Start a dinner party club
Bring friends and family together for good food and conversation
By Heather Camlot
A few times a year, Sandra Wennerstrom invites a group of six to eight friends over for what has become known as the dinner party club. She buys the food, divides her guests into teams and puts them to work in her small kitchen to prepare one of three dishes for the evening meal.
“It’s like arranging a cooking-class night,” she explains. “The ingredients are here when people arrive and I let them go on their own.”
Plan to entice
The secret to Wennerstrom’s successful parties is in the planning. While preparing and executing a dinner party for half a dozen or more friends may sound like a lot of work, Wennerstrom says technology keeps the process simple.
“It’s easier to find recipes online,” she explains. “Then I use Word to put together the menu and e-mail it with a brief description ahead of time. When people see the menu, it’s appealing. It entices them to come.”
Select the menu
Wennerstrom suggests first picking a theme for the evening — she’s done Italian, East Indian, French, Fall Harvest and Winter, the latter revolving around hearty soups and stews. While she says there is no shortage of recipes online, “you need to choose foods that can be made in one night, and consider how many recipes need the oven. When you decide on the recipes, go through how long it will take and what tools you will need.”
Find the right combination
She also suggests searching the Net for several recipes of the same dish and selecting the one that is a good balance between simplicity and the best flavour. If you’re not sure, show the recipes to a friend who understands how ingredients taste when combined. If you feel uncomfortable putting together the entire menu, try one that is pre-made from any of the following sites:
Once the meal is decided upon, design a menu in Microsoft Publisher or Word and send it off with the invitations.
Pick the perfect wine
While pairing wine and food can be intimidating, the authors of Have a Glass (Whitecap Books, 2003) say it doesn’t have to be. In fact, they suggest tossing the old rule of red wine with red meat and white wine with white meat and fish. “That serves as a guide, but it’s not a hard fact,” says co-author James Nevison, explaining that Italians, the consummate wine-drinkers, indulge in white wine with red meat.
Nevison and Kenji Hodgson add that if you feel uncomfortable selecting a wine, ask the staff at your local liquor store, which is precisely what Wennerstrom does. “I’ll phone the LCBO, speak to a wine consultant, tell them what I’m making, and they e-mail me wine suggestions and explain why it goes well with the meal.”
Find inspiration on sites such as Wine Access and Foodtv.ca, or look in your local newspaper or magazine for professional reviews.
Planning the guest list
Of course, a dinner party club is nothing without the guests, so entice them with style. Wennerstrom’s initial invite is by phone to decide on a convenient date and then followed up by an e-mail that provides the details.
In Word, you can create a invitation from scratch or finesse a template by adding Clip Art, WordArt and other stylish details. Then send the invite as an attachment to your guests or print it onto card stock available at office supply stores.
Or, keep track of RSVPs with a site such as Evite.com, where you can design the invitation as well as add an itemized checklist of ingredients or equipment you may want guests to bring. The online invitation also asks guests if they have any food allergies.
Prepare for company
Wennerstrom prints recipes for the cooks to follow, stapling them into mini-books that guests can take home. In the keepsake menu, she also includes information about the wine and any interesting facts she found while researching the meal, such as who invented the crepe Suzette.
Place cards are another computer-friendly idea, as is setting up an Internet conference. Out-of-town friends don’t have to miss out on the fun; just send them a copy of the recipes, hook up the two-way visual call, and enjoy one another’s company during your online dinner party club.
