Spring dinner party details

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When I host dinner parties it is probably no surprise that I tend to go overboard. This is a problem because it means I end up in the kitchen and not spending time with my guests. This spring dinner party was an exception. The menu I planned was pretty simple. I planned ahead and gave myself 3 hours to prep before guests arrive. I drank wine while I cooked. I relaxed a bit.

I am in love with every dish I made for this dinner party. As mentioned above, they are all easy. Best of all they are delicious and affordable. Because I planned a very meat-light meal (the only meat was the bacon in the pasta), I didn't break the bank.

I think it helped that I chose a theme...spring and also a subtle color scheme of yellow, so I was able to focus and not run in a thousand different directions.  I didn't over-do it on the details (The flowers were $5 from Target). 

As a reminder from last Friday's post, here is the menu:

Appetizers
Caprese skewers
Pears and blue cheese
Goat cheese puff pastry bites

Salad
Spring salad with tangy vinaigrette

Main course
Fettucini with peas, asparagus and pancetta

Dessert
Buttermilk pudding cakes (aka strawberry shortcakes)

I couldn't resist posting a couple photos of the caprese skewers. Aren't they so beautiful? 

Caprese skewers

Ingredients

Grape tomatoes (cherry tomatoes work if you cut them in half)
Fresh mozzarella (the little balls work the best)
Basil
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper
Toothpicks

Preparation

Assemble the skewers each with a tomato, half of a mozzarella ball and a small piece of basil.  Drizzle with olive oil, balsamic vinegar.  Season with salt and pepper to taste. 
Have I ever mentioned how much I love blue cheese?  I could eat this entire wedge. 
This lemon, white wine vinaigrette was quite possibly one of the best dressings I've ever had.  It is perfect for spring.  For the table centerpiece, I divided the flowers into mini bud vases. 
The goat cheese appetizers were like little savory bites of airy, buttery goodness. 

Goat cheese puff pastry bites (adapted from a recipe via The Kitchn)

Ingredients

1 sheet frozen puff pastry dough, from a 17.3-ounce package (1/2 package)
5 ounces herb goat cheese, at room temperature
3 tablespoons chopped scallions, for garnish
Preparation

Remove 1 pastry sheet from the puff pastry package and thaw at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Position a rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 425°F.

Unfold the pastry sheet and place it on a lightly floured cutting board. Using a rolling pin, roll the pastry just enough to remove the fold marks. Using a 1 3/4-inch round cookie cutter, cut out about 35 rounds. Place the rounds on the parchment-lined baking sheet.

Bake until crisp and light golden brown, about 15 minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool completely.

Put the goat cheese into a sandwich bag and snip a corner.  Pipe a dollup of goat cheese on top of each puff pastry and top with a piece of scallion.
The pasta was amazing.  I loved the flavor the fresh lemon juice and lemon peel added with the cream and all the springy vegetables.  Please excuse the photo, I had to use a flash, which is a huge no-no with food photography.  But by this time it was dark out so I couldn't rely on natural light. 
Last but certainly not least is the beautiful, delicious buttermilk pudding cake I made.  These are basically little strawberry shortcakes.  And the cake part is so easy, it literally took 30 minutes (you use a muffin pan to create individual cakes.)

Whew - this was a long one.  I wanted to include all the recipes (and not just links) but I've been working on this post for two hours and I am sleepy!  Thanks for sticking with me till the end!

I hope this post leaves you a bit inspired to host your own spring dinner party! It really can be an easy, stress-free and affordable evening if you just plan ahead, be focused and drink lots of wine while you cook!

The one thing I want to be sure to end on is the fact that though the food was tasty and the details were pretty...the most important part of the dinner party was spending time with good friends...drinking wine, enjoying each other's company.  There is really nothing better than that.  Thanks for coming over Libby, Jay, Nick and Deanna.  I know you'll all agree how lucky we are to have each other's friendship.