Domestic Goddess...?

Now that we’re properly settled into domestic bliss, I thought it was high time Green Fingers and I threw our first dinner party. With pictures finally up and our flat dust free, guest lists were drawn up and menus set. Wanting to show how Pashminas and Pearls could also be a domestic goddess, a successful dinner party was key ingredient. While seemingly effort and stress-free to your guests, the smoothest running and successful evenings are weeks in the planning, and are a finely tuned event!

Once you’ve got your ‘team’, so to speak, the next thing is move onto menus. There are obvious things to steer clear of I find, such as offal (and mushrooms when cooking for GF!!), there are always popular dishes which are sure to impress your guests. I made to die for mini sticky toffee puddings last weekend – simple, quick and easy, yet wickedly tasty and look fabulous! I love Delia's website - fountain of knowledge!!!!

Ocado is the saving grace when it comes to shopping for ingredients. I don’t know about you, but I always find I forget something crucial, even when I go prepared with a shopping list the length of my arm! Waitrose’s on-line store, Ocado, is fabulous, and takes the stress out of grocery shopping. You can take your time, avoid screaming children having temper tantrums in the middle of the aisle, and browse at your leisure! Each section is shown clearly, and you can do your shopping in categories as if you were actually cruising up and down each aisle. Booking times are so convenient too, with 1 hour slots, ranging from delivery costs of £0 to £3 – bargain I say!

Once the food, drink and guests are decided, it’s down to the final hours of preparation – the right level of lights, music, a beautifully laid table - fresh flowers or scented candles always make a lovely final touch too! Ipods are perfect for these evenings – when you’ve got a spare moment, rare I know if you’re anything like P and P, a dinner party ‘play list’ is essential, and means that you have never-ending music all evening, without having to change the CD!

The only thing not to look forward to now is the clearing up…which is usually left to the non-cooking half of the household I find, and when a dishwasher is an essential part of the kitchen!