An Elegant Dinner Party

Short on time? This lavish Venetian-themed dinner party is easy to pull together and sure to impress your guests.

Photography by Michael Alberstat
Food Styling by Ian Muggridge

First published in Wish November 2005

Menu

Make: Saltimbocca
Little time, big splash. No one will believe you used bird-in-a-bag.

Buy:
- Hit the olive bar and load up on an assortment of olives
- A platter of bruschetta
- Tartufo from the freezer section is easy and elegant when sprinkled with crushed amaretti cookies and almond liqueur

Instant Sense of Occasion
Pour it on. Empty the china cabinet and put it all on the table. Everyone will be so dazzled they’ll never guess it was planned on the fly.

Table-Setting Secret
While you’re shopping for food, grab a tube of inexpensive wrapping paper (no pattern) that matches your colour scheme, and roll it out over your table. You’ll add a big splash of colour and save your tablecloth from potential messes.

Last-Minute Hosting Tricks

  • Get the most from your deli counter. Purchase precooked polenta that only needs a quick slicing before warming.
  • For maximum impact (and to make your life easier), choose a colour scheme, and pick up coordinating flowers, candles or other details for the dining area, entryway and even bathrooms.
  • Basic grocery-store flowers can easily be pulled apart (ditch the baby’s breath) and grouped by colour in smaller bunches. Get lots – they look and smell pretty, and you can use them throughout the house.
  • Finish each setting with a linen napkin tied with regular kitchen twine and topped with a single flower stem.
  • Add layers of texture to the table and use china tea or espresso cups as serving dishes for olives or nuts.