In parts one through four of our “Delightful Dining” series, we discussed the people, planning the meal, preparing the meal atmosphere, and service. Today we’re going to offer tips for entertainment, and give menu suggestions that include links to recipes online.

Entertainment

Options: The entertainment is optional––you may choose to just have company over for dinner. But if you’d like to make an entire evening out of it, feel free to plan a little after-dinner entertainment––just make sure your guests know in advance so they can plan ample time to stay. Be sensitive to the guests’ needs––if dinner ran long, and they need to get home, graciously accept their declination of the offer to stay. (If you had a great game night planned, the hosts can still play after the guests leave!)

TV-Free: A note of caution: unless all of your guests are movie buffs, keep the TV off! If they are movie buffs, and you choose to watch a movie, make sure the movie is clean and appropriate to watch. (Plugged In is a great movie review website.)

Talk: If the conversation is going strong, everyone can just sit around and talk for awhile, but that may put more pressure on people to keep the conversation flowing, especially if they’re not used to being together for extended periods of time, so it may be better to have actual activities planned.

Games: The other option is to play a game. Someone in your group may bring a fun game that all ages can enjoy. Cards are an easy choice, as games can include an indefinite amount of people, and rules can generally be adapted to meet the needs of the players. Depending on the ages and interests of the players, games like Catch-Phrase and Clue may also be good options.

Menu

Click on a menu item below to be directed to that recipe. Feel free to use these ideas, or to come up with your own.

Beverages
Lemonade or Iced Tea
Milk
Coffee (make sure it’s decaf!)

Dinner – Option One
Chicken – grilled or baked
Fruit Salad
Broccoli and Cheese (use fresh or frozen broccoli)
Fettuccine Alfredo
Dinner Rolls

Dinner – Option Two
Spaghetti or Lasagna
Salad
Fresh Fruit
Garlic Bread

Dessert
Lemon Meringue Pie (use an unbaked homemade crust for best results)
Brownies

Departure

All good things must come to an end, including the evening (and this series!). When your guests begin to leave, gather their coats and purses, and see them to the door. Make sure to thank them for coming and sharing the meal, and the evening, with you.

Romans 12:10–13 “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor…devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.”

By Davonne Parks

In parts one through three of our “Delightful Dining” series, we discussed the people, planning the meal, and the meal atmosphere. Today we’re going to talk about service during the meal.

Service

Take their coats. When people walk in the door, someone can offer to take their coats and purses, and place the items in a designated area.

Seat the guests. If dinner is on the table, go ahead and seat the guests at the table if they arrive together. Otherwise, show them where they can sit, such as in the living room, while they wait for dinner to be ready and the other guests to arrive. A host can sit with them, if possible, to start an appropriate conversation and help the guests feel at ease.

Pour the drinks. While a few people are putting the finishing touches on dinner, one or two people can find out what the guests would like to drink, and have the drinks ready at the table. If dinner will be several more minutes, ask the company if they would like to have their drink in advance. Extra beverages could be kept on the table, if there’s room, or in the fridge so they’ll stay cold.

Pray. Have someone designated to lead the group in prayer, thanking God for the food and fellowship.

Serve the food. This can be done several ways. If you’re having a buffet-style meal, allow the guests to go first. If the meal has been placed on the table, family style, guests can choose a dish, take what they want, and pass it to their left. This may be good for the hosts to start, as guests are often unsure of what to do and will wait to see an example. The other, and more formal, option is to serve the guests their meal at their seats. The company can sit down, and the cooks/servers can bring them their plates of food, restaurant style. This is a good option if there isn’t much extra space on the table, since food dishes in the center won’t be necessary, or if there isn’t much counter space to spread the food on. However, it will also mean more work for the hosts who will need to stay aware of empty plates so they can offer seconds.

Refill drinks. Someone who is observant, and in a convenient location, can be on the lookout for near-empty glasses and offer to refill them.

Have nice conversation. Ask the guests an open-ended question about themselves, or about something you know they’re interested in, such as their children or a ministry they’re involved in. It’s okay for the hosts to offer information about themselves, too, but make sure to not dominate the conversation.

Clear the meal. All of the hosts can clear the table, put the dirty dishes in the sink, and put the food away, in just a few minutes. Insist the guests relax at the table while you’re doing this, and the person in charge of drink refills can refill drinks while this job is being completed.

Serve dessert. While someone is clearing the table, and someone else is refilling drinks, a third person can work on dishing out the dessert. When these jobs are done, everyone can simply take the dessert plates to the table, putting them in front of the guests first, then serving themselves and sitting back down.

