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:
Spicy Tuna Bites
Chili Crisp Edamame
Main Course:
Chicken Miso Ramen
Crispy Pork Belly
Soy Marinated Eggs
Chicken Dumplings
Ginger Salad
Dessert:
Strawberry Cream Wontons
Drink:
Kirin Ichban Japanese Beer
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 and brown 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.
I polled my followers, and most of them said they were willing to go to two stores, so for this menu we are shopping at Aldi and K+S World Market, which is my local international market. It’s mostly Asian ingredients but does have some Latin specialty items, as well. I think a few of these are probably ingredients that are considered pantry items for many households, so that should make it even more cost effective!
This menu really could serve 8-10 people, but you would need more drinks!
Aldi:
Tuna: $3.79
Soy Sauce: $1.55
Garlic: 1.45
1 Dozen Eggs: $3.95
Drumsticks (about 3 lbs): $5.61
Scallions (2 packs): $1.90
Bag of Yellow Onions: $2.59
Iceberg Lettuce: $1.85
Carrots: $1.49
Cucumber: $0.95
Cilantro: $0.65
Jalapenos: $0.75
1 Block of Cream Cheese: $1.75
K+S World Market
Ginger: $2.01
Fresh Ramen Noodles: $5.99
Japanese Beer: $10.47
Won ton wrappers: $2.49
Sesame Oil (I like Kadoya): $3.99
Chili Crisp: $3.69
Pork Belly (about 3 lbs): $10.12
Miso: $3.49
Total: $73.52
These prices are all from Aldi and K+S Market in Nashville, TN bought in October 2024, no tax included.
From the Pantry:
Rice Vinegar (sub apple cider vinegar or white vinegar, use a little less)
Mayo (no sub – you should have this!)
Honey (sub agave, maple syrup, sugar, or leave out)
Sriracha (sub chili crisp which is included in price)
Strawberry Jam (sub any fruit preserves or chocolate spread you have)
“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.
I always tell my guests the menu ahead of time, so one of my friends brought Sake, which was such a perfect addition!
Order of Operations:
This is the order I recommend doing everything to maximize the amount of time being present with your guests!
Night Before:
Dry brine pork belly
Optional: Marinate eggs
Day-of
Start Broth (You can get great flavor in as little as 30 minutes, but the longer the better. I recommend 5 hours)
Bake Pork
Boil Eggs
Make egg marinade
Marinate Eggs + into refrigerator
Make dessert wontons + into refrigerator
Make dumplings + into refrigerator
*reset space – it will be a mess*
Set Table (You can do this whenever really)
Make salad dressing + into refrigerator
Spicy tuna mixture + into refrigerator in a ziploc bag
Fry onions + plate
Finish ramen + keep on stove on low with lid on.
*reset space again*
Chop garnishes + salad, plate (do not dress salad)
Make edamame sauce in serving bowl and start boiling water
Put spicy tuna plates in freezer
GET READY / CHANGE CLOTHES
Guests arrive, give them a drink
Boil edamame, then toss into sauce – ready to serve
Pipe tuna mixture onto cucumber
Turn broil on high + have a large pot of water boiling
Hang / enjoy guests
Dinner time:
Broil pork belly for 5 minutes (can also pan fry to crisp, but broiling is easier / less dishes when your guests are there)
Boil ramen noodles + dumplings
Toss salad
Serve and enjoy!
Dessert:
Fry Dessert wontons (You can also fry ahead of time and reheat on a wire rack)
Recipes for the Full Menu
For crispy pork belly, we followed RecipeTinnEats and added brown sugar
Chili Crisp Edamame
Ingredients
- 1 lb frozen edamame still in the shell
- 4 tbsp chili crisp
- 2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 2 tsp avocado oil or other neutral oil
Instructions
- Mix the sauce in serving bowl
- Boil edamame in heavily salted water
- Toss hot edamame into sauce and serve immediately
Spicy Tuna Bites
Ingredients
- 8 oz sushi grade ahi tuna
- 1 tbsp jalapeno very finely diced, seeds included. Adjust for spice preference
- 1 tbsp cilantro very finely chopped
- 1 tbsp green onion very finely chopped
- 1 tbsp full fat mayonnaise I am using kewpie
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 English cucumber
Instructions
- Place serving dish in the freezer
- Slice Cucumber and finely dice jalapeno, cilantro, and green onion, keeping tuna in the fridge. You want it to be at room temperature for as short of a period as possible.
