Nothing is better than good food, great company and the perfect ambience

I have always loved to entertain and share great food and conversation with family and friends. Weather its dinner for 2, family, friends or large groups I look forward to the whole event. Planning the menu, setting the ambiance, cooking the food and the anticipation of the nights conversation. I have learned over time that having notes and finding foods that can be made or partially made ahead of time really eased the stress and allowed me to actually sit and enjoy the evening.

Step 1: Plan your menu. knowing what to make ahead of time eases pressure in preparation.

Step 2: My dinners are always in the kitchen so I like to have all the clutter and dirty dishes put away, that's an important step in creating the ambiance for my guests (I actually am so used to this that I exercise this every day dinners)It makes all the difference, I hate eating and looking a mess I have to clean. When a room is filled with clutter that's all everyone will notice, it detracts from the whole dining experience and I do see dinner as a very important time of day. For me, having family together every night and sharing food entices conversations of the days events or jokes or whatever.

Step 3: Have all the dinner ware ready on the table either set or in a pile depending on whether your serving casual or elegant. TIP: if your not using the table do it in the morning or evening before. The table set in advance lets everyone know dinner will be served in that room and it looks so inviting.

Step 4: Have your beverage choices ready. Information on pairing wines or beers with foods is available on the internet or books so doing a little research will help you to choose. If your guests offer to bring wine tell them whats for dinner and savvy guests will know what to bring.

Step 5: Not necessary for every day but a center piece always adds that extra something special, it can be flowers, candles etc, just make sure its not at eye level making it hard to see across the table.

Step 6: Don't fret, doing things at your pace will keep you calm and don't cook things you've never made before unless your really confident. I like to test new dishes in advance for my family first, which they never seem to mind.

Step 7: Make the dinner last a while, having time to digest between courses makes for a more enjoyable experience, or course that all goes out the window when rushing through dinner to take the kids dance or hockey practice.

Most of all have fun, life is short and there is nothing more satisfying than sharing special moments with people you love while eating good food.


Rose Arangio