B Hospitable

When was the last time you went to a dinner party and had a bad time? Seriously... all your friends come together, drink a little, and eat good homemade food. I have always been a fan of this past time but finally have taken into my own hands and become a dinner party hostess. A few tips I have already shared from 'B Gourmet' roll over into this blog but there are a few things you must get down in order to have a successful gathering.

To create our dinner party my roommate and I had to brainstorm what would work. Thankfully I had tried a bruschetta recipe earlier in the week and it was such a hit that we thought we could repeat it. Pretty easy process after your master 'parboiling' those tomatoes. Ever heard of the term 'parboil'? I sure didn't... but there's just another lesson to not let recipe's fancy wording to scare you away. Parboiling is nothing but boiling the food for a short period of time. (Level: EASY!) So bruschetta had our appetizer on the way. Then the boys suggested kabobs. Kabobs? Grilled Chicken and Vegetables on an easy serving skewer. (Level: EASY!) It was a no brainer. We marinated the chicken in an easy lemon pepper marinate (from the bottle, we aren't at the from scratch everything point yet.) Another reason why kabobs are so great? They are vegetarian friendly! When placing on the skewers skip the chicken and add a few more veggies.

We did have a snag in our dinner party of timing. Though I had just come back from a quick day trip away hiking and exploring a near by town our dinner party got to a late start. Our guests came and we were still cooking/beginning to cook. Which brings me to another important point. Have a guest friendly kitchen! I hate those kitchens that are totally in a separate room and no one dares to step in. I say more the merrier! It makes cooking much more appealing for the chef and much more fun. Our guests loved it too. We had plenty of drinks they could mix up and just sit at the table and enjoy our frantic cooking. (3 cooks in the kitchen can get a little out of hand). Another way to keep your guests preoccupied is a few appetizers. I think we have all grown up a bit and learned to love our spinach..... DIP! What a hit and a lifesaver my rooms was for whipping that up before I arrived back home.

And soon it was time for the grilling to begin! Everyone gathered around the grill outside and though it was the most aesthetically pleasing set up since we are missing a backyard but it was a great place to gather for conversation and fun. With a few little bumps of just setbacks and much to do in a little time it couldn't have really gone any better for our first real dinner party of 4 plus people. I am already creating the shopping list in my head for more kitchen needs. Isn't it amazing how everything always goes back to shopping? The things I do for a dazzling dinner party!