The Dinner Diaries

Birthday Parties are both the easiest and hardest types of parties to host. Easy to host if you’re a little Type A and know exactly what you want, but hard to host for us people-pleasers out there. Luck for me, I am both.

So, if you’re looking to host a birthday party EVERYONE will enjoy (most importantly yourself…after-all it is your birthday) the best practice is to have some optionality for guests, in a “serve yourself” way, while ensuring you have all the elements that will make you happy on your special day.

For a spring birthday, (like myself) I found it’s the best time of year for any and everything to be outdoors. Take advantage of the turn of the seasons- some warmth and sun is always needed for everyone after the dreary winter months. Whether this outdoor event be at a park in picnic form, or on a rooftop somewhere in dinner party form, no one will ever be mad about some fresh air.

For a hostess like myself, my plan of attack for me is ALWAYS a dinner party. Pastels, flowers, candles, fresh salads, champagne and a gorgeous “berries and cream” inspired cake equals a beautiful garden-party-esque event that can be recreated in even the most concrete environments.

For that guest optionality previously mentioned I made sure to have a variety of salads that were very different, so even if someone didn’t like one thing, there is most likely something else there that they would enjoy. For large groups, I try to have one dish with no meat, dairy or gluten in case anyone has any allergies or restrictions (and i’m not offended if no one eats it). Most importantly for an event like a birthday, I have a dish that I LOVE so even if I’m shooting to please a crowd, there’s still something on my table that brings me joy and makes me feel like i’m celebrating myself. For this event, that was my cake.

The Table

The Salads

While I was able to find an AMAZING pasta salad recipe (linked above), I threw together the Quinoa Greek Salad and Kale and Apple Salads myself.

Recipes Below:

Quinoa Greek Salad:
Prep time: 30 mins
Serves: 20

2 Bags of Quinoa (cooked according to directions on the bag)
6 Bell peppers chopped into squares
3 English Cucumbers chopped into 1/4 rounds
2 boxes of cherry tomatoes chopped
1 Red Onion

Dressing:
1 Cup Olive Oil
1/4 Cup Balsamic Vinegar
1 Tablespoon Honey
2 Cloves of Garlic minced
3 Teaspoon Salt
1 Teaspoon Pepper
2 Tablespoons Chopped Parsley
1/2 Lemon squeezed

Combine salad ingredients into a large bowl. Prepare dressing in a small bowl by whisking all the ingredients together. Drizzle dressing over salad and toss, then let sit until served.

Kale Apple Salad:
Prep Time: 15 mins
Serves: 20

2 Bags Kale (washed)
1/4 Cup Olive Oil
1 Bag Shredded Carrots
3 Gala Apples
1 Cup Slivered Almonds
1 Cup Pomegranate Seeds
1/4 Cup Crumbled Goat Cheese

Dressing:
1 Cup Olive Oil
1/4 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
2 Tablespoons Honey
1 Teaspoon Salt
1/4 Teaspoon Pepper

Massage washed kale with 1/4 cup olive oil then set aside. Prepare the rest of the ingredients. Lay out massaged kale and add rest of ingredients in layers on top of the bed of kale in whatever order you want. Drizzle dressing over the top and serve.

The Celebration

Drinks

And last but not least, no celebration would be complete without some champagne! Simple, easy and always a crowd pleaser. Cheers!