Gathering
around the table can look like any number of things. It can be an impromptu
weeknight of family style dishes straight from oven to table. It can be paper
plates and plastic utensils. It can be dessert and a late night game of cards.
And it can be dinner parties.
Dinner
parties are a concept I grew up with and have seen plenty of in movies and
television, but not as often practiced by my generation. By reputation, I think they have
a formality to them that makes some of us shy away from hosting them. But from
my experience over the past year, they are a big hit with guests. Dinner
parties are a way of saying, “You are special and I’d like to prepare a nice
meal and enjoy your company for an evening. And I’d like some of my other friends
to enjoy your company as well.” Who’s not going to love that?!
Let’s talk
about what throwing a dinner party entails … in two parts: the menu and the
hosting.