If you’re just like me and you enjoy eating out and trying new cuisines and dining experiences, then you might have noticed that it can drastically hurt your bank balance. But cooking and eating at home can be just as enjoyable and exciting as eating out, especially if you host a small dinner party. The excitement of reading new recipes, preparing the food, beautifully laying the table and getting dressed up, can be just as fun and less expensive than constantly visiting restaurants.
If you are browsing the internet for a new restaurant to try out, while you play games of http://da.partypoker.com/ and browse Facebook, why not consider hosting your own dinner party, where you can create your very own mini dining experience in the comfort of your own home? Here are my restaurant inspired home cooked dinner party ideas.
Starter – From previous dining experiences, you may have noticed that some starters are far too rich and heavy, such as deep fried mushrooms, or pate with bread , which leaves you bloated before your main course. Therefore something light and refreshing is ideal. After going to a Thai restaurant, I was inspired by Thai chilli prawn salad. Make a sweet chilli sauce by combining a chopped chilli, sugar, soy sauce and turmeric over the hob. Pour over your prawns and serve with grated beetroot and carrot shavings on a bed of crisp lettuce. Add a squeeze of lemon juice tor a refreshing and tangy kick.
Main Course – If you enjoy visiting French restaurants, why not re-create your favourite steak and fries dish? You could even make a creamy mushroom steak sauce by frying some onions, mushrooms and garlic in a pan, before adding a stock cube, a dash of cream and some milk. Leave to simmer until it has reduced down and pour over the steaks.
And there you have it, a restaurant inspired dinner, all in the comfort of your own home.