My love language: cheese, words of affirmation, and throwing a great dinner party. ???️
My entire tablescape is from Amazon! Linked in my storefront under “DINNER PARTY FINDS”.

I’m so excited about this series! Dinner parties are my love language, but we ALL know that hosting can go from 0 to STRESSFUL in 2 seconds. That’s why I have a hard rule that I always follow: if I have one dish on the menu that requires cooking after my guests arrive, then every other dish needs to be able to be made ahead. It takes away a huge amount of stress so you can focus on one singular dish. The best part? I made this HOURS ahead of time.

I opted for a simple Heirloom Tomato + Burrata Caprese with Sourdough toasts and Caviar with a chip flight + accoutrements. Impressive dishes don’t have to be complicated. It’s. All. In. The. Presentation. ?? I cut up wedges of tomato, vs slices to not only be beautiful presentation wise but it also was easy for my guests to scoop up and eat on toast.
Now, you absolutely do NOT have to be serving caviar, but choose something that doesn’t have to be cooked, and that will take you a few seconds to throw together. Examples: a small cheese plate (talking 1-2 cheeses, maybe charcuterie, olives & nuts?), chips & guac, a crudités plate with hummus – even marinated olives and nuts with olive oil & bread! See what I mean? Those are all examples of make ahead apps that are fresh, delicious and elevated.

Ingredients

For the Heirloom Tomato Burrata Caprese

2 Heirloom Tomatoes
2 Burrata Balls
Fresh basil, sliced
Good Olive Oil
Flakey Salt + Cracked Black Pepper
Sourdough slices

Method

Cut tomato into wedges and arrange on a platter
Tear open Burrata and scatter among the tomatoes
Sprinkle basil over the top with some flaky salt and pepper, then drizzle olive oil
To make toast, preheat oven to 400 degrees
Drizzle each slice with a little olive oil and pop in the oven for 6-8 minutes.
Note: If making ahead of time, arrange the tomatoes & Burrata on the platter, then wrap and place into the fridge. Before your guests arrive, complete the above steps.

For the Caviar & Potato Chip Flight:
@roecaviar (my absolute favorite)
Creme Fraîche
Minced Chives
Kettle Salt & Vinegar Chips
TJ’s White Truffle Chips
Pringles

Looking For More? Check out the rest of the series:

DINNER PARTY MENU SERIES: The Salad that had everyone talking!

DINNER PARTY MENU SERIES: Pesto Compound Butter with Roasted Tomatoes + Shrimp

Enjoy!

Cortney

Cortney LaCorte

Cortney LaCorte is the creator of CheeseGal, a food and entertaining blog born in her Nashville kitchen that celebrates cheese, charcuterie and joyful gatherings