- Chop tuna very very fine, until it is almost a paste. I should really say pulverize the tuna, ha!
- In a bowl, mix tuna, jalapeno, cilantro, green onion, mayo, and soy sauce until well combined. You can add jalapeno a little at a time to taste and adjust to your spice preference. Add mixture to a piping bag or plastic bag for piping.
- Assemble sliced cucumber on your chilled plate, then pipe tuna mixture ontop. Serve immediately. Do not allow to sit at room temperature for longer that 90 minutes.
Chicken Miso Ramen
Ingredients
- 3 lbs chicken drumsticks
- 2 yellow onions
- 2 bulbs garlic plus 4 cloves
- 4 inches ginger about ⅓ cup, plus 1 tbsp
- 10 green onions
- 2 tbsp kosher salt
- 1 tbsp black peppercorns you can use regular black pepper if you don’t have the peppercorns
- 14 cups water
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- ⅓ cup miso paste red or white
Toppings
- Fried Onions
- Green Onions
- Fresh jalapenos
- Chili crisp
- Soy marinated eggs recipe below
- Bok Choy optional/splurge
- Corn optional/splurge
Instructions
- In a large stock pot or dutch oven, add chicken, quartered onions, full bulbs of garlic (slicded down the middle), sliced ginger, whole green onions, salt, black pepper, and water, and cover.
- If using the meat to eat in the ramen or something else, after an hour, remove meat from bones. Return all bones and skin into broth and re-cover. It’s very important that the broth is covered the whole time it cooks, otherwise it will evaporate.
- Once you’re ready to finish your ramen, in a separate pan, saute your additional grated garlic, ginger, and miso paste in sesame oil for about 5 minutes. Then strain ramen broth into that pot. (You really start to infuse flavor after an hour, but the longer the better. I usually do like 3-5 hours)
- Serve immediately or keep hot until ready to serve
Splurge: Add chicken to my ramen with dry shiitake and kombu
Low-Waste Dumplings
Ingredients
- 3 cups drumstick meat
- 1 carrot
- 2 green onions
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1 inch ginger
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 36 pre-made wrappers
Instructions
- In a food processor, combine carrots, green onions, garlic, and ginger, until everything is chopped pretty fine.
- Add chicken, soy sauce, and sesame oil, and gently pulse until evenly combined. In the video, mine became more of a paste than I was going for, but you can really do whatever texture you’d like.
- Place about 1.5 tsp in a dumpling wrapper and fold how you like. Cook in a steamer or in ramen broth for 2-3 minutes.
Soy Marinated Eggs
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tbsp water
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 inch ginger
- 6-8 eggs
Instructions
- In a pot, add about 3 inches of water, and bring to a boil. (Enough to fully cover eggs)
- Get a bowl of ice water ready.
- Boil eggs for 7 minutes, then transfer to bowl of ice to stop the cooking process. Peel the eggs and place them in a container you have a lid for
- In a small sauce pan, add all ingredients besides eggs, and simmer until sugar dissolves. Allow to cool, then pour over eggs in a dish with a top.
- Store in the fridge until ready to eat, the longer they marinate, the better, at least a couple hours. Overnight is best.
Ginger Salad Dressing
Ingredients
- 1 inch ginger About 2 tbsp
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 3 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
Instructions
- Blend all ingredients until smooth.
- Toss in a salad with iceberg lettuce, carrots, and cucumber (or whatever you want!)