My philosophy on dinner parties:
Experiences don’t have to be expensive to make someone feel special or loved.
There are potluck-style dinners, which really removes pressure on the host to provide everything. And then there are the dinners where you’re just sharing a meal, and it’s a larger volume of whatever you would eat on any given night. The meal is not the main event; you just have to eat. I love those for most of the time, but that’s now what this series is about.
These dinner parties are designed for when the dinner is the event. You want to *host* something special for your friends, but you want to do it without breaking the bank. The menus will consist of items that are more special than what you would eat on a weeknight or dishes you would typically only order at a restaurant. The menu flows nicely, follows the season and/or a theme, and the host is curating and serving her guests a full experience.
Appetizers are light bites, something to be enjoyed upon arrival while mingling, and the main course is served family style as a seated dinner and always has at least one vegetable, protein, and carb. Because when we’re feeding people an experience, we may use a little extra butter, but we’re still going to make sure they get a balanced meal with the same or better nutrients they would feed themselves.
The Menu:
Appetizer:
Toasted baguette with white bean dip + rosemary garlic olive oil
Main Course:
Kale apple salad with gruyere crisps
Caramelized onion chicken
Gruyere potatoes
Dessert:
Spiced apples with ice cream
Drink:
Apple cider mimosa
What is a pantry item?
Obviously, you know what a pantry item. But, for the sake of the way we are calculating the price, these are items I am counting. I believe most households keep them in stock and can dip into without having to incur a replacement cost.
- Olive Oil
- Neutral Oil (canola or neutral)
- Butter (Less than ½ stick)
- Mayonnaise
- Dijon mustard
- Vinegar (when it is flexible – if it has to be a particular vinegar, we will buy it)
- Sweetener (when it is flexible – honey, agave, maple syrup, simple syrup)
- Salt & Pepper
- Common dried spices:
- Basil, oregano, and/or Italian seasoning
- Thyme
- Cumin
- Chili powder
- Paprika
- Cinnamon
- Crushed red pepper
- All purpose flour (3 cups or less)
- Granulated sugar (1 cup or less)
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Vanilla Extract
- Jam/jelly (when flavor is flexible)
Shopping List:
All items we’re purchasing are being counted as the full up front cost of buying it, even if you’re not using the whole thing. I don’t think it’s fair to say “$75 or less” if you have to front more than that to just use $75 worth of the ingredients.
Between the leftovers you’ll end up with and any pantry items you don’t happen to have in stock, it should net out.
| Baguette | 1.99 |
| Can of white beans | 1.09 |
| Fresh rosemary | 1.69 |
| 3 bulbs garlic | 1.79 |
| 1 Lemon | 0.49 |
| 1 shallot | 0.69 |
| 1 bag kale | 2.49 |
| 2 lb apples (I used honeycrisp) | 3.49 |
| Sunflower Seeds | 2.99 |
| Gruyere (0.66lb) | 9.14 |
| 3 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs | 14.37 |
| 3 large yellow onions | 3.57 |
| 5 lb bag of russet potatoes | 3.49 |
| 8 oz grass-fed butter | 4.49 |
| 1 bottle Prosecco (I used Kirkland brand, but Trader Joe’s has a few options at this price point) | 7.99 |
| 1 bottle apple cider | 3.99 |
| 1 quart vanilla ice cream | 4.49 |
| 1 pint Heavy Cream | 3.49 |
Total: $71.73
These prices are all from Trader Joe’s in Nashville, TN bought in September 2024, no tax included.
“What should I bring?”
Your guests are going to ask! Typically, dessert is not my thing, so I always say “If you want something sweet, bring it.” But for the sake of this series, I feel like a dessert is needed for a complete menu for most people.
And in this budget, we’re only accounting for each person getting one drink. Everyone will likely want more than one drink, so, when following this menu, I recommend telling people to bring a bottle of wine or something to drink.
If you want to ease into hosting a full meal of this size, you could ask someone to bring one of the dishes or courses. Just note that many ingredients are used in multiple dishes, so depending how you delegate, it *might* be a less efficient use of your budget.
