You can enjoy an elegant dinner party with your family without breaking the bank! Happy Thanksgiving to all and I want to share how I achieve an elegant dinner party for 5 with a working budget of $40!
Plan menu in advance: I have a picky family who has a strong opinion on food. Hubby hates turkey, G1 loves sushi, G2 wants to go vegetarian, G3 demands for steak and I hate leftovers! The risk of overspending may be prevented if you allocate a few days in advance to involve the family in your decision making process. Here's some suggested tips to help you plan 3-4 weeks before the actual date:
- List down all the food requests and place them in categories - Appetizers, Main Dish, Dessert and Side Dishes
- Go through a process of elimination where you will limit 2 -3 dishes under each category
- Regularly check your local deli or newspaper ads and determine items on sale
- Make a decision on desserts that you will create versus store bought - - in most cases, homemade desserts can save you more than $10
For our thanksgiving dinner, we have decided to go with simple dishes we all enjoy
Main Dish:Baked WILD SALMON WITH GARLIC SAUCE AND CAPERS (similar preparation)
Mario Batali's DEVIL'S CHICKEN: Pollo al Diavolo
Side Dishes:
Garlic and Herb Couscous
Au Gratin Potatoes
Steamed Carrots
Buttered Corn on the Cob
Garlic Bread
Dessert:
Classic PUMPKIN PIE
WHITE CHOCOLATE STRAWBERRY SWIRL CHEESECAKE
Set a budget that you can afford:
If you have been following this blog, you will know by now that we encourage frugal living except when it comes to food. We literally spend more than $50/week on fresh fruits alone as we encourage our teens to snack on fresh produce rather than chips and junk food.
I had the tendency to splurge on extravagant dishes (plus spending money on centerpieces) for our dinner parties in the past. Yes, I love having more than 4 desserts, 3 choices of antipasto, setting up my buffet table to hold my fish/chicken/beef/pasta entree (I have 3 choices of pasta delivered) --that I spend more than $200 -- Yikes - -No More !
The trick: List only the essentials and plan to spend $10-$15 per head
Avoid using paper products: I understand that convenience is important specially if you are like us with a weird pet peeve that one food cannot touch another food (It's pathetic --sorry). I love changing plates and in the past I used those cute themed paper products from Target so I won't have to clean up. The problem: I enjoy the themed party effect that I spend more than $10 for tissues and cups alone - -That's it! Yes it's convenient as you can just toss them in the trash bag but so expensive that I now let the dish washer help me in this quest.
Recreate your settings: I love going to restaurants with the "ambiance" (sometimes more than the food) so every opportunity for me to lay out a good setting is most welcome. If you plan to purchase a centerpiece but the cost associated to fresh flowers or new decoration may be a challenge - -Try using wine glasses with a floating candle inside or use those simple candlestick, table runner or any random accent that you can find. Tonight, I am keeping it really simple by having my two reliable ants do the magic (Yes ! I didn't spend anything on centerpiece)
Okay...table is done..-Happy Thanksgiving!
