Advertisement

We need your help now

Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.

You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.

If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.

7 tips for hosting the perfect family dinner

You’ll fear the Sunday roast no more.

IF THE THOUGHT of cooking dinner for more than yourself (and maybe one other lucky person), gives you the Absolute Fear, worry not.

Help is at hand.

Whether it’s your first time hosting a family dinner, or just something you want to be a little better at, we’ve rounded up seven helpful tips to help that dinner go more smoothly.

We’re not talking about anything super fancy here – you don’t have to bring out the good china, don’t worry. But there’s lots you can do to enable the dinner, the cooking, and the day go brilliantly.

So, let’s get started, shall we?

1. Prep and plan

john.schultz john.schultz

Depending on how many people are coming you’re going to have to do some calculating before you go grocery shopping.

Not only that, but it’s good to work out a plan for what needs to go into the oven and when. So, if you know your chicken is going to take 2 hours, but your potatoes only an hour, but you need to start peeling them 30 mins before you put them in… See how it can get complicated?

So, work it out – or if you have a chance at all, doing a trial run (if it’s a particularly important dinner) could be well worth the effort.

2. Now – to the shops

davidmulder61 davidmulder61

But before you do, make sure you double and triple check that you’ve made a list that includes all the ingredients you need. It’s so easy to think you have something, and find you’re out mid-way through cooking – or even to not read the recipe properly and realise that you’re missing a key ingredient.

Make a list. Check it twice – Santa Claus-style.

3. Brush up on your knife  skills

YouTube YouTube

Now, we’ve given you a relatively in-depth tutorial in knife basics right here, so you’ve no excuse not to be a dab hand with the chopping. Practice is essential, as is keeping those fingertips out of the way.

Again, give yourself plenty of time to do any chopping, dicing and slicing. Accidents have no place in this kitchen.

No place.

4. Ready, set, cook

Moyan_Brenn Moyan_Brenn

Here is when your formidable planning and organisation skills come into play.

Whatever recipe you’ve planned to perfection, now is the time to implement that strategy military-style.

Because once you have everything in the oven, or simmering away gently you can start to relax a little.

5. Chill for a minute… but not too long

naydeeyah naydeeyah

Take a deep breath – you’ve most of the hard work out of the way. Congrats.

Sit for a minute, put your feet up. Appreciate the work you’ve done.

But don’t get carried away – there’s still more to do.

Now is the time to get dressed, put the final touches on your outfit, and then straight back to work. It’s about time to set the table, check everything’s progressing as planned – taste, salt, and baste as necessary.

Now’s also a good time to get as much of the clean up out of the way so you’re not faced with a ridiculous amount of washing up after dinner, when all you want to do is faceplant the couch.

6. Wine uncorking

Wine quacktaculous quacktaculous

Now is the time to crack open that bottle of wine to ‘let it breathe’. Or you know, to sample it and make sure it’s ok. Just the one glass though, you still have responsibilities in the kitchen.

Would be a shame for all your hard work to go up in smoke this close to the finish.

7. Enjoy

Shutterstock / Mint Images RF Shutterstock / Mint Images RF / Mint Images RF

The most important part of the meal is not actually the food (now we tell you), it’s the sharing the food with your invited guests. So try not to freak out if everything doesn’t go to plan – at the end of the day, that won’t really matter.

What will matter is that you handled any issues with grace, you sat down with your guests, and ate, and laughed.

Everything else will be forgotten. We promise.

Have we inspired you to throw a dinner party soon? Have we missed any crucial tips? Let us know in the comments below.

Close
11 Comments
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Me
    Favourite Me
    Report
    Nov 13th 2011, 9:39 PM

    Here lads. Someone has been injured in a seriously unpleasant attack. Is it really a place to be acting like two kids in a playground? Go do it somewhere else.

    174
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Adrian quinn
    Favourite Adrian quinn
    Report
    Nov 13th 2011, 9:51 PM

    Fair enough.

    47
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute BustingMyAss
    Favourite BustingMyAss
    Report
    Nov 13th 2011, 9:51 PM

    Well said, sorry I lost the run of myself.

    39
    See 1 more reply ▾
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Waffler
    Favourite Waffler
    Report
    Nov 13th 2011, 9:52 PM

    i simply made a comment about how the media sensationalises violence today when in reality we are a much safer society than not so long ago. naturally the victim has my sympathy. somehow adrian feels i should be murdered for expressing an observation

    52
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Sharon Larkin
    Favourite Sharon Larkin
    Report
    Nov 13th 2011, 8:33 PM

    That’s terrible. Hope they catch the ones who did it.

