Housewarming Dinner Party

April 20th, 2014

I’ve been dreaming of hosting my own dinner party for quite some time, so when it came time to throw a housewarming for my apartment, I knew just what I wanted to do. Instead of a standing room only-type shindig, I planned a more formal sit-down dinner for a few of my closest friends one Saturday evening.

After spending a good portion of the previous night scrubbing every nook and cranny of my home, I spent Saturday doing some last-minute tidying up and prepping for the big dinner.

On the menu for the evening were three kinds of hors d’oeuvres, pasta, a salad, two kinds of desserts, and of course: lots of wine.

I got cracking on the starters first, since those would take the longest to prepare.

I used three different bases for the three types of hors d’oeuvres: rosemary & sea salt artisan crisps, Paris toasts, and olive oil & sea salt mini crisps.

Each of those had a different spread or cheese on them. The first had my special greek yogurt/cream cheese concoction, from my smoked salmon and cucumber crostini recipe.

The second had a slice of creamy, soft brie cheese, and the third, a smearing of Boursin garlic & herb cheese. (This stuff is heavenly – you absolutely must try it.)

I find hors d’oeuvres really enjoyable to put together, because they’re very aesthetically appealing and don’t require a lot of effort or skill. Just some time and a bit of patience!

And ta-da! The finished product: smoked salmon and cucumber crostinis with fresh chives, fig jam and brie on Paris toasts, and cherry tomatoes and Boursin cheese on olive oil & sea salt mini baguette crisps.

A platter full of these are sure to impress your guests. Or three platters, in my case. (And would you believe I still had to throw together a few more during the party? They got gobbled up quickly!)

For the main dish, I served my guests spaghetti with roasted tomatoes, sliced sausage, and caramelized onions.

Served with shavings of parmesan, because one can never have too much cheese. (Monica and I fiercely disagree on this point, but luckily our friendship has managed to withstand it.)

Even the salad had cheese: goat’s milk feta with organic mixed greens and homemade balsamic + olive oil vinaigrette.

While the pasta finished cooking, I set the table.

Each person’s wine glass sat on a Kate Spade gold polka dot coaster, and was marked by a numbered Kate Spade wine tag, so the guests’ drinks didn’t get mixed up throughout the evening.

My love affair with Kate Spade grows and grows!

Each table setting was marked with a matching place card (also by Kate Spade – big surprise!).

I think these are adorable, because they say things like, “Playing footsie is encouraged”, “Save room for dessert”, “Please have a second helping”, and “Please chat with the person next to you”.

You get the picture. Back to the food!

For dessert I served up chocolate-dipped strawberries that I made myself.

Mmm… Can’t you almost taste it?

I also served an assortment of cheesecake lollipops, which I most certainly did not make myself. (Thank goodness – or dinner would be served at 4am!)

The three flavours I chose were praline pecan caramel, salted toffee, and triple chocolate. So decadently delicious, and so convenient to grab and eat!

Here, have a nibble.

I was getting very hungry toiling in the kitchen and waiting for my guests to arrive, so I maaaay have snuck one in pre-dinner. Don’t tell!

All that was left to do was light a few candles, put on some jazz, and wait for the knocks at the door.

Unfortunately once my guests arrived I didn’t have much time to take photos; in between serving courses, opening hostess gifts, playing Cards Against Humanity, and making sure my guests’ glasses were always full.

It was a wonderful, silly night, made sillier by the fact that most of us were ridiculously sleep deprived from either work or school, so we were all giddy and delirious. I tried to explain ‘none pizza with left beef’ to my friends, but was laughing so hard that tears were streaming down my face long before I managed to get the story out. (That’s here, in case you haven’t seen it.)

It was long past midnight when my friends left to find their ways home. I took a quick snap of the aftermath: we left chaos and quite a few empty wine glasses and bottles in our wake.

Though utterly exhausted, I was happy that the housewarming-stroke-dinner party was a roaring success, and can now say with great pride that my house is officially a home!

I hope you’re all having a marvellous long weekend, and Happy Easter if you celebrate! xx