In celebration of Spring and the many fun activities it brings, I challenged myself to create a menu for a casual dinner for 8 that required no more than one hour of preparation time the night before and another 90 minutes of preparation the day of the dinner (grocery shopping not included). The hardest part about building the menu wasn’t finding recipes that would fit with my time limits, but it was choosing from all of the amazing options.

Meats like lamb and pork cook quickly and the Spring’s best vegetables need minimal assistance to shine. My final menu included a spectacular but dead-simple rack of lamb, an oven risotto that would free me from standing over the stove stirring, beautiful artichokes that are fun to eat, and a luxurious panna cotta that comes together quickly the night before the dinner. This menu would be lovely for Easter or for any other get together in the Spring or Summer. In fact, it comes together so quickly that it’s actually practical for weeknight entertaining. Your guests will think you were in the kitchen all day, and well, where’s the good in disabusing them of that notion? Your secret is safe with me.

The Menu (serves eight)

Main Course

Rosemary Pesto Lamb Rack
quadruple the recipe

Baked Risotto with Morels and Asparagus

Artichokes with Garlic-Thyme Mayonnaise
double the recipe

Dessert

Lemon Panna Cotta with Raspberry Sauce

To Drink

Medium-bodied red wine such as Erath Pinot Noir

The Plan

I create all of my preparation plans in Excel because I find it easy to work with and to modify as I go. I’ll admit it’s a little over the top for most, but if you’d like to see the detailed spreadsheet I used to get to this plan, you’re welcome to download a copy in Excel or PDF format.

The night before

• Set the table and set out serving dishes
• Make the panna cotta and raspberry sauce

90 minutes before dinner

• Open the wine so it can breath
• Prep the lamb and let sit at room temperature
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees

1 hour before dinner

• Prep the artichokes and mayonnaise

40 minutes before dinner

• Put the lamb in the oven
• Bring the artichokes and water to boil
• Prep risotto ingredients

30 minutes before dinner

• Reduce the lamb oven heat to 400 degrees
• Start the risotto on the stove and then place in oven

15 minutes before dinner

• Remove the lamb from the oven and allow it to rest
• Remove the artichokes from the boiling water and drain
• Sautee the asparagus for the risotto

5 minutes before dinner

• Remove the risotto from the oven and stir in the asparagus
• Plate all of the dishes

30 minutes after dinner

• Make coffee
• Plate panna cotta
• Serve dessert

Keys to Success

You’ll be cooking for this dinner right up until it’s time to serve the meal. However, that doesn’t mean you have to feel harried or not enjoy pre-dinner time with your guests. Some things I’ve found helpful when cooking a meal like this one include:

• When you set the table and set out the serving dishes the night before, be sure to also set out dessert dishes and forks, as well as coffee mugs. This will make the transition from the main dinner to dessert much easier.
• Run and empty the dishwasher so you can load your prep dishes into it as you go. Your kitchen will be neater when guests arrive and it will be easier to ask them to help you with any last minute preparation.
• Ask guests to arrive 15-30 minutes before you plan to serve dinner. By this point in the process most of your heavy prep work will be done and you’ll largely be stirring and checking on the status of cooking dishes. You’ll be able to welcome guests easily and leave some wiggle room for anyone who might be running late.
• You won’t want to abandon your guests while you finish dinner, so consider setting out some olives, cheese, and bread near the kitchen so you can chat with them while you finish cooking. You may want to serve a different wine, or possibly some bubbles, with your pre-dinner nibbles to get everyone in the party spirit.
• If you plan to serve water or tea with your dinner, instead of or in addition to wine, pre-pour the drinks and stash the glasses in the fridge. You can set them out just before dinner is served.
• Don’t be afraid to ask for help! Friends can carry dishes to the dining room, pour wine, or even rinse a dish or two.

One of my favorite things about food blogging is the fantastic array of recipes and food ideas I find as I connect with other bloggers. While I do enjoy a good magazine or cookbook, I’ve found that blogger recipes are often much more practical to make at home and quickly become favorites of my family and friends. As I read blogs in my feed reader, I star those recipes that I particularly want to try again. For a recent dinner party to kick-off the al fresco summer dining season, I sourced almost every recipe for the menu from blogs. The dinner was easy to put together and well received by my guests.

Main Course

Grilled Rib-eye Steak with Ginger Lime Butter (from Stacy Snacks)

Mango Cucumber Quinoa (inspired by Fun With Your Food)

Roasted Asparagus (inspired by Simply Recipes)

Dessert

Madeleines with Chocolate Dipping Sauce (from White On Rice Couple)

Fresh strawberries

To Drink

Peachy Canyon Petite Sirah, Paso Robles, CA, 2006

Being the tinkerer I am, I typically can’t leave well alone with any recipe, but I was fairly limited in my modification to these bloggers’ most excellent recipes. The two (count them two) total changes I made to the recipes in this menu were:

• I used quinoa instead of pasta for Fun with Your Food’s mango cucumber salad. This is really a personal preference and reflects my attempt to eat fewer refined carbs and to experiment with different grains. I specifically used red quinoa cooked according to package directions but otherwise followed the recipe. I agree that this salad is much better when made early and left to let the flavors meld together.
• I tossed a little balsamic vinegar in with the olive oil when I made the asparagus because, well, why not.

The Plan

This menu is perfect for entertaining because you can do much of the work ahead of time so you aren’t racing about just before your guests arrive trying to finish the meal. The day of my dinner went something like this*:

*We typically have kids at our dinner parties so we eat a bit earlier, but for an all adult dinner you might not start until 7 or even 8pm, in which case, adjust the schedule accordingly.

And that’s really it. This dinner goes together so beautifully and is perfect for a warm summer evening. It combines healthy grains, fruits, and veggies with the summer tradition of grilling for a dinner that’s special but not complicated. Enjoy!