| Formal Dinner |
From "Ask DIY"
episode ADI-206 |
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Q: I'm hosting a dinner party and want it to be really special. What are some touches that will make it formal but still fun?
A: (Jeanne Benedict, Ask DIY Entertaining Expert): Here's how to set a table that's formal but not stuffy: - Start with the charger plate, placing it an inch in front of the table edge, and placing a dinner plate on top.
- Place silverware in the order that you'll use it, with the utensils for the earlier courses resting to the outside of the utensils for the later courses. On the left side, the salad fork ordinarily goes outside with the dinner fork next to the plate. On the right side, the soup spoon should be on the outside and the dinner knife next to the plate with the sharp edge facing in to the plate. If you have a cocktail fork, it goes on the outside of the right side, next to the soup spoon.
- If you preset utensils for dessert, place them at the top of the place setting. The tines of the dessert fork should face to the right. The teaspoon goes with its bowl facing to the left (figure A).
- Consider using mint-julep cups as water glasses. Set them, or any water glasses, above the tip of the dinner-fork blade. To the right of the water glass set the red- wine glass; to its right place the white-wine glass.
- Use a novel idea for place markers, such as dollhouse-size chairs on top of the dinner plates holding handwritten place cards. Or use costume jewelry to fasten a place card onto a folded napkin and place it in the center of the dinner plate (figure B).
- Make the chairs dazzle by attaching an ornament or a bud vase with flowers to the back of each. Or drape organza around the back of each chair, draw it together at the back, apron-string style, and fasten it with a brooch or other piece of costume jewelry.
More Questions for Jeanne:
Q: What shape of table is best to use for a formal dinner party?
A: I love the drama of a long, rectangular table. But how you decorate the table is more important than the shape.
Q: What food can I serve at a nice dinner party that looks great but doesn't take too much time? I'd like to enjoy the party too.
A: If you like exotic food, try a chicken curry or a great-looking soup with a lot of color and a lot of vegetables. Soups and stews will keep very well in a pot on the stove, and they're even better when they have a few hours to rest so the flavors blend. This may not be the most traditional dinner-party fare, but that's what I'd recommend if you don't have a lot of time.
Q: Do you think it's okay to send out party invitations made on the computer?
A: Absolutely. I do it all the time. Web site resources for Formal Dinner: Creative Entertaining from HGTV.Com The Perfect Table Setting from The Knot.Com Setting the Formal Table from Igourmet.Com Books: Sophisticated Entertaining: Spirited Food for Grown-Up Parties
By Jeanne Benedict
ISBN: 1557883459
Penguin-Putnam Inc.
Hardcover, 320 pages (October, 2000) The Pleasure of Your Company
By Molly O'Neill
ISBN: 0670872660
Viking (1997)
Penguin-Putnam Inc.
375 Hudson St.
New York, NY 10014
Phone: 212-366-2000
Invitation to Dinner: Abigail Kirsch's Guide to Elegant Entertaining and Delicious Dinners at Home
By Abigail Kirsch with David Nussbaum
ISBN: 03854881733
Doubleday (1998)
Broadway Publishing Group
Random House Inc.
1540 Broadway
New York, NY 10036
Phone: 212-354-6500
Fax: 212-782-8911
Web site: www.randomhouse.com
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