My First Dinner Party

This is (more or less) every single ingredient I used for the night.
I am missing bacon and Thyme, and the apple cider got cut off.

Tonight I hosted my first dinner party, but definitely not my last!

It's something I've wanted to do for a long time: invite people over for food I cooked myself and have them have fun and enjoy my food. Having dinner parties was the first thing I thought of when the Independent Component was explained. We are supposed to spend 30 hours working on something related to our project that will help explain or answer our Essential Question. (My working EQ: What is the best way to create a flavorful meal?)

THANK YOU CLAIRE!!
One of my lovely guests was kind enough to bring me all the
utensils and placements seen in this picture.

This party has definitely taught me a lot in many aspect of cooking. One thing I didn't even consider until just a few hours before the party was where we would eat. Clearly, I had a table and a space, but I didn't even think to count how many chairs I had until 6 pm! It wasn't until 3 pm that I realized I needed 8 place mattes, a table cloth, and 16 forks, 8 knives, and 8 spoons minimum for the meal. Then after the part started and I sat down, I realized that if all 8 of my guests had come, I wouldn't have had a seat for myself! These last couple of weeks, I've been planning a party for 8, when I was supposed to have 8 guests and then me hosting. Part of me was very relieved when two people didn't come, especially when my little brother high-jacked our 8th and final seat.

Here we are enjoying appetizers! Cute stories: 3 weeks after
the party, one guest said, "Normally I hat mushrooms, but wow!
Yours were so good, I had like 2 or 3!!"

I think my lack of planning in "front of house" (the place guests see) is what I'm least proud of and think I could have done better for this party. having to ask guests for utensils and place mattes at the last minute was embarrassing, so I'll be sure to look farther ahead for the next party. beyond that, I forgot about sides to the main course until just two days before the part, which seemed bad planning as well. Also, I did a lot of prep work yesterday, but I could have done more; I found myself scrambling to mince garlic and cook bacon as late as an hour and a half before the party was to start. This disappointed me, but I still feel I eliminated a lot of work by doing things like chopping apples and onion or making the dessert and vinaigrette yesterday.

Left: Mushroom stuffing. Right: Pork Loin Stuffing. I prepared
them at the same time about 3 hours before the party. Pre-making
stuffings definitely made me feel like a pro.

I am most proud of my timing. It was thrown off because I put the stuffed mushrooms 10 minutes late, and then didn't put the roast in the oven right away but rather waited 10 minutes after I'd taken out the mushrooms, but It still all went well. There was a comfortable amount of time between each course (though there could have been a little less between the entree and main course) and I was able to accommodate even our latest arrival (who came about an hour late).

Here is a very flattering photo of me setting up our little salad
bar! The apple cider vinaigrette is in the very center of the
photo, to the left of the spinach.

As for the food, everything seemed to be a success! The stuffed mushrooms were a bit strong, so I think a bit less blue cheese would have been better, but all the guests had one or two (which is what I accounted for). The guests really enjoyed the salad, which I served more as a "make your own" salad, with all the toppings on the table and a big bowl of spinach in the middle. Most guests ate the salad the way I had intended; they even tried my apple cider vinaigrette! I wasn't sure how my friends would feel about it, but I actually got a lot of compliments. This second batch included more honey, some sugar, and Dijon mustard instead of brown deli mustard, and was a lot better in my opinion.


The main course was well received! I wasn't completely sure how many of my guests would like apples with their pork, but everyone ate their piece and enjoyed it. No one was licking their plates clean, but everyone finished their meal with nothing more than a bit or two left. I think this time I seasoned the outside of the tenderloin a lot better, and cooked it better; I was sure to baste every fifteen minutes and cooked it to 150 degrees. in it's center, so there was no pink but was still juicy. I think it could have been juicier, but the food overall was good.

I have to say, however, that everyone's favorite course was probably dessert. One girl even asked for seconds! This simple chocolate-coffee mixture was, of course, enjoyed by us 17-year-old girls, and a can of whip cream was delightfully passed from person  to person  multiple times.

Overall, I'd say the party was a success! My guests all had fun and enjoyed the food, as did I. I truly got to visit with them throughout the process, which definitely made the dinner even better. I also learned a lot, about designing a meal, prep, cooking, and service. I look forward to applying my knowledge to more dinner parties, my internship, and future endeavors.

The night ended with a fabulous toast, proposed by my adorable little brother and done
through our coffee-chocolate desserts. The perfect ending to a very crazy yet fun night.

I will be posting recipes (along with the links and proper credit to all the recipes that inspired me) to everything I made tonight on this blog throughout the next month!

For more information on my planning, ingredients, or inspiration for the recipes I used, visit Dinner Party 1 Planner, located at the right side of this blog or here.

Here are the direct links to my Dinner Party recipes:
Stuffed Mushroom Recipe
Spinach-Cranberry Salad with Apple Cider Vinaigrette
Sides
Apple Stuffed Pork Loin