The Dinner Party Part 🍴🕯️✨

Dec 03, 2023

Hello!

As Christmas is around the corner, you might find yourself wanting to be indoors around cozy tables eating comfort food with those that you love.

I love a dinner party. I don’t know what it is about them, but they leave me feeling whole and complete after each and every one I participate in. There’s something about being in someone’s home or an intimate space and sharing food with others that is oh so joyful and refreshing.

I love hosting them, and I love being a guest at them. I also think they are a great community connection tool. Anytime I move to a new city, start a new job, or generally want to get to know a group of people better, a dinner party is the first thing I lean towards.

Here are a few options for some dinner parties and things that, I personally believe, make them great. I try to have at least one a week, and I think they make my life significantly better.

So without further ado, let’s talk:

Dinner parties.

Dinner party for you or two

When I say that I have a dinner party every week, what I mean is that I feel as though I owe it to myself to have nice moments every so often when it comes to dining at home. I live with my boyfriend and there is something so lovely about bringing magic to a Wednesday by laying out a simple tablecloth, setting up the table with my nicer dishes, lighting some candles, and cooking whatever I’m craving.

Your menu could be something creative, or it could be something simple that you whip up because you don’t have time or energy after your work day; that’s OK. This isn’t pretentious. This isn’t for Instagram. This is an act of self-care that brings a little bit of ritual and respect to eating and allows you to treat yourself in a way that costs nothing other than maybe 5 extra minutes of throwing a tablecloth on your table.

Doing this weekly gives me something to look forward to throughout the week, feels very special, and gives my boyfriend and me an opportunity to sit and feel like we’re on a date instead of just eating in front of the TV as per usual (which I also love).

It’s the little things in life that add to the bigger picture. Treating yourself to at-home dinner parties, whether they’re on your own or with the people you live with, might feel silly at first, but little by little it’ll become part of your routine. You’ll then realize that it’s okay to make a big deal out of the mundane.

Potlucks

I will live and die by the potluck. I think they’re brilliant. They’re low-effort, low-mess, delicious concepts that I can’t get enough of. A potluck is a gathering where each guest brings a dish of their own.

You can be strict about who brings what if you want to have some structure to it, like an appetizer, main, side, or dessert situation, or you can just let everyone bring what they’re best at making, and that works too!

I remember when I started my first big girl job in London, I was super nervous. I was the youngest one in the office and felt so green. I tried to rack my brain for team-building opportunities, and I invited everyone over to my place for a potluck. I feel as though that night brought me friendships I’ll now have for life and made the team closer in general, not just closer to me! They are magical and require very little effort. I only had to clean my dish after, and everyone else brought theirs back with them. SUCH A WIN!

I also feel like potlucks don’t fall under the same category as other dinner parties. They tend to be a lot more community gathering, BBQ style, and so I never put too much effort into the table setting or anything. So, if you want to dip your toes into hosting a dinner but don’t want the fuss, I’d start here.

Tip: Have everyone who drinks bring a bottle as well; wine and alcohol run out so much quicker than you think!

Saporita

Let’s talk Saporita Supper Club. This concept was born by the GENIUS chef and my now good friend, Sara Cagle, and oh, how nourishing these events are to both the body and soul. Saporita is an Italian-fusion supper club series in the heart of Florence. I’ve been to two on my own now, and I meet such great people each time.

It’s hosted in the gorgeous Beast Gallery, located in the city’s Sant’Ambrogio neighborhood, and the tablescapes are nothing short of breathtaking upon entering. From there on out, the whole evening feels like a fireworks show for your senses.

That being said, hosting a themed supper club that takes a little more time and effort is also something that is super rewarding. Sara is a connector who brought together a community that is mainly made up of immigrants in the city that she loves using the language of creativity and food to initiate interesting dialogue and experiences. You walk away from nights like these feeling whole and complete and absolutely full of wonder. Plus, her innovative cooking is mind-bogglingly good!

Themed dinner parties (or more intimate sit-down ones) can take a little more effort and preparation, but they are truly events that create memories that will last a lifetime.

So if I have convinced you, here are some ideas of how you can make your dining events special!

Menus

I am EXTRA, and I love creating e-vites or printing out little menus for the day.

If you’re like me, here are some templates on Canva that I love.

(The photos are hyperlinked)

Playlists

I find that the music is completely up to personal preference, you do you! But I also don’t agree with anything other than Ella Fitzgerald being played at dinner parties…

I joke… (not entirely)

But I do think the music has to be quite neutral and relaxed. This could be some jazz or music in another language, so no one is distracted.

Here are some good playlists you can have on in the background.

I also love my Marshall speaker to play it through!

Menu Ideas

If you’re like me, you love to cook but maybe get a little nervous doing it for others…

So here’s what we do: we keep it simple. We don’t try to make homemade dumplings the first time we host a dinner. We go easy on ourselves, and we try to mitigate stress where and when we can. Here’s a sample menu that always goes down a treat.

Appetizers: I recently had this whipped goat cheese at a potluck, and I can’t stop thinking about it. Serve that alongside some crunchy bread, seasonal fruit, and charcuterie meats.

First course: Pasta is so delicious, everyone loves it, and it is so easy. If you want to impress your guests, try something like this Mushroom Pappardelle with fried Parmesan breadcrumbs.

Second course: I am a BIG FAN of the rotisserie chicken for dinner parties. Make potatoes and a dip like this, and you can drizzle the sauce over the chicken and potatoes. and voilà! You’re a fancy gal. Make a salad like this fall Brussels sprout salad with apples, pecans, and blue cheese for some greens, and you’re set.

Dessert: I don’t really like dessert… So I always go for simple and pick up pastries like cannoli or grab some ice cream. Panettone is a great festive option! People will be full at this point, so it will just be something to tie them over and satisfy their sweet tooth.

And if you want to add something a little different, serving coffee or a good amaro at the end always feels very special too.

Tablescapes

The tablescape is the FUNNEST part of a dinner party. You get to just be creative and use what you have to come up with something brilliant. Klub Hunts is an incredible option when looking for glassware. You can rent them out if you don’t feel like investing in glasses for your home at the moment, or you can buy them if you’re ready to commit!

Also, this store ALONE made me realize that I need to live in Brooklyn one day so that I can come here all the time. Big Night is just the most brilliant concept, and I want to live inside its vision forever. You’ll be able to get some GREAT unique pieces for your kitchen there.

For more tablescape inspo, I personally think Omer Gilony does it best.

Some other great dinner party content creators to follow for some inspo:

Root for yourself this week and do something for yourself that makes you happy. At first, it might feel silly to go all out just to bring yourself some joy - but eventually you’ll stop feeling silly and just feel happy. You’ve got this.

I promise, doing little things little by little makes life that much more full of wonder.

Have a great week!

Maraviglia’s Substack

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