The thought of making a New Year’s resolution never even crossed my mind until it came up on New Year’s Eve. I am not normally one to make them, but I find myself reevaluating every tradition now that I have children. Graciously, I gave myself till the end of the month to cobble a few together.
So this week, let’s talk about how we plan to become even better dinner party hosts. We want these nights to be a weekly (or however often you meet) highlight. In fact, we want them to be so good that our guests’ coworkers are excitedly waiting for updates on our themes.
Hopefully I’m not too rusty after a couple of months off! Don’t worry, we have been continuing our dinner party traditions (I have a backlog to write about now!). Our smaller family unit has reached an equilibrium after I returned to work full-time in the fall, and the first-trimester nausea and exhaustion are finally behind me. I am ready to dive back into this little hobby of mine!
The Camera Eats First, and Mom Eats the Spotlight
In the hustle of a busy evening, I often forget to take a picture of our hard work, or more importantly, our little group sat around the table about to enjoy it. Having a picture or two (or forty) to look back on can bring back the lovely memories.
For Resolution number one – make an effort to take a picture that captures the feeling of our sweet little evenings. It’s okay if they are not social media-worthy, if a toy hurricane sits in the background, or if your husband has his eyes shut. You’ll look back at them with kinder eyes and be happy you have them.
We served this cake at our friend’s wedding reception, and decorating it was a complete disaster, which I think comes through quite well in the picture. My toddler, who had sat so quietly through the wedding ceremony, required more of my attention than anyone should give while also trying to decorate a cake. Fortunately, it tasted great and made for a good story that night!
Now, one important caveat. You, or whoever the default photographer is, should be in the picture too. Moms in particular are excellent at remembering to snap a few pictures, but are not necessarily delegating the task.
I have a little tripod from Amazon that works well with phones that will do the trick. Or rotate between a couple of people, whichever works best for your group (as yes – it can feel silly breaking out an entire tripod for a picture).
Figure Out What The Fuss Is With Food and Wine Pairings
Beyond knowing generally what colour of wine goes with what meat, I am clueless. Since I am not partaking in alcoholic beverages for the foreseeable future, I am expanding this research to include mocktails and other fun beverages.
Secrets I hope to uncover:
- What are the different types of wine, and more importantly, how do you pronounce them?
- Is there a mocktail that pairs with steak better than red wine?
- Do different types of wine glasses really make a difference to the average consumer?
- Can I avoid heartburn during this pregnancy???
Can we become somewhat convincing wine snobs this year? Or at the very least, brave ordering more than just a “cab sav” at a restaurant. With baby number two on the way and a strong repulsion towards sugary drinks at the moment, the odds are stacked against me, but I am optimistic.
Please recommend any resources that helped you learn about this particular topic! To start this New Year’s Resolution off strongly, I’ll be reviewing “Pairing Food & Wine For Dummies.”
Two Many Chefs: Cooking With A Two-Year-Old
This year, I want to involve my daughter more with cooking, and especially with preparing for our dinner parties. This is going to be the most challenging of the three; however, I think by far the most rewarding. As she has gotten older, we have baked and cooked with her more and more, and it’s incredibly chaotic. But fun. And the food usually turns out, so what more can you ask for?
The same day I came up with this particular New Year’s resolution, my daughter dropped a glass plate on the ground while helping clear the table. Why did she have a glass plate? Excellent question. We usually limit her to the less breakable items; however, she was very keen on helping, and her aunts thought it was cute.
If you are looking for more ideas to up your dinner party game this year, please check out 10 Things I Learned After One Year Of Weekly Dinner Parties! We are now going on two years!