    108
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Adrian quinn
    Favourite Adrian quinn
    Report
    Nov 13th 2011, 9:26 PM

    Utter nonsense. You did not see 3 fights every night you went out. You simply did not. A complete lie. You are an idiot. You should not be let near a computer. Not just for this comment, but for every other idiotic, badly spelt, uninformed comment you have posted in the past.

    104
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Waffler
    Favourite Waffler
    Report
    Nov 13th 2011, 9:34 PM

    walk across oconnell bridge in 1990 at 2am and get back to me. and the good news is i was stabbed twice in my teens, once with a syringe, the bad news for you is i lived

    23
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute BustingMyAss
    Favourite BustingMyAss
    Report
    Nov 13th 2011, 9:43 PM

    I remember Cork in the 80′s: fights were very common and people were quite baise about it. Gang fights were common: often you’d get 2-3 van loads of scumbags descending on rival estates for a royal rumble. This all died out when XTC hit in the early 90′s. You were more likely to get a hug walking home after that!

    74
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Shanti Om
    Favourite Shanti Om
    Report
    Nov 13th 2011, 8:48 PM

    Sending all the best to the victim. Here’s hoping the perpetrators are caught quickly.

    91
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute BustingMyAss
    Favourite BustingMyAss
    Report
    Nov 13th 2011, 9:43 PM

    Well said Om

    32
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Waffler
    Favourite Waffler
    Report
    Nov 13th 2011, 10:35 PM

    ok this comment was removed so i’ll try again. for all those red thumbing me let me give you some perspective. when i was fifteen i was stabbed after a school football match in tolka park along with 7 of my classmates. when i was eighteen i was accosted by 3 men at a bus stop on abbey st. they made me empty my money at an atm before stabbing me with a syringe. neither incident got media coverage as they were common occurences back then. i’m glad we’ve progressed so much that these incidents are so rare that they make headlines. maybe you’ll delete this again but i’m baffled why

    75
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute M kenny
    Favourite M kenny
    Report
    Nov 13th 2011, 8:48 PM

    Wtf is Ireland becoming?

    51
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Waffler
    Favourite Waffler
    Report
    Nov 13th 2011, 9:11 PM

    you are joking? the fact that this makes the news shoe how much safer we are now than 20 years ago. when i started going out in dublin i would see at least 3 fights a night between grafton st and my bus on abbey st, rarely see any street violence these days

    43
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Adrian quinn
    Favourite Adrian quinn
    Report
    Nov 13th 2011, 10:33 PM

    Waffler I’m sorry for that silly comment earlier. You are however misinterpeting the report. The news item simply stated that a woman had been stabbed. No sensationalism. Simply a news report. You appear at times to post here just for reaction. All under a psuedonym by the way.

    42
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Waffler
    Favourite Waffler
    Report
    Nov 13th 2011, 8:36 PM

    we have it good today, when i was growing up this happened day in day out

    16
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute
    Favourite
    Report
    Nov 13th 2011, 8:40 PM

    grew up where exactly waffler?

    hope the victim recovers.

    108
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Adrian quinn
    Favourite Adrian quinn
    Report
    Nov 13th 2011, 9:08 PM

    Tool

    87
    See 3 more replies ▾
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Adrian quinn
    Favourite Adrian quinn
    Report
    Nov 13th 2011, 9:08 PM

    Where do you live?

    39
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Waffler
    Favourite Waffler
    Report
    Nov 13th 2011, 9:08 PM

    blanchardstown in the 80s. theyd send in the army now if it was still like that

    23
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Waffler
    Favourite Waffler
    Report
    Nov 13th 2011, 9:29 PM

    wtf adrian?

    33
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Brian M
    Favourite Brian M
    Report
    Nov 13th 2011, 10:12 PM

    My comment removed!? And I cheered for you in the convention centre last Thursday night…

    13
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Waffler
    Favourite Waffler
    Report
    Nov 13th 2011, 10:15 PM

    i cant see why your comment was removed, please explain journal

    17
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Waffler
    Favourite Waffler
    Report
    Nov 13th 2011, 10:24 PM

    and wheres my last comment gone? what the hell is going on?

    12
Submit a report
Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
Thank you for the feedback
Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.