I like to have a theme when we host a dinner party. Italian is one. The thing about hosting, is the more you do, the more you’ll feel comfortable about it. I always try to find simple but delicious recipes. I also try to have the least amount of cooking during the party. After all, I want to have fun, too. So, my menu will never have Beef Bourguignon and Chocolate Cake with Ganache Frosting together. They both take time to make, so why stress myself out?
Additionally, I would never try a new recipe when I host a party. Pick things that you’ve made before and are comfortable with or at least try to make it once before you make it for the party.
For this Italian theme, it’s a casual sit down dinner. We did this a few times and every time it was a success and our friends really enjoyed the food. I like having a small to medium party, like 4 to 8 people including us. Anything bigger than that is fun too, but I usually do that just once or twice a year, like Christmas or New Year party. I think a smaller party is more intimate and everyone gets to mingle, talk and catch up with each other. How many times have you been at a big party and realize you haven’t talk to some people all night? I mean it’s fun, but I want this Italian dinner to be a little bit special for everyone. The music is another thing. If you can find some Italian music, that’d be awesome. Otherwise, any good and relaxing music would do.
Let me show you the menu for the Italian Dinner party.
Mixed Green Salad with White Truffle Oil
Panna Cotta with Fresh Berries
Here’s the game plan!
I’m listing the following items for my grocery shopping. This is for 4 people, so if you have more guests, adjust it accordingly. For the Charcuterie, we want to keep it small. 1 kind of meat, like pre-sliced salami or prosciutto and 2 kinds of cheese, one soft and one hard. Serve small blocks (if you can’t find them small, you can cut them). They’re just for your guests to munch on before you serve food. You don’t want to go crazy, they’ll be full before you get to the food and dessert!
Grocery list (for 4 people):
- 1 small box (6 oz.) of fresh raspberries (panna cotta)
- 1 small box (6 oz.) of fresh blackberries (panna cotta)
- Some grapes (charcuterie)
- 5-6 oz. mixed green salad (salad)
- parsley for garnish (optional) (spaghetti)
- 1 lemon (salad)
- 1 bulb of garlic (spaghetti)
- 1 block (5-6 oz.) of Parmesan cheese (salad, spaghetti)
- 1 block (5-6 oz.) of Pecorino Romano cheese (spaghetti)
- 1 small block of Asiago or other hard cheese (charcuterie)
- 1 small block of Brie or other soft cheese (charcuterie)
- 8 oz. pancetta (spaghetti)
- 1 pack (4 oz.) Italian salami or prosciutto (charcuterie)
- some marcona almonds (optional) (charcuterie)
- some crackers (charcuterie)
- ¼ cup sliced almonds (salad)
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries (salad, charcuterie)
- white truffle oil (salad)
- a small jar of Dijon mustard (salad)
- a small bottle (12 oz.) of honey (salad, panna cotta)
- 1 packet of unflavored powdered gelatin (panna cotta)
- 1 lb. dried spaghetti (spaghetti)
- half dozen of organic egg yolks (spaghetti)
- 2 pints (32 oz.) of heavy whipping cream (panna cotta)
- 8 oz. whole milk (panna cotta)
- flowers
Stuff you already have in your pantry (hopefully…if not, add them to your shopping list):
- sugar
- salt
- pepper
- regular olive oil
- extra virgin olive oil
Stuff you would want to ask guests to bring:
- Italian wines
2 days before the party:
- Print out all the recipes. I mean looking on-line is great, but it’s so much easier to have the paper version in front of you when you are making multiple things. FYI: go to recipe section on my blog, you can print it out from there.
- Grocery shopping and wash/store your veggies, herb and fruit in the fridge.
- Arrange flowers in a vase.
Tips
- Wash the berries in a diluted vinegar bath (1 cup vinegar plus 3 cups water) and spin them dry in a salad spinner lined with paper towels, until they are completely dry. Store the cleaned berries in a sealable container lined with paper towels, leaving the lid open a little to allow moisture to escape.
- I always wash my salad greens even though it said on the bag that it’s prewashed. Too many times I’ve heard of cases of cross contamination, and I don’t want my guests to be sick.
1 day before the party:
- Make panna cotta.
- Make the salad dressing. Put it in the salad mixing bowl, cover with plastic wrap and store in the fridge.
- Toast sliced almonds in a dry pan on the stove for a few minutes. Store in an airtight container.
- Cut the Pancetta into small cubes. Put them in a container with a lid and store in the fridge.
- Separating 4 egg yolks from egg whites. Store in separate containers in the fridge.
- Mince 2 cloves of garlic, store them in a small container in the fridge.
- Chop parsley (you need about 2-3 tablespoons to garnish the spaghetti), store in a small container in the fridge.
- Run the dishwasher.
- Set the dining table.
Tips
- While waiting for panna cotta to cool down, make salad dressing, toast almonds, cut Pancetta, and separating the egg yolks. By the time your other tasks are done, panna cotta should be cool enough to put in the fridge.
- If you don’t have room in the fridge for the salad mixing bowl, you can put the dressing in a container and just pour it in the salad bowl tomorrow. I’m just trying to avoid cleaning another container.
- I like to set the dining table the day before. This way, I know that I have enough clean plates, utensils, glasses, etc.
1 hour before the party:
- Put the mixed green salad into the salad mixing bowl with salad dressing on the bottom but don’t toss it, you don’t want your greens to wilt. Wait until you’re ready to serve it. Set out the almonds and dried cranberries.
- Shave Parmesan cheese for the salad. Put it in a small bowl.
- Grate the Parmesan cheese, you need about 1/2 cup.
- Grate the Pecorino Romano, you need about 1/2 cup.
- Make Spaghetti Carbonara. It should take about 20 minutes, since you already did all the prepping the day before.
- Heat the oven to the lowest temp and crack the door open once it reaches that temp. You just need it to be warm enough to keep the spaghetti warm. Leave the spaghetti in the bowl and put the whole bowl into the oven.
Tips
- Reserve some spaghetti water from the spaghetti, in case it gets dry before serving.
0.5 hour before the party:
- Assemble the Charcuterie board.
Tips
- Use some berries that you bought for Panna Cotta. You only need about 2 cups for it, so the rest you can put on the Charcuterie board along with cheese and meat.
Party time!
- Toss the salad with the dressing and sprinkle sliced almond, dried cranberries and shaved Parmesan cheese. Don’t forget to drizzle a little bit of truffle oil on top before serving.
- Check your spaghetti. If too dry, add a little more of the warm spaghetti water before serving. If spaghetti water is too cold, heat it up in the microwave.
- Serve Panna Cotta with mixed berries on top.
Tips
- For the wines that you want to chill, you can put them in a small ice bucket to keep them chill so you don’t have to keep opening the fridge.
- Don’t worry if you’re running behind. When your guest arrive, the can munch on the Charcuterie and have some wine.
- Grab the Parmesan cheese with a table napkin or kitchen towel and grate it with a handheld cheese grater into each of your guest’s spaghetti like what they do in the restaurants. Nothing is better than fresh grated cheese and your guests will feel special, not that they’re not already are.
- I always tell my guests to save some room for dessert. Just to set some expectation before starting the meal. However, if they’re really full, and want to share, that’s totally o.k. too.
I hope this gives you some good tips and tricks that will help you host a fun and stress-free Italian party. Ciao! XO
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