I mentioned in my last post that I keep records of menus from all my dinner parties. I have a little red notebook in which I record the menus and the guest lists (so I know who responded and who didn't) for my parties. With regard to the menus, keeping good notes helps a great deal in planning future parties. I can look through my notes from previous parties and see what worked and what didn't, to get ideas for a new menu. This way, I'm not starting from scratch each time.
The notes also help me avoid serving exactly the same dinner twice. When you entertain a small group of friends over and over (as I do), it's important to keep the food varied, so that people don't get bored. For example, even though I might serve wild rice-pecan pilaf (one of my favorite side dishes) many times, I always make sure that I serve it with different main dishes and desserts.
Here are my three general rules for planning a dinner party menu:
1. The main dish should be something that I've cooked before, so there are no nasty last-minute surprises;
2. I make at least one side dish that I've never cooked before--just for the thrill of it; and
3. The dessert should be something fabulous so that, no matter what goes wrong with the main dish and sides, the dinner ends on a high note.
Now that I've bored you to tears with my fussiness over menu planning, let me tell you what my tentative plans are for Easter dinner. The main dish will be either roast leg of lamb or a pork tenderloin roast (it depends on how much money I have by the middle of the month). The side dishes will be wild mushroom risotto and a vegetable (either asparagus or green beans). If I'm feeling ambitious, I may add a salad, too. Finally, dessert will be a white velvet cake with raspberry filling and white chocolate-cream cheese frosting. Hungry yet?
The notes also help me avoid serving exactly the same dinner twice. When you entertain a small group of friends over and over (as I do), it's important to keep the food varied, so that people don't get bored. For example, even though I might serve wild rice-pecan pilaf (one of my favorite side dishes) many times, I always make sure that I serve it with different main dishes and desserts.
Here are my three general rules for planning a dinner party menu:
1. The main dish should be something that I've cooked before, so there are no nasty last-minute surprises;
2. I make at least one side dish that I've never cooked before--just for the thrill of it; and
3. The dessert should be something fabulous so that, no matter what goes wrong with the main dish and sides, the dinner ends on a high note.
Now that I've bored you to tears with my fussiness over menu planning, let me tell you what my tentative plans are for Easter dinner. The main dish will be either roast leg of lamb or a pork tenderloin roast (it depends on how much money I have by the middle of the month). The side dishes will be wild mushroom risotto and a vegetable (either asparagus or green beans). If I'm feeling ambitious, I may add a salad, too. Finally, dessert will be a white velvet cake with raspberry filling and white chocolate-cream cheese frosting. Hungry yet?
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