What to do at a dinner party?!
Answers: i want my guests to be blown away from what they see at my dinner party? can anyone give me any ideas? what can i do to make my guests go wow?
Presentation is key to the wow factor. Definitely theme it, even if it's a theme only you can tell. Lots of little candles, or candles of all shapes and sizes (but only white or beeswax), will add atmosphere. Place cards add a nice touch and save people the hassle (and sometimes even stress!) of standing at the table hesitating over where to sit. At one dinner party I threw with friends we draped sheets over the chairs and knotted them at the back (I had a friend with an artistic bent!) and stencilled the guests' names on the back instead of using place-cards.
Serving everything in individual portions means you can control how it looks on the plate, but is harder for you. It does save the difficulties of passing dishes around the table, but it's a lot easier to make a big platter of food look attractive than 8-12 plates if you're not an experienced plater.
Follow what restaurants have been doing for centuries and provide a blank canvas for your no-doubt-fantastic cooking - either white tablecloths and plates, or a solid bright colour for the cloth with white plates on top. Or, if you're serving fish, brightly coloured (but still solid) plates would be a fantastic contrast. Avoid patterns at all costs, except in tiny areas eg. the place-cards - they'll detract from the visual impact of the food.
And it is worth hiring crockery and flatware for the occasion if you haven't got enough matching stuff, and if you're planning to do this on a grand scale.
well i should prefer sea food delight. you should put some shrimps with red sauce over it and a parsley on top and bring some red wine or any kind of wine and just have fun over there
A real wow idea if going with a seafood theme is to have a fruits de mer- lots of fresh seafood pile high on ice on a large platter....lobster, oysters, crevettes, langoustines, mussels- can look stunning and your fish monger can get you some seaweed to drape around the platters!
the house:all of it should be very clean.nice guest towls on bathrooms,nice new bars of soap or nice liquid soap from a nice shop.a lillte basket of potpourri is a nice touch too.
have the table set with matching table cloths and napkins-these you can have in napkin rings.have a flower bouquet made for the center of the table.have the drinks your friends like and different juices for those who do not drink.lot of ice.maybe have pitchers of a special drink like bellini cocktails.for dessert little glasses of baylie′s,or other sweet liqueurs.buy a special blend of coffee for after dinner.have some nice small fancy chocolates in a bowl or nice mints next to the coffee cups or coffee area.
if you can afford it hire a bartender and a waiter also a caterer....you can also "lease" glasses,plates and serving bowls.arrange the area where friends will seat so that it is a semi circle,you can also throw big cushions on the floor.
sort out the music in advance.have a lot of ash trays and make rounds to empty them!also get some of those candles that "eat"smoke.if you cokk make things that are not a mess to serve .lasagne,or carve a roast beef,chili....if you serve a salad do not mix in the dressing put it in a bowl or bottle so people serve it on their plates.this way your salad will not be all wilted when people don′t all eat at the same time.use cherry tomatoes not big,sliced ones!buy baguettes and cut them when you serve dinner.meanwhile keep them in their bags.chips and the likes are for children′s parties,appetizers should be nice finger foods or fancy dips with baby veggies.
have fun!