Behind a meal

How to throw a dinner party: from planning to cooking and hosting

1

Build a guest list

Invite guests one to two weeks prior to avoid conficts. If there is a theme, let invitees know in advance.

Dinner party themes

Only new people: Every guest brings another person no one else knows.

Game night: Whether it's sports or board games, have a casual dinner spliced in between rounds of games.

Unnecessary black tie: Dress up to the max just to eat take-out.

Taste the world: Guests bring a dish from their own culture.

3

Mise en place

Do as much as you can to prepare before you start cooking to stay organized.

Implementing mise en place

Start with a clean kitchen

Read over the recipe, if there is one

Get necessary cooking utensils such as pans, bowls, knives or spatulas

Gather, measure and chop ingredients

Clean before moving to the next step

Start cooking

Don't panic

2

Create a menu

Decide between potluck style, where each guest brings a dish, or a true dinner party where the host cooks everything. Coordinate with guests about the food either way to ensure everyone has something to eat regardless of diet or allergies.

Common allergy Possible swaps

Nuts

Dairy

Sunfower seeds, chickpeas and dried fruits

Non-dairy milk, nutritional yeast and cashew cheese

Just Egg substitute, applesauce, fax egg and yogurt Egg

Buckwheat, quinoa, corn four, oat four and tapioca Wheat & Flour

4 R&B playlist

Queue the music

Have a playlist and speaker ready to go, otherwise guests will take control and you are never getting aux back.

5

Preventing the chaos

The period between guests arriving and eating is full of chaos. A group of hungry people is uncontrollable; plan on eating as soon as people arrive.

6

Keep it going

Don't let the party end with the last course — plan something for afterwards. In warm weather, a bonfre is always a crowd favorite. Movies or games are good for cold weather.

Solutions for common cooking mistakes to prevent disaster

Oversalted? Burnt food? Fire?

Get rid of the excess salt by neutralizing it with an acid such as lemon juice, covering it up with sugar or diluting the salt with other ingredients. Dilution is the most complicated but will generally yield the best results.

If it's only the outer layer, cut or scrape off the burnt parts and pretend like it never happened. If it resembles charcoal more than food, toss it and order takeout.

Turn off the oven, but don't open the door. The fre will put itself out due to lack of oxygen. If the fre is spreading, use a fre extinguisher or water to put it

Cut yourself?

First, apply pressure with a clean paper towel until the bleeding stops. Then put on a bandage. Secondly, learn how to cut. Use the claw method to protect your fngers. Keep your fngernails perpendicular with what's being cut so you don't cut your fngertips.

A group of students attend an outdoor dinner party to kick off spring April 7. Everybody brought diffrent dishes such as pizza, cake, salad and pasta. “It was fun working together with friends to make an amazing dinner," junior Lizzie Ester said. (Photo by Mac Huffman)

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