Last night Bobby and I hosted our very first dinner party! We invited over our cousins, Miwa and Armand, and we had a great time. Bobby and Armand are so similar and Miwa and I are really similar as well. Bobby and Armand discovered that they went to the same comic convention thing (Comic-Con or something) a few months ago, and they both talked about how they didn’t want to drag me and Miwa along. They see the same movies we do, so I think we’re going to see something with them soon.
We spend a few hours cleaning and getting ready. I made a few different things…
Caesar salad – hearts of romaine, olive oil, lemon juice, salt & pepper, lots of parmesan. (Got this lovely Mexican bowl on sale at Kohl’s a while ago – it was on super sale.)
Two pizzas – 1) bbq chicken (whole wheat dough, bbq sauce, sauteed onions, chicken, cheddar cheese, sprinkled parmesan) and 2) mushroom (whole wheat dough, tomato sauce, sauteed shiitake mushrooms, mozzarella cheese, sprinkled parmesan). I used my whole wheat pizza dough recipe, with a few modifications.
I have a very secret awesome recipe for pizza dough, and it’s awesome. Even better than the recipe that I have posted. If you want some guidance, feel free to e-mail me for it.
Miwa and Armand brought over a surprise dessert – cupcakes! (I forgot to take a pic before we started eating them. There were 6 to start.) They are from a place on Santana Row called Kara’s Cupcakes and they were the BEST cupcakes I have ever had. Miwa tried the “M” one (the M’s were for mother’s day, but since Miwa and I both have names that start with M it worked out), Armand had a chocolate, and Bobby and I split a vanilla. The icing was so soft and fluffy, the cake was light and airy, and even though they were really sweet, I liked them. Amazing. Even cooler – Kara’s uses local ingredients, and they are organic and sustainable whenever possible.
I had so much fun cooking, cleaning, and hosting this party. We almost finished the pizzas, so I think they both liked them. The bbq chicken was a definite winner and I’ll be making it again very soon. Do you like hosting parties? What’s your favorite meal to serve?
May 11, 2009 at 11:23 am
How lovely!
I spy cupcakes! =)
May 11, 2009 at 11:43 am
I never hosted a party! But I would love to… although I wouldn’t cook. I would have the food brought in with the exception of this one dessert I love to make! I bring it to all the summery parties I go to — it is a raspberry sherbert pie!
May 11, 2009 at 12:26 pm
I absolutely love hosting parties, but since moving in with my boyfriend, it hasn’t been successful. His family and friends never have done it, and don’t really understand. His parents misunderstood and ATE before coming over for dinner, so ended up just sitting at the table talking to us while we ate the meal. His friends never accept, or say yes and then cancel, or show up really late and then just want to go OUT for dessert. Odd bunch, these Chicagoans… hehe
May 11, 2009 at 12:48 pm
oh my gosh! how cute! ahh
May 11, 2009 at 12:54 pm
I’m the same as Christina – I did it all the time when I was single, but now that I have moved in with the boyfriend – he never really wants to do it. Could be the fact that I have stripped the dining room of the wallpaper and haven’t painted it yet … but I think that’s just an excuse
May 11, 2009 at 12:56 pm
I wish I could host a party, but my apartment is tinyyy. The BBQ chicken pizza and the cupcakes look sooo awesome though. What a great dinner!
May 11, 2009 at 1:03 pm
pizza and cupcakes- doesn’t get much better! i’ve never hosted a dinner party per se, but the husband and i host some “game nights” sometimes, and we prepare lots of snacks, small plates stuff, drinks. and play board games! mini top-your-own pizzas, dips, raw veggies are great. stuff that can be eaten with hands.
May 11, 2009 at 1:09 pm
sounds like a great dinner! the pizzas look fabulous, as do the cupcakes – cupcakes are just so special and cute!
i threw a couple of parties when i was living on my own, and loved it – i made a variety of things from pasta salads/rice balls/crudite etc, finger foods mostly. for christmas though 2 of the guys roasted a whole chicken, and my boyfriend made pommes dauphinoise, and basically made a huge mess in the oven, as good as the food was! and that was still “my” party haha
May 11, 2009 at 1:23 pm
I LOVE hosting dinner parties! Unfortunately since we are still relatively new to this area, we don’t have a ton of people to invite over
But when we do I tend to go all out (at least I think so).
Fun!
May 11, 2009 at 1:25 pm
I love hosting dinner parties! It is a lot of work, but so much fun
. One of my favourites desserts to make is a simple dark chocolate fondue. The cut up fruit looks so pretty, and it is fun to eat (and also, not too complicated to make!).
Good job on the pizzas, they look wonderful. Simplicity combined with elegance is the best combination for a successful dinner party, and it looks like you managed amazingly.
May 11, 2009 at 1:37 pm
How fun, dinner parties are awesome! Those pizzas both look great too.
May 11, 2009 at 1:47 pm
great party! I love hosting party for my friends. Actually I’m going to host one this weekend to the friends who helped me with the moving… I need to figure out how to feed four hungry men!
May 11, 2009 at 2:09 pm
Congrats on the successful dinner party! It all looks delicious.
May 11, 2009 at 2:26 pm
This top secret pizza crust intrigues me! Glad you guys had a great dinner party!! I love hosting food parties
May 11, 2009 at 7:20 pm
ooh! a dinner party! and I’m not invited? haha, jk!
dinner parties…fun fun fun, but tiring tiring tiring! but sooo worth it! I’ve hosted several dinner parties for as many as 14. the easiest meal is of course plain ol’ salad, but my favorite part is the dessert because that’s what everyone seems to anticipate!
May 11, 2009 at 7:35 pm
Maggie,
Glad the dinner party went well. I do love having people over for dinner. All the cleaning and prep. work usually stresses me out, but then I always end up having a great time. Dessert is always my favorite. No matter who is dining with us, I always make some sort of raw dessert involving cashew cream frosting, and the evening usually ends with a Vita-Mix demo…I kid you not.
May 11, 2009 at 7:37 pm
Awh, totally awesome!!!
May 11, 2009 at 7:39 pm
Oh that sounds fabulous! I bet you’re such the hostess! We do it all the time! I love having people over.
In fact tomorrow I’m having a dessert/viewing party for the Real Housewives of NY reunion and the Jersey (thinking of you) premiere! Our place is great for entertaining! I hope you do more of it – so rewarding and fun!
May 11, 2009 at 8:45 pm
Great looking pizza! I haven’t hosted too many parties, but I like doing potlucks. I made a very successful barbecue pork in the crockpot for a party I hosted one time. I should really repeat that.
May 12, 2009 at 2:09 am
Honestly, I’ve never really hosted a dinner party! I’ve had friends over a couple times and I did a roast chicken, but when I host a REAL dinner party, I will know I am a true grown-up
The pizza looks so good!
Yours looks like a success–I would love to come to your next one
May 12, 2009 at 8:44 pm
What a great dinner party!
The pizza looks delish!