How to Host a Beautiful Dinner Party in a Smallish Apartment Without Spending a Million Dollars and Having a Melt Down

Do you want to host a killer dinner party, but you don’t have enough space? Or money? Or you’re worried you’ll be in a state of panic the entire time?  Don’t fret. I will show you the way.

Last night I hosted a lovely, sit-down feast to celebrate New Year’s Eve. I host a lot of dinner hangs at my place and we always enjoy tasty, scratch-made dishes, but it’s usually done while balancing paper plates on our knees. While there is absolutely nothing wrong with a casual vibe, I wanted to get a little fancier and treat my friends to a relaxing meal where the ambiance matched the quality of the food.   

Here’s how I did it.

Problem #1: Smallish Apartment

Borrow furniture and be creative with your space. For me, the biggest obstacle was table space. My table comfortably seats four people (six if you squeeze), so I borrowed a 6 foot folding table from the middle school where I teach. (Shout out to all you taxpayers!) I rearranged furniture in my living room and set up both tables in the center of the room.

Ta da! Moving the table from the kitchen area also meant that the cooking scene was out of sight, which is a bit more relaxing.  

When you arrange the space, be mindful of where you want people to hang out and manipulate the space so people flow in that direction. I wanted to start the night with a cocktail hour, so I set up the chairs in the kitchen area (where the dining table used to be) and set out the snacks, napkins and coasters on end tables that were displaced from the living room. This way, people mingled in that space instead of crowding the counters where all my dinner prep was resting.

Finally, have a plan for where folks can put their coats and things. Within moments of arriving, your friend should have their things unloaded and a drink in their hand.

Problem #2: I Don’t Have a Million Dollars

Cook slow. Starting with any cuisine, look to the peasant foods- study those food traditions that rely on skill and time to transform inexpensive ingredients into delicious, nourishing meals.  Braise a tough cut of meat, simmer a pot of beans, or transform flour and water into fresh noodles.

My NYE menu consisted of fried risotto balls, gnocchetti sardi with a butternut squash & sage sauce, a warm white bean salad, tomato-stuffed peppers with fresh ricotta, pork meatballs, and (of course!) sourdough focaccia. For the most part, that’s wheat berries, rice, and beans. I did spend on dairy and organic produce, but not a lot. The ground pork was $3 a pound. (Quick tip- Costco carries parmigiano reggiano at a pretty good price! It won’t go bad in the time it’ll take you to eat it, and it’s easy to grate a bunch in your food processor.)

You won’t spend a lot of money cooking this way, but you will spend a lot of time. (Which is commonly thought to be the same as money, but whatever.) If you have a couple of days to spare and you don’t mind the thought of throwing on a podcast (or ten) while you shape pasta, fold dough, and float past simmering pots, cook slow.

Gnocchetti is a hearty, chewy Sardinian pasta made with semolina flour and water (no eggs). I learned how to make them at The Pantry. For this batch, I used fresh milled durum wheat in my mix.

Outsource the wine to your guests. People want to bring something. I told my pals to bring a bottle of wine or bubbly. If you want to serve drinks, consider a cocktail. Cocktails were invented to mask the taste of less-than-spectacular spirits. Choose an inexpensive spirit and dress it up a bit. This is also a nice excuse to get festive! For my party, I mixed a bottle of vodka (leftover from our wedding) with orange and cranberry juice, and topped it with a float of ginger beer and a garnish of pomegranate seeds and fresh mint.  

Thrift or borrow the decor. I tarted up the folding table with a $3 tablecloth and an assortment of cheap candle holders from Goodwill. That place is also a gold mine when it comes to serving dishes. If you don’t plan on repeating your dinner party set-up or you don’t have the storage space, send the stuff back to Goodwill. Also, if your mom/auntie/inlaw is in the area, they probably have all of this stuff and would be delighted to sponsor your dinner party. Also, don’t worry about mixing and matching everything; it doesn’t have to look like a magazine to feel special.    

Problem #3: I Might Have a Melt Down  

You’re going to be cool as a cucumber because you’re going to plan the shit out of this thing. And you’ll plan smart.

Plan the work and work the plan. Plan your menu at least a week in advance so you can incorporate some prep into your day-to-day food preparations. A surprising amount of can be done ahead, even for those last-minute dishes. For example, I served fried risotto balls as a starter. Even though I was frying them up at the last minute, I made the risotto two days in advance (with extra for dinner that night!) and shaped them into balls the day before the party.

When building your menu, make sure that a few of the dishes can be done ahead of time. Serve sides that are delicious at room temperature- think roasted vegetables and winter greens that like to marinate.

Oven charred tomato-stuffed peppers from Dorie Greenspan’s latest, pre-charred.

Once you plan your menu, schedule out when all of this prep will happen. For each task, assign a time frame, adding a little extra time for hiccups, clean-up, and to ensure that you’re working at a comfortable pace. Next, decide when you’ll do these things. I like to map out this time on a table in a google document. (This system is how I manage my time at work, too; try adapting a time management system that already works for you!) On the day of, build in a couple hours to clean up your workspace, take a break, and don your party outfit.

Unless you’re super comfortable with it, avoid leaving anything technical or messy to do when your guests are there. It’s easy to socialize while perking up the sauce you’re reheating or garnishing a cocktail you’ve pre-mixed, not so much when you’re flipping the first crepe you’ve ever flipped.

Finally, you’ve got to plan on all this planning to take some time, too. It took me about an hour to make shopping lists and schedules for my NYE party.  

Problem #4: Right..  but I really don’t have this much TIME.

I already told you that this shit takes time! But I understand; not all of us live my glamourous school teacher lifestyle with endless vacation days. If you don’t have the time and you want to throw a baller dinner party, remember Ina Garten’s famous words: Store-bought is fine. Choose one or two dishes to cook from scratch, and grab some of your favorite prepared things from your local bakery or market. You might end up throwing a little more money at your party, but you also may not. (I recently spent about $25 making a homemade quart of vanilla ice cream. It was super delicious ice cream, but store-bought would have been fine.)  

Problem #6: You don’t want to do this. It’s also totally OK if you don’t want to host a dinner party! If you don’t want to do this, don’t do it.

Thanks for reading, and HAPPY NEW YEAR!