I don’t know what it is, but I absolutely love hosting parties-big or small. Maybe it’s because cooking and baking and feeding people is a part of my love language, but planning parties and hosting them is something I love doing.
When I was working on my “30 before 30” list, one of the items I added to it was hosting a homemade pasta party. I had all sorts of intentions of hosting one over the winter, but time just got away from us. So when Ravino Pasta reached out asking if I wanted to try their raviolis, I knew this was my chance to host my pasta party- albeit with someone else making the pasta ;).
Want to host an Italian dinner party for yourself? Here are my four tips for keeping things stress-free while retaining your hostess with the mostest title:
- Skip making your own pasta- serve fresh, handmade from your favorite pasta vendor instead! This is bound to cut out some stress as you won’t be working hard to make the pasta yourself before guests arrive. Serving Ravino‘s delish ravioli truly made for a super yummy meal that was easy for me to make. I served the cheese ravioli and spinach and ricotta raviolis. Both of which were awesome, tasted super fresh and were made with all natural ingredients. I was very impressed with them and felt confident serving the pasta to guests- they tasted so much like homemade, without the work and mess in your kitchen. Boston friends, their products are sold at Roche Bros. stores in Massachusetts so you can try them for your next dinner party (or any night of the week!) yourself.
- Pick a color scheme for your tablescape and stick to that. Once you pick a color scheme, it brings everything together for your tablescape and let’s you focus on the more important things like food. I picked pops of red for my tablescape inspired by this tablecloth which reminded me of something you may see in an American-Italian restaurant. I added in these red napkins and some awesome fresh gerber daisies in the hue. Last but not least, I used my fave gold-accented wine glasses for a bit of contrast. This tip is one I follow anytime I am hosting a dinner party.
- Prepare what you can ahead of time so you can spend more time socializing with your guests. This is another tip I try to follow any time I plan a get together- because isn’t getting together with friends or family the reason you are planning it, not to spend the whole time in the kitchen? For my Italian dinner party, I served bruschetta as an appetizer, along with a meat and cheese board. No party is complete without dessert and keeping with the Italian theme I served one of my fave recipes, chocolate chip biscotti. The bruschetta can easily be made before your guests arrive-actually it is better when the mixture marinates all together. That just leaves toasting your bread for serving right before your guests are due to arrive. Biscotti are also a great make ahead dessert as you can make them even a few days ahead of time if you need to spread things out.
- Don’t forget the good wine! You can’t have an Italian dinner party without wine, so crack open the good stuff, and if anything your guests will be loving their wine so much they will automatically have fun.
Hope these tips help you plan a pasta party of your own with family and friends!
xoxo, Jenna
FYI: Ravino Pasta provided me with complimentary pasta in exchange for a review. All images, opinions and recipes included are my own.
Great tip love! Hugs, Kait
http://www.makeminemaroon.com
Author
Thanks Kait 🙂
Looks like a perfect meal! Hope you sent this to Diane. So happy for her, the business looks great.
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Oh my gosh, it looks soo good! You definitely are the hostess with the mostest!! 😊😊😊
Xoxo
Jess
http://www.mustheartstyle.com
Author
Thanks Jess! xo!
I love this whole post!! I was thinking of even doing a super cute Italian Themed evening for me and my guy! I love fresh pasta….OMG….
xxoo
Kris
Author
That would be a perfect date night in idea! Love it, Kris!
The food looks soo good. Italian food is definitely my favourite!
http://www.wildfirecharm.com
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Same! Thanks Pallavi!
I am going to have to cook this next time I’m craving Italian! Thanks for sharing (: YUM!!! XOXO, Scout
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Thanks so much, Scout! Hope you like it 🙂
this is the prettiest table setting!! so pretty Jenna 🙂 I am going to try this brand next time.
thanks for sharing. xx
-Neha
Love Playing DressUp
Author
I think you’ll really like their pasta, Neha! Let me know what you think 🙂
Great tips! Loved the red as your color scheme, it really makes the food pop! Looks lovely. xx, Lauren
http://www.rosesandrainboots.com
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Thanks for stopping by, Lauren! I love the color red too!
Great tips, girl! And I love your tablescape! Perfection all around.
Sincerely,
Whitney
@trustyourcloset
http://trustyourcloset.com
Author
Thanks Whitney 🙂 xoxo!
I, too, love to host and is probably why I am SO EXCITED for our gift registry because I picked out the most beautiful Vera Wang fine china sets that I am obsessed with. I can’t wait to throw a dinner party or girls luncheon! my future MIL is from Italy and we do Sunday dinner there most Sundays and it’s nice because she prepares everything in advance. For Easter, she made homemade lasagna (noodles and sauce and all) and said she just did a little every day so that by the time Easter was there, everything was fully prepped and ready to be heated. Your table looks gorgeous!
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Your china sounds beautiful and I am sure your dinner parties are going to be fabulous 🙂 It is so fun to use all your registry goodies after 😉
xoxo!
Drooling! All of this looks so good. Great tips girly!
XX Hannah
https://thesunnysideofthings.com/
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Thanks Hannah!
#3 is so true! I try to prepare as much before. This ravioli looks delicious and the table theme you went with matches perfectly!
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Thanks so much Donna! Preparing as much as possible before is a total lifesaver 🙂