Everybody, clean up! (Except the guests, that is.) Most of the clean-up should already be complete, so this job should be easy. Once dessert is over, take the dessert dishes to the sink, and load the dishwasher. Guests should not help with this (remember, you’re serving them), so they can sit in the living room and relax while clean-up is being completed.

Coming up

We’re going to close out this series by giving a few entertainment ideas, as well as offer menu suggestions, so check back soon!

By Davonne Parks

In parts one and two of our “Delightful Dining” series, we discussed the people and meal planning. Today we’re going to talk about setting a proper meal atmosphere.

Atmosphere Planning

Much of the set-up, except the actual cooking, can be done the day before, so keep that in mind if the meal is set for a weekday, or for breakfast or lunch hours.

Choose music, if you’re having any. Soft dinner music can be relaxing as a background noise, but it’s not necessary, so decide if you’re going to have music, and if so, have the CD ready and take it with you when it’s time to prepare for the meal.

Allow ample time. If dinner is set for 6:00PM, don’t show up at 5:30! Everyone should meet several hours in advance to clean and prepare without feeling rushed (which can lead to stressed, snippy words). If there is extra time, people can touch up their look or just relax for awhile before company arrives.

Clean the house. Everyone should help with this. Closets and basements don’t need cleaned out, but areas that company will be in should look and smell presentable. Put uncaged pets and their food dishes in a different area of the house (or outside), and make sure to disinfect the areas they were in. Scrub the bathroom, clear off and sanitize kitchen counters, vacuum and mop, and make sure things are straightened up so the house has a tidy, welcoming feel in general. If pet or other odors linger, light scented candles, and if possible, open windows to let fresh air in for a really clean scent.

Set the table. Use a pretty tablecloth, fresh flowers, or a candle to decorate the table. There’s no need to buy anything––someone involved will probably have something that can be used. Make sure there are enough chairs for everyone, and if an additional table needs set up, this is the time to do that. Fancy dishes don’t need to be used, but the table can still be set properly for a pulled-together feel. Steps 4–8 on eHow have helpful table-setting tips. Name cards are optional, but whether formal cards are set out or not, make sure to give the guests the best seats.

Cook the meal. Non-cooks can help by chopping items, stirring food, washing dishes as they’re ready, or getting out and putting away ingredients as needed. Doing this will save the cook a lot of time and energy, and will help the overall cooking process to run smoothly.

Finishing touch. Transfer food to pretty serving dishes if possible, and place everything neatly where it will be served to complete the look.

Coming up

Next, we’ll talk about serving guests, then we’ll discuss entertainment ideas, as well as give menu suggestions, so check back soon!

By Davonne Parks

We’ve recently talked about serving a meal to other people, and we’re going to continue with new tips and instructions about planning the meal (full menu suggestions will be posted later).

Remember that these lists are for all of the volunteers, and are broken down in detailed step-by-step instructions, so you may only be doing a few items!

Meal Basics

Know special needs. Ask all guests and volunteers if they have any dietary restrictions (such as allergies or health issues), and write that information down to use when planning the menu. If the host has pets, this is a good time to ask about pet allergies.

Plan the menu. Keep this simple! If everyone in your group is an experienced cook, go ahead and cook a fancy meal; otherwise, stick with a simple dinner, which will be just as appreciated and a lot less stress. Keep the overall cost in mind. Out-of-season fruits and vegetables will be more expensive to purchase, as will most seafood and steaks.

Make a grocery list. Go over all recipe lists in your menu and write down the amount of each ingredient needed. People may be able to donate a few items from home, so check on that, then make a grocery list of everything else that still needs to be purchased.

Collect donated items. It’s better to collect all items the group volunteered to donate now. This way, you can make sure everything needed will be there, which is much better than having to run out to the store at the last minute if someone forgets or runs out of an ingredient right before the meal day.

Buy the groceries. This can be done a few days in advance, but if there are items that may spoil, such as milk or fresh vegetables, don’t buy things much before then. Only purchase what is needed for the dinner. Make sure to buy enough, but don’t buy too much (this is where writing down the amount needed for recipes comes in handy). If there are two brands of cheese, buy the cheaper brand. That may only save you a dollar on cheese, but a dollar saved on several items really adds up! Remember that everyone is giving money based on a set budget.

Store everything. This is best done at whichever house the food will be cooked. Make a note on each item so someone in the house doesn’t accidentally eat something that’s for the dinner. All items that can be kept at room temperature can be left in the grocery bag and placed out of the way, so it’ll be easy to grab on cooking night.

Collect the money. Divide the final amount on the grocery receipt by the number of people helping financially to determine how much each person owes. Hopefully, everyone has planned and shopped carefully enough that each person only owes a small amount of money.

Coming up

Next we’ll talk about the atmosphere, so stay tuned!

By Davonne Parks