Jennifer Bacher / Silhouette Staff

Planning a dinner for a group of friends takes a bit of planning. It is important to know how many friends will be coming (and if they intend to bring dates), what food you will be serving, and if you intend to offer drinks. Here are some simple ideas to help make your next dinner party an easy one!

Appetizers

The easiest appetizers are ones that can be served quickly and require minimal work to serve. Cold appetizer recipes make entertaining easy and can be put together quickly. Hummus is great, whether made at home or store bought. Served with warm pitas and vegetables, hummus is guaranteed to be a crowd pleaser. Another appetizer, that can either be preassembled or a “build-yourself,” is crostini with cheese and meats. Try goat cheese, jam and prosciutto.

Dinner

The most stressful part of the party is creating an edible and successful dinner. Whether you chose something extravagant or simple, the key is to plan ahead. Make what you can ahead of time, this will allow you to spend less prep time in the kitchen when your guests are over. If you are looking to make something simple and easily customizable, why not try home-made wings, make-your-own nachos, hamburgers, homemade pizza (in the oven or BBQ) or lasagna.

Dessert

The best part of a dinner party is the dessert. It can easily be made ahead of time, but no more than a day, ideally that morning. Impress your guests with the new trend in the world of desserts: dips! Dessert dips are versatile, fun and easy to customize with your favorite flavours. From cookie-dough dip to cheesecake dip and everything in between, it can be served with fruit, pretzels or vanilla cookies.