how many people will come over, you must decide on a menu.

You also need to consider food intolerance and allergies.

For instance, I’m highly intolerant to bell peppers, avocados, and pineapples. My sister is allergic to kiwis. My grandma is used to that and ensures that these items are not on the menu and if they are, she will prepare something else for us.

Here’s what you need to think of when it comes to your menu:

• Snacks (chips, pretzels, olives, pickles, etc.)
• Appetizers (about 4 hors-d’oeuvre per person, including kids)
• Soup
• Salad
• Main course
• Dessert

How to calculate the quantity of food needed

Snacks

Buy the largest bags or bottles you can find.

Costco is your friend in this case. People will be hungry when they arrive, so snacks must be ready immediately.

If you buy chips, stick to basic flavors, like regular and barbecue. You can also buy Tostitos with salsa (or make a layered dip).

If you know your guests are big Cheese puffs fans, also get a bag of those. Again, get large bags, as you will need to refill the snacks bowl all night long.

As for olives and pickles, put small bowls on the table and refill them as needed.

Appetizers

Before your guests sit down at the dinner table, you should consider serving appetizers while they are waiting for the food.

You can serve cold or hot appetizers. The key is to have at least 3-4 appetizers per guest, including the kids.

If you have more than the recommended servings, you can leave them on a table close to your guests in case they want more.

Soup

You should aim to make a homemade soup instead of serving store-bought soup.

Make a large pot of soup, as some people could want second servings.

My grandpa always made his famous chicken and noodles soup, and it’s simply perfect to start the dinner.

Make sure to put some bread, preferably baguette cut into slices, butter, and saltine crackers on the table.

Salad

Salad should come during the second course. My grandma has a great reference to help you know how much salad to make:

One large Iceberg salad serves 8 persons.

Add veggies to the salad to the mix to add some colors to it. It could be cucumbers, carrots, radishes, anything crunchy.

You can also add some croutons or grated parmesan.

As for the salad dressing, my grandma used to put in some Caesar salad dressing but she says you can leave it up to the guests to season their own salad by putting 2-3 salad dressings on the table.

Main course

For the main course, if you decided to go for beef or pork, here’s how to calculate how much you need:

1 lb. of raw meat = 4 persons (cooked, it’ll be about 3 oz. per person)

Always consider 2-3 extra servings in case someone shows up unexpectedly or wants a second serving.

If you have leftovers, you can always eat them for the rest of the week or prepare lunches for your siblings or younger relatives, who’d be more than happy to have these to take home.

To go with your meat, you need one portion of starch (potatoes or rice) and two portions of vegetables. The veggies should add some color to the meal. They could be steam cooked or roasted.

Here are a few suggestions:

• Carrots
• Bell peppers
• Zucchinis
• Peas
• Parsnip
• Broccolis

Basically, anything that will bring some color and flavor to the plate.

Dessert, coffee, tea

This is where you can go crazy. My grandma always had three different pies, one cake, two flavors of ice cream, and plenty of coffee, tea, or herbal tea for everyone.

If baking is your passion, it’s your time to shine! Dip some Oreos in chocolate or candy melt, bake some cupcakes, make a 3-tiered cake, the sky is the limit!

However, if you don’t like baking, stick to the simplest cake with frosting, whether it’s store-bought or homemade.

When you are calculating your servings, always cut 2 more slices than the number of guests (ie. if you have 10 guests, cut 12 slices).

Again, this will ensure you still have slices if someone wants a second serving.

Stay tuned for part 2!

You made it through the menu of your party! Now it’s time to focus on how to keep your home clean and entertain your guests. Stay tuned for part 2 of How to host the best dinner parties!

One year in the pandemic and I can’t remember how it feels to be in a room full of people and relatives. I’m honestly not sure if I miss it or not! However, if I host another family dinner someday, let’s hope I’ll be more prepared than I was in 2017!

What are your best tips to host the best dinner party? Let me know below.