Your Next Dinner Party Menu

This summer has definitely felt different as we continue socializing mostly at home, in small groups. I’ve loved hosting friends and family for intimate dinner parties so we can all connect in a safe way. I know hosting a dinner party can feel overwhelming so I wanted to take out the hardest part- deciding what to make! I love this menu because it is simple, full of flavor, and doesn’t require a ton of time or even a lot of cooking experience.

Menu:

Broiled Lemon and Paprika Black Bass (any white fish works well for this- cod, fluke, bass, snapper)

Cous Cous with figs, tomatoes, raisins, basil, and feta

Romaine and purple endive salad with cucumber, cheddar and champagne grapes with mustard vinaigrette

Heirloom tomato, peach, burrata and basil with olive oil, balsamic reduction and sea salt

Recipes:

Broiled Bass

I love this recipe when I’m cooking for a group because you can throw everything on one baking pan and it only takes 5 minutes to cook, rather than cooking each filet in a pan and worrying about keeping them warm.

Ingredients:

• Black Bass filets (I like to get 1-2 extra filets in case anyone wants seconds!), boned with skin on

• 2 lemons

• Paprika to taste

• Sea salt

• Olive oil

  Directions:

  1.     Pat each filet dry and place on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper, skin side down.

  2.     Drizzle olive oil over the fish and generously squeeze lemon juice to cover

  3.     Generously sprinkle sea salt and paprika on top

  4.     Set oven to broil and when guests are seated, put pan in the oven to broil for 5 minutes. Fish should be opaque white and cooked through when you remove it.

  5.     Remove from oven, squeeze more lemon juice over the fish and another drizzle of olive oil. Serve hot! Option to serve a salsa verde on the side for extra flavor!

Cous Cous Salad

Ingredients:

·      1 box of dry cous cous (I used about 3 cups of dry cous cous)

·      8 figs, sliced into rounds

·      6 basil leaves, torn

·      4 tbsp feta, crumbled

·      1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

·      ½ cup golden raisins

·      Olive oil

·      Balsamic reduction

Directions:

1.     Bring a medium sauce pan with about 4 cups of water to a boil

2.     When water is boiling, pour in cous cous

3.     Cook until water is absorbed by the cous cous and is soft, about 7 minutes, stirring frequently

4.     Add a teaspoon of salt, mixing in

5.     Add 2 tbsp olive oil, mixing

6.     Pour cous cous into a large bowl

7.     In a saute pan, add the cherry tomatoes and figs in 2 tbsp olive oil. Stir until both are softened and figs have started to caramelize. Add into bowl with cous cous

8.     When cous cous, figs and tomatoes have cooled, add the raisins, basil and feta

9.     Drizzle another 2 tbsp of olive oil, 1 tbsp of balsamic reduction over the cous cous and mix

10.  Sprinkle sea salt and paprika over the cous cous and serve

Romaine and Purple Endive Salad

Ingredients:

·      3 small heads of romaine (or 2 large), chopped

·      3 heads of purple endive, chopped thinly

·      1 cup of chopped local white cheddar

·      1 cucumber, chopped

·      1 cup champagne grapes (or regular grapes sliced in half)

Mustard Vinaigrette Dressing

·      3 tbsp Dijon mustard

·      3 tbsp mayonnaise

·      3 tbsp olive oil

1.     Add all salad ingredients into a large bowl

2.     Mix together dressing ingredients in a separate bowl

3.     Pour in dressing and mix together right before serving

Heirloom Tomato, Peach and Burrata

Ingredients:

·      2 large heirloom tomatoes, sliced into rounds (I like to use two different colors, red and yellow)

·      2 medium sized balls of burrata

·      2 juicy peaches, sliced thinly in rounds

·      5 basil leaves, torn

·      1 teaspoon sea salt

·      1 tbsp olive oil

·      1 tbsp balsamic reduction

Directions:

1.     In a large serving dish, place the sliced tomatoes as the first layer, covering the dish

2.     Place the peaches on top of the tomato

3.     With your hands, tear the burrata into smaller pieces, placing on top of the peaches

4.     Place the torn pieces of basil on top of the burrata, evenly across the serving platter

5.     Drizzle olive oil and balsamic over the whole plate (wait until right before serving for this step)

6.     Generously sprinkle sea salt over the platter and serve!

Note: You can also serve toasted bread with olive oil or healthy nut and seed crackers with hummus or guacamole along with the rest of this meal! I served chocolate chip cooked and berries for dessert. If you try any or all of these recipes, please let me know what you think! Happy cooking! xx