Lately, I’ve been trying to cook more. As a rite of passage into “adulthood”, I’ve began inviting friends over and hosting dinner parties.
In the past 3 months, I’ve had a housewarming party, a brunch gathering (featuring eggs benedict with homemade hollandaise sauce and cinnamon swirl french toast), two dinners with a girlfriend, and a dinner party, all held at my much-beloved apartment, which includes a common area with a patio set surrounded by 3 tiny fish ponds, small planted trees, tomatos ripening on a vine, and a miniscule fresh herb “garden”.
Of course, it’s much cheaper to have friends over at home than to go out to a restaurant. But I’ve realized that the joy of entertaining at home isn’t really about the savings, per se. The best part about having dinner parties instead of heading out to restaraunts is this: there’s no waiting for a table, no feeling pressure to finish dinner quickly, and no need to figure out how to split the bill.
Of course, there are special dining occasions, but many of the restaurants I’ve been to had uninspired choices. I went to those restaurants more for meeting with friends, not for the food. But hey, I can make mediocre food at home! My last dinner party lasted almost 4 hours – even when the food was all gone most people stuck around and talked. This would’ve never happened at a restaurant. Dining at home is a much more relaxed experience.
I make it even more relaxed by:
(1) having some premade treats on hand (Trade Joe’s sweet potato fries are a huge hit) and
(2) using paper plates, plastic forks, and disposable cups for larger gatherings (my set of dishes only has 4 place settings).
(3) inviting friends to bring wine or desserts if they’d like.
So my dinner parties are not exactly impeccable masterpieces a la Julia Child, but the food is all eaten up, the wine is free-flowing and the laughter’s contagious. And at the end of the night, isn’t that what makes dinner with friends an awesome experience?
The bad part about entertaining at home (sans dishwasher), though, is all the dirty pots, pans, and plates!
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I LOVE entertaining. That’s one of the reasons we bought the condo we did, it’s a loft and totally open, so I can be part of the party while slaving away in the kitchen…and the food is always better at home than out at a restaurant!
That sounds great! I love having people over too.
We’re big fans of BBQ’s – BYOB (bring your own beef). I’ll make a lot of different salads and what not and then guests can bring their food to grill.
I agree wholeheartedly that entertaining at home is so much more relaxing. I try to make as much as I can ahead of time, and like Lindsey, my main floor is quite open, so guests can sit in the living room and relax, and I can still be involved in the fun while I finish up the last few bits of dinner. I love that this is something that people might think to do because it saves money, but continue to do, because it ends up being so much better than going out! One of those great frugal surprises
I love having dinner parties! Sometimes I do stress out wondering what to cook, but then seeing everybody happy makes it all worth it. I have more guy friends than I do girl friends, and man, those boys can eat!
I am with you 100%. I love having people over to my little apartment. I love cooking, even if it’s something totally simple like pasta and vegetables, and I love having friends around to share the food. I am also sans dishwasher though, so I feel ya on the dirty dishes situation. Since my human dishwasher (my wonderful boyfriend, who actually likes doing dishes) has been gone for two months, I have realized how reluctant I actually am when it comes to cleaning up after a nice, big meal. Thank goodness he’s coming back soon…
@L.A. Daze
I know! I have to remember to stop making food based on how much I eat. My rule of thumb is to assume boys eat 2x what I would eat, and then plan the party from there.
@Kim
My apartment’s tiny too, but there’s an outdoor space that I can use. So that makes it awesome, especially when the nights are warm and breezy.
You should start photographing your food. I should learn to cook but I am just not into it ;(