How to Throw an Easy, Elegant Dinner Party

By Hal Rubenstein   Published April 20, 2018

A few weeks ago, late in the morning, my cell phone rings. It’s a good friend, so frantic he skips all pleasantries and launches into his many questions about the breast of veal I made last

summer: Did I sauté shiitake mushrooms or porcini? Broccoli rabe or regular broccoli? Did I roll the flattened veal narrower side to wider, or wider to narrow … and can he get away with

looping string around it since he doesn’t know how to tie it?

What I wanted to know was why he wasn’t at work at 11 a.m. on a Tuesday. Because, he tells me, he’s having three guests over for a dinner party, and as he puts it, “You know how people are.”

Well, actually, no, that isn’t how they are. It’s how we fear they are.

Thanks to popular television shows like Top Chef, The Great British Bake Off and Beat Bobby Flay that turn stoves into battle stations, too many home cooks of every age suddenly imagine the

friends seated 'round their dining table morphing into the scorekeeper chefs on Food Network. Entertaining at home is a lot less fun if you see it as ending in a trial by hungry jury,

whether that jury includes your new son-in-law or old friends who are visiting on their cross-country tour.

So please, turn off the TV, put down the remote and take a few tips from someone who has been a caterer, New York food critic and hospitality consultant for over 30 years — someone who never

wants to be on the receiving end of a phone conversation like the one above again. These suggestions will make your life easier and more fun, whether you’ve cooked for company your entire

adult life or are just getting started in the kitchen.

Before we get to meal planning, know that no one comes to your home because they need a Michelin-star meal. That’s why God made chefs like Eric Ripert, Bobby Flay and Lidia Bastianich. Your

guests come to your house to be with you and enjoy your company. So trust me when I give you these ground rules: 

never made before, or never tested out on someone you love and trust — someone who will forgive you if it goes south.Never choose to make anything that requires major preparation or

attention while your guests are present. They prefer to talk to you face-to-face, not stare at the back of your head while you sauté or deep-fry something. Soup can be a soothing appetizer,

setting the tone for the meal. It can be prepared in advance, then warmed and served to guests. Getty Images 2. Start with a soup

Everyone loves soup. It’s soothing, guaranteed comfort food. Hundreds of options are surprisingly easy to make (thank goodness for ready-to-go chicken stock), and here’s the best part: Soups

can be frozen days or weeks ahead of time with no loss of flavor. I always have at least three different soups in my freezer for just this reason. I lean on favorites such as potato leek,

which has only eight ingredients and tastes great cold or hot; lentil soup, which takes less than an hour to make; and of course, chicken noodle soup, because it is one of life’s

irresistible, edible wonders.

On dinner-party day, take the soup out of the freezer in the morning. Heat it when you get home. Simmer until guests arrive. Serve with a loaf of fresh bread. Done.

Everyone loves soup. It’s soothing, guaranteed comfort food. Hundreds of options are surprisingly easy to make (thank goodness for ready-to-go chicken stock), and here’s the best part: Soups

can be frozen days or weeks ahead of time with no loss of flavor. I always have at least three different soups in my freezer for just this reason. I lean on favorites such as potato leek,

which has only eight ingredients and tastes great cold or hot; lentil soup, which takes less than an hour to make; and of course, chicken noodle soup, because it is one of life’s

irresistible, edible wonders.

Be creative and experiment with different fruits, vegetables and dressings when preparing your salad. Iain Bagwell/Getty Images