Girls night dinner party

I hosted a girls dinner last night.  Yes, I hosted a dinner party on a Wednesday night.  I’m crazy like that.  But not as crazy as it might seem, you see – I had some tricks up my sleeve.  And I’m going to share them with you, so you too can host a mid-week dinner party and not be completely stressed out by it.

It’s amazing how a great night with girlfriends can feed the soul.

Now, let me start by saying that the amazing women I hosted last night are wonderful friends and have been for more than half my life, so I wasn’t all that worried about the house being entirely perfect.  Yes, I cleaned and shoved things into closets to ‘tidy’ up, but I was more focused on spending time with friends and of course, the meal.

To make sure I could relax, enjoy time with my friends, and not be stuck in the kitchen, I did some of prep and cooking the night before.

Here’s how it worked:

• On Monday night, I made up my favourite marinade for Flank steak and popped it into the fridge.
• On Tuesday night, I cooked up the steak, and chopped and grilled all the veggies (red, yellow, and orange pepper, zucchini, and red onion)

Veggies all cut up (in olive oil w S&P) and the marinated Flank steak ready for the grill.

• On Tuesday night, I pulled the shrimp out the freezer and put them in a marinade of olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, cumin, cilantro, and some crushed red pepper flakes.  This sat in the fridge overnight.
• Also on Tuesday night, I made up a big batch of quinoa.  This was cooked with a bit of Madras Curry Powder to add a bit of zip.
• Once the quinoa and veggies were done, I mixed the two up and put them into the serving bowl covered with wrap – all ready for serving up the next night.
• The steak was cooked, I let it rest on the cutting board for a few minutes and then wrapped it (whole) in foil for the fridge.

mmmm…..flank steak:)

• On Wednesday night, all that was left to do was quickly fire up the barbecue and cook the marinated shrimp and also some fresh asparagus.
• Oh, and slice the steak – thinly and against the grain (key!) – I served it cold along with the quinoa w veg.
• and …Voila! Dinner was done!

I served it up buffet style and we all enjoyed it outside.

The feast

My girlfriend Betsy took this shot of her dinner plate and instagram’d it:)

And then of course for dessert, fresh Ontario peaches…heaven on a hot summer night.

It was wonderful to spend time with great friends.  It’s amazing how sharing a meal with friends can feed the soul.  Don’t you agree?

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About the author:  Heather is part of the Canada Beef communications team and tweets as @CanadianBeef.  She lives with her husband and their two dogs in house with a great kitchen.  She cooks a lot and loves learning all the ways to enjoy Canadian beef.

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