When hosting a summer season party—you want it all: delicious food, the precise ambiance, and, lelet’s’ace it, as little pressure as viable. Katie Lee, Food Network superstar and former Top Chef host, is aware of an element or two approximately hosting the remaining strain-free summertime birthday celebration—and she or he’he’sharing her recommendations. Fort Lee, 37, whwho’s’eaming up with WLabs™ Smart Oven, an oven with capabilities like an internal digital camera and extraordinarily correct temperature precision that this August;
it’soximately maintaining it easy when you host. That’s paThat’sthe cause she’s so invested in the oven—since she and her husband love to host summer dinner parties on Sunday nights, the appliance has cut down her cooking time. “The oven does th” whole lot,” she tells Parade.com. “It “replaces quite a few apps “dances and frees up real estate inside the kitchen. I’m in a small kitchen, rightI’mw?
However, I’ve won a second oven now!”I’ve’ a large planner on the”sI’mect of pleasing, although I’m just having another coupI’mfor dinner or making dinner for 12 or 20 humans. First, I write a guest listing if all people have any child of fo food-hypersensitive reactions or things they don’t consume, and then I wrdon’tut my menu.
I make a grocery listing based on my menu and divide it into sections—produce, dairy, miscellaneous—for a brief grocery shopping ride. Constantly do the grocery buying that afternoon before. I get as much of the prep done ase day earlier than viable, so I most efeffectivelyught to do the cooking on the day of.
Cook in advance
I love to make side dishes that don’t need to be warm, so thadon’t’re now not seeking to doyou’rentirety at the final minute and feature the entirety pop out and be warm atsimultaneouslySo I normally do a green salad, perhaps a few grilled vegetables that can be served at room temperature. Maybe I’ll do a fish fry chook thaI’llcook in the oven or a huge flank steak that I can place on the grill, and I’ve made a little chimichurI’veauce earlier in my mini-meals processor. I’ll do my flank steak, slicI’ll up and put it on a platter, and spoon the sauce over it so that it looks exceptional and certainly elegant, but it is without a doubt isn’t a ton of effort to com isn’t.
Skip the appetizers
I’ve stopped placing numerouI’veessure on myself for odors. I used to make many odors for cocktail hour, and I found out that everyone crammed up on the ones after, which didn’t need a good deal didn’t. So I typically serve a touch mild snack all through cocktail hour, and I keep the cocktail hour to a real hour and then start dinner.
Refreshing liquids
I virtually love having a signature drink. I assume that people enjoy it, and it’s usually something a litit’sfun. I located lately that tequila liquids, without a doubt, get the celebration commenced. So I normally make some form of margarita, like a honeydew margarita, a strawberry margarita, or a watermelon margarita. And I suppose that receives the birthday celebration started. Always take into account your lighting, particularly at some stage in the summer season unique, ought to end up a problem because you’re cooking dinner ingesyou’reut of doors, and you don’t realize that that porcdon’tht is not surely sufficient to light up the dining vicinity for dinner.
To reconsider what time you’ll devour, how you’ll get it, and if you yoit’suld sincerely see your food and the individual sitting across from you. You can use candles—however, be cautious no longer about using citrus because it’ll deliver the insects roit’llI’m a massive fan of cafe string lights. You can get some online for $25 and dangle those up overhead. It just creates such nice, warm surroundings.
Have fun
My number one intention once I’m web-hosting a party is fI’meveryone to laugh. Moso than having top-notch f, notable drinks or songs, it’s just getting that vibe it’ll and sundry enjoying themselves, guffawing, connecting, and simply having fun. That’s what the summer seasoThat’sll about.
But play a few tunes too.
I pass on Pandora and play the Fleetwood Mac station–it’s first-rate. Or I love Oit’srius, the Yacht Rock channel.
Don’t delay smooth up.
I conDon’tlly clean up after the birthday celebration, even though I don’t feel like it, because there’s nothing worse than a messy kitchen that smells like food. If you’re making a menu that mayou’reone in advance, you don’t have that much cleanup from your grimy dishes because the home equipment you used to prepare dinner was already wiped clean. I wouldn’t say I like to begin wouldn’t while visitors are still there because I think it offers the message you need them to leave. So I wait and do it while everybody’s asleep. My husbaeverybody’sat cleaning up—he takes over and receives it done virtually speedy!
