Competition: King Island Dairy giveaway
Giveaway provided by King Island Dairy and F4 Consulting.
I don’t know if I’ve ever hosted a proper “dinner party”.
I have people over for dinner all the time. But it’s usually a casual affair: a text message or email invite, a jumble of food in the middle of the table, and paper serviettes.
And don’t get me wrong – casual is great. I love having people over and cooking and catching up. But there’s something really nice about the thought of a proper dinner party, and I do think sometimes that I should go to more effort.
King Island Dairy have launched an ebook on hosting a perfect dinner party: perfectdinnerparty.com.au. Along with tips on how to make one run smoothly, there’s also tips on putting together the perfect cheese plate.
And to celebrate, I have a King Island Dairy gift pack to give away, which contains a wooden cheese board, a cheese knife, an apron, a Petaluma Botrytis and three King Island Dairy cheeses: a Roaring 40s Blue, Cape Wickham Double Brie and Surprise Bay Cheddar.
There’s plenty of tips in the ebook about preparing a cheese platter and pairing cheese, but I think my favourite quote is: “There are no rules when it comes to appreciating cheese – except that you should appreciate it!”
Hear hear.
Giveaway
As mentioned, I have one King Island Dairy gift pack to give away.
All you need to do is comment below and give me your favourite dinner party tip. Be serious or be funny or just say hello! I’ll draw the winner randomly.
Make sure you include a valid email address when you comment – it won’t be published, but I’ll use it to contact you if you win. This competition will close at midnight on Sunday 20 April and is valid for Australian residents only. Good luck!
Update
Congratulations to #7 – Lam. You have been sent an email – enjoy. 🙂
April 11, 2014 @ 10:37 am
Yum! I love cheese and the King Island double brie is one of my favourites!
My tip is cheese platter specific: If you are going to add grapes to your platter, freeze them first! Adds a great texture to the grapes and makes them look pretty and last longer.
April 11, 2014 @ 10:39 am
My best dinner party tip is letting stay at home hubby cooking whatever he wants – so he will do the cooking!
April 11, 2014 @ 9:58 pm
My tip is to get everyone to bring a plate so that you are not stuck in the kitchen and can instead enjoy the company 🙂
April 13, 2014 @ 5:55 pm
My best dinner party tip is just enjoy! Plan and do as much before hand so u can enjoy- and hopefully u have awesome friends who bring pressies of chocolate and flowers as a thank you!
April 13, 2014 @ 7:12 pm
Prepare everything you can ahead of time so you can enjoy yourself and your guest’s company when they arrive (and partake in a wee drink or two without disastrous results).
April 13, 2014 @ 8:55 pm
I swear by preparing nibbles/entree and dessert the day before, and have everything for the main prepped before anyone gets there. If nothing else, it stops people wanting to “help” you. #getouttamykitchen
April 13, 2014 @ 11:00 pm
Dinner/party tip. Use paper plates and disposable knifes and forks. That way you are not spending half of the day after washing up.
April 14, 2014 @ 9:49 am
My party dinner tip is to always have boardgames on hand! As the night wears on you’ll need something entertaining to do over that 4th glass of wine.
April 14, 2014 @ 8:24 pm
My best tip is to buy a stack of frozen TV dinners, zap them in the microwave and serve them up on fancy plates. Everyone will give you great compliments because it’s good manners to.
April 15, 2014 @ 8:16 am
Cheese and wine are my two biggest vices! What a gorgeous cheese platter you have there 🙂 YUM!
My favourite dinner part tip is to cater well with booze and it doesn’t matter too much what happens in the kitchen 😉
…just kdding, keep it simple is best. Choose simple dishes that you know how to make, and do as much ahead of time as you can so you can just relax and enjoy your guests..
…failing that there is always Pizza Capers and wine 😉
April 18, 2014 @ 8:48 am
Fave dinner party tip: make people wear something silly. Really. I’ve done paper candles on people’s heads, along with paper turkeys on their chests (for Chrismukkah and Thanksgivukkah, respectively).
April 18, 2014 @ 3:50 pm
My number one thing is to make as much as possible in advance, then you can enjoy your evening and not be slaving away in the kitchen all night!
April 19, 2014 @ 5:38 pm
I deliberately like to make it casual so everyone feels welcome.
April 19, 2014 @ 6:05 pm
Make some variation on a roast for mains and a made-ahead cake for dessert – they leave you time to attend to everything and everyone else!
April 19, 2014 @ 11:44 pm
If you’re throwing a potluck or a party where people contribute, give them a theme. Throw a “red dinner” (where all the dishes have red ingredients), a “pasta party” or, my fave, a cheese party! People feel better if you give them guidance and, paradoxically, creativity flourishes when you set some limits!
April 20, 2014 @ 3:34 pm
I like to make desserts in edible containers so you need less crockery/ cutlery (and means less cleaning). For example put chocolate mousse into wafer tubes or ice cream comes.
April 20, 2014 @ 5:36 pm
Drink WINE ! It’s a true flavour enhancer, for both mouth and mind.
April 20, 2014 @ 5:53 pm
Ohhh nice giveaway!!! Hmmm don’t have many dinner parties either but advice would be to be relaxed and just because it’s more formal doesn’t mean you have to do everything haha ask guests to help out too 🙂