Order of Operations:
This is the order I recommend doing everything to maximize the amount of time being present with your guests!
Before you get ready / earlier in the day:
- Cut onions & start to caramelize
- Make garlic rosemary olive oil
- Make white bean dip + refrigerate
- Toast sunflower seeds
- Shred cheese
- Make cheese crisps + refrigerate the rest
- Peel & cut potatoes and set in bowl of water. This will keep it them from oxidizing and becoming gross
- Cut apples – dices for salad and slices for spiced apples
- Make spiced apples, cover, and leave on stove with the heat off
- Make salad dressing
*Outfit change*
- Toast bread
- Start boiling potatoes
- Set out app & drinks
*Guests arrive*
- Cook chicken
- Mash & finish potatoes
- Dress salad
- Serve Dinner
*Eat dinner*
- Turn heat on apples and serve with ice cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon
Goodnight!
Recipes for the Full Menu
Rosemary Garlic White Bean Dip
Ingredients
- 1 can white beans drained and rinsed
- 1 lemon zest only
- 2.5 tbsp rosemary garlic oil
- 2 cloves garlic from the oil
- 2 oz ice cold water
- Salt & Pepper to taste
Rosemary Garlic olive oil
- ½ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 3 sprigs rosemary
- 5 cloves garlic smashed
Instructions
- Blend all dip ingredients until smooth, adjust salt and pepper to taste
- Add all ingredients to small sauce pan over low heat. Once it starts bubbling around the garlic and rosemary, cut from the heat. The oil should be infused with the flavor. Store in fridge.
Kale Apple Salad
Ingredients
- 1 bag kale
- 3 apples diced
- 1/3 cup shredded gruyere cheese
- ⅓ cup sunflower seeds SPLURGE: pistachios or SAVE: use whatever nut you have
- 1 tbsp rosemary garlic olive oil for toasting seeds
Dressing
- 2 tbsp rosemary garlic olive oil
- Juice of 1 lemon same one you zested for white bean dip
- ½ tsp dijon mustard
- ½ tsp honey
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a small pan, toast the sunflower seeds in the rosemary garlic olive oil
- To make the gruyere crisps, preheat oven to 400 and put shredded cheese in disc shapes on a baking sheet. Bake until bubbling and crispy, about 6 minutes. Remove from pan with thin spatula and rest on paper towel to drain excess grease
Caramelized Onion Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
- 3 large yellow onions diced (or 4 medium)
- 1 shallot finely diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 3 lbs chicken thighs
- 1 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp EVOO
- Salt & pepper
- ¼ cup prosecco
- SPLURGE: Garnish with chives
Instructions
- Add 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp butter to a pan over low heat. Add onions and salt and cook on low heat.
- Once onions start to get a little brown color to them (about 1 hr), add shallots and garlic. Continue to cook on low until caramelized (about 2 more hours)
- Once caramelized, remove from pan and add olive oil and turn heat up to high.
- Generously season chicken thighs with salt and pepper and sear in pan on both sides.
- Add prosecco, and scrape everything form the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon or spatula.
- Add caramelized onions back to pan and cover until chicken is cooked through – about 15 minutes.
- Serve with caramelized onions and any garnish you have / want
Gruyere Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
- 3 lbs russet potatoes
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter
- 4 oz heavy cream
- 2 cups shredded gruyere cheese
- Salt
Instructions
- Peel potatoes and cook in heavily salted boiling water until very soft.
- Drain and add back to pot with butter and cream and mash until smooth.
- Add cheese and mash until melted.
- Adjust salt to taste
Shortcut Spiced Apples
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp butter
- 6 apples sliced
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- ½ cup spiced cider
Instructions
- Melt butter until browned, then add sliced apples and coat with butter
- Add cornstarch and evenly coat and cook for about 1 minute
- Add apple cider and cook unti it reduces and thickens and apples have softened. If you like dessert on the sweeter side, you can add a little brown sugar.
- Turn off heat, cover, and let sit at room temperature until ready to serve
- When ready to serve, heat up for about 2 more minutes and serve with vanilla ice cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon