While hosting a dinner party on a Friday night may seem daunting, it’s actually quite easy if you seek out simple, yet flavorful recipes. I often encounter hosts that try to do too much for a dinner party – overly complicated dishes, too much food, etc. Try to stick with a theme and you too can effortlessly transition from the work week to a cozy dinner party for ten.
Inspired by a friend who wanted to prepare a cous cous dish, this Friday night dinner party included a rosemary-mint lamb stir fry, spiced goat cheese with pita chips and a roasted squash saute with adzuki beans and raisins.
Friday Night Dinner Party by Jessica Gioglio
Rosemary and Mint Lamb Stir Fry
Flavorful with a spicy kick, this lamb entree brings together rosemary, mint and fresh veggies in a quick and easy dish. Marinate the lamb in the fridge all day and feel free to swap veggies as needed – my roommate used extra mushrooms and snap peas in lieu of spinach and green beans. She also added salt, pepper and fresh lemon juice into the mix. Visit WholeFoodsMarket.com for an incredible selection of recipes, including this one here.
Moroccan Spiced Goat Cheese
Dressing up goat cheese with a custom blend of spices was so simple and gained us bonus points with our guests for creativity. Too bad we can’t take full credit, as Whole Foods also provided the recipe for this dish. I purchased the largest goat cheese log that I could find (approx. $7) and our party of ten devoured it. Serve with Stacy’s Simply Naked Pita Chips. Please click here to view the recipe.
Roasted Squash Satue with Adzuki Beans and Raisins
Packed with nutritious vegetables and beans, this recipe also couldn’t be easier. Roast bite-sized pieces of butternut squash with olive oil, sea salt, ground black pepper, garlic, ground ginger, cumin, paprika, cinnamon and ground coriander at 400 degrees for between 15-20 minutes. When the squash is nearly done, saute bite-sized pieces of zucchini and summer squash, olive oil and the spices listed above on the stovetop for a few minutes until tender. Serve in a bowl with one can of adzuki beans and raisins. Garnish with fresh cilantro.
Cous Cous
Though cous cous by itself can be boring, adding simple ingredients like feta, olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, chives and fresh parsley packs a lot of flavor. This is certainly a Greek version of cous cous, but it went wonderfully with the food we prepared. Serve with a lemon olive oil dressing. For a Moroccan version, try dates, apricots, almonds and chickpeas.
Dessert – Sorbet with Clementines and Pomegranate Seeds
For dessert, my roommate created a visually stunning, tasty combination of mango-tangerine sorbet, raspberry sorbet, clementine segments and pomegranate seeds. For the chocoholics – myself included – dark chocolate covered almonds from Trader Joe’s were served. It was a light, refreshing way to end the meal.
For more of my recipes, click here.