How to Throw a Restaurant-Quality Dinner Party

Today’s dinner parties have become more sophisticated than ever before. Many people have come to expect something more than the standard outdoor barbecue or indoor buffet. They want, and expect, gourmet or restaurant-quality food with a touch of something unique or different. How or when this switch over took place, no one seems to know; however, the reason behind it is easier to understand. With so much variety available in today’s marketplace, today’s discerning food connoisseur wants to be surprised. Fortunately, it isn’t all that difficult to meet those needs.

Instructions

1. Plan an entire gourmet menu with multiple courses from appetizers through dessert. The exact number of courses involved doesn’t matter as much as the type and quality of food served. Think gourmet, out of the ordinary, and a bit avant-garde.

2. Keep appetizers light but distinctive. Serve them in a unique way that one wouldn't necessarily expect. Lay two or three perfectly breaded and fried coconut shrimp on top of bed of fresh coconut. Squeeze a sweet and spicy orange and Thai sauce lightly over the top. Put a small amount of the sauce in a small bowl, for dipping, and serve it on the same plate as the appetizer. Bacon wrap scallops, grill them, and then dredge them through a light homemade cream garlic sauce. Stand three of four of them up on their toothpick ends to form a teepee in the center over a beautiful lettuce leaf sprinkled lightly with some minced garlic.

3. Serve both soup and salad, instead of just one or the other. Treat them as separate courses, serving the soup first, then the salad. However, reduce the quantity of the items served. For example, serve a cup of soup rather than a full bowl.

4. Strive for something out of the ordinary with the soup and salad. Instead of standard French onion soup, try butternut squash, pumpkin, or even oxtail. Opt for a mixed salad that contains veggies, fruits and/or nuts, different types of cheeses and one or more unique dressing options rather than the tried and true garden salad. Try a balsamic strawberry and spinach salad over feta cheese for something that is both tart and tasty.

5. Choose a non-traditional main course. Instead of meat and potatoes, try something out of the ordinary that can't easily be found locally, or would customarily be well out of your guest's price range. For example, while America’s heartland may be rich in beef, the people there don’t get the opportunity to enjoy fresh crab or lobster every day. Instead of steak, serve grilled lobster tail basted with a lemon shallot butter sauce or steamed snow crab legs served with a side of lemon garlic butter.Bring a touch of European cuisine to anywhere in the U.S. with a perfectly fried wiener schnitzel of veal. Over the top, serve a creamy hunter sauce for an extra special treat. If you want to serve pasta, instead of the usual spaghetti, try a Cajun chicken breast over linguine cooked in garlic shallot butter with basil, oregano, and pecans.

6. Mix up the veggie options.To go with the lobster tail suggested in Step 5 above, serve parsley buttered new potatoes or a squash au gratin casserole. For a prize winning schnitzel dinner, add a size dish of red cabbage or German dumplings and you have a meal fit for a king (or queen). While Cajun chicken and linguine doesn’t require an extra side dish, if one is desired, try a cole slaw made from both red and green cabbage in a light balsamic vinaigrette dressing.

7. Serve bread that compliments the overall meal and helps to clear the palate between courses. Purchase a specialty bread from the local bakery. Make a homemade honey wheat bread in an automatic bread oven. Pop some frozen rolls or bread sticks in the oven in between courses so that some are always available hot.

8. Coordinate dessert with the rest of the meal. Keep the various tastes and textures of the dishes in mind in choosing the perfect dessert. With seafood, try a key lime or lemon meringue pie; preferably fresh and hot from the oven. Serve an authentic German apple kuchen or chocolate coconut cake with wiener schnitzel. Try a white and dark chocolate marble cheesecake or homemade fried ice cream with pasta. Serve a variety of fresh berries with freshly whipped cream any time at all.

9. Offer different drink options with various courses. With appetizers, try a fresh wine spritzer or a juice cocktail. For soup and salad, if you desire another option, try lightly flavored water or coffee. For the main course, stick with plain water or an ice tea served in conjunction with wine that coordinates with the main dish. For dessert, try a sweet German wine, like a Riesling, or a wonderful liqueur.

10. Serve the various courses on different shape, color, and texture of dishware to add interest to the meal and to best complement each individual dish.

Tips & Warnings

• Be creative. Don't be afraid to mix things together than aren't normally served that way. It will make the meal unique and memorable.

• Food doesn't have to be expensive to be gourmet. It just has to be unique and uniquely flavorful.

• Dress the table with the same flair as the menu. If the meal is predominantly Italian in nature, try an overall Italian motif. Bring out the good linens, silver, and crystal. Each day should be treated like a special occasion.

• Use real napkins and fold them in a fancy technique like those used by the best restaurants.

• Place a copy of the menu for the evening at each place setting.

• Don't forget the romance. Add flowers, greenery, and candles to all gourmet meals.

• Toss a few crystals on the table to catch the candlelight. They do a lot to establish a beautiful mood.

• Play music softly in the background. Try something simple like classical piano or match the music to the menu's overall theme (such as jazz for a Cajun menu).

• Have place cards at each table setting. Use calligraphy to write the names of guests, or use their picture to mark their seat.

• Place a single rose or carnation at each woman's place setting for an extra touch of class.

• Be cognizant of guest's allergies when preparing the meal.

• Use candles properly and cautiously on the table.

• Use heated serving ware cautiously on the table, especially when flammable items like linens are involved.