How to host the perfect dinner party

There’s nothing like a dinner party with your friends.

As your homies enter your apartment they’re hit by the smells of simmering meat and veggies. All the laughter carries through the apartment and everyone leaves at the end of the evening feeling closer than ever.

Dinner parties are awesome but throwing them can feel a little daunting. You’re playing host to your friends and trying to cook at the same time – all in your small apartment. The thing is, that if you use a few simple tricks, you can host these shindigs multiple times per year. Point blank – dinner parties should never be stressful and they should always be fun.

We’ve partnered with Philips to show you how easy it is to throw a super fun dinner party your friends will never forget.

Plan ahead

Always figure out what you’re doing in advance, and get your groceries ahead of time. Make what you can the day before. Things like hummus, tzatziki, desserts, and some side dishes can all be prepared in advance and left in the fridge, so you’ll have more time to clean and organize your living space before the party. Some things actually taste better when they’ve been left for a day – perfect for your scrumptious dinner party.

Simplify

Don’t fill up your counter space with unnecessary appliances – you’ll need as much space as you can get to prepare your dishes well. Instead of having to pull out the food processor, the blender, the electric griddle, and the toaster oven for one dish, choose recipes that can be made on one or two appliances. Or better yet, get a compact appliance that can be used for a variety of different meal types.

Involve your friends

Get your friends to join in on the fun. For the ultimate dinner party experience, get them involved – but make sure it’s organized. If you want them to bring appetizers, make a list of what everyone’s bringing. Ask them to prepare as much as possible beforehand, so your kitchen doesn’t get overwhelmed with a dozen different people trying to use the stove at the same time.

Make it customizable

Even though you’ve prepared ahead of time, there will still be some food that needs to be cooked the day of. The beauty of this is that you can make everyone happy by providing lots of variety. In those cases, make the cooking social and get everyone involved. Your friends can bring their favourite cut of meat and all of you can cook them on an indoor grill. Doing this will make your main course super succulent – with little effort required.

Try this meaty recipe with your friends, made easy with the Philips Smokeless Indoor Grill.

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Brazilian BBQ-Style Beef

Serves four

Ingredients

• 4 tender steaks (about 2cm thick, not too lean)
• A lemon
• 2 green chilies
• 3 spring onions
• 1 clove of garlic
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Vegetable oil

Method

Remove the meat from the fridge 15 minutes before cooking.

Zest one lemon, and squeeze the juice. Set aside.

Chop the three onions, thinly slice the green chilies, and crush the peeled garlic. Zest the lemon and squeeze out the juice. Mix the onions, chilies, garlic, and zest together in a bowl. Add salt, pepper, vegetable oil, and lemon juice to taste. Set aside.

Sprinkle the steaks with salt and pepper.

Put the steaks on the Philips Smokeless Indoor Grill for about 12 minutes, or until browned. Turn halfway through.

Arrange the cooked steaks on four plates, drizzle with sauce, and serve.

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Putting together an awesome food-focused party doesn’t have to be difficult.

The Philips Smokeless Indoor Grill makes cooking feel effortless and gives you gourmet results. This grill uses no charcoal or gas, and is practically smoke-free, so you can barbecue in your kitchen without setting off the smoke alarm. It’s also super easy to clean, and is so compact you can actually fit it in your tiny kitchen.

The grill retails for $399.95. You can buy it online through the Philips website or at a number of different retail stores in Vancouver.