Hi, my sweet friends! I hope you all had an amazing weekend 🙂 I am finally on the mend from the sinus/head pressure/cold that had me down for about a week. You know, I’ve never been more grateful to be able to fully breathe through my nose – who woulda thought? Before I was down for a while, I spent some much needed time tackling my DMs and emails. And one question, in a few different variations, I kept seeing was “what should I make for friends before dinner?” or “what should I have when hosting before a night out?” or “should I have a meal prepared when we are all meeting at my house before an outing?”. I absolutely love this question and because my house usually this house, I figured why not answer in my favorite way: with a charcuterie board.
Before we even get to the goods, my biggest tip for you as the host is do something your future self with thank you for. For me, that means using disposable or dishwasher safe options only. Yes, I love hosting a group dinner with my collected china but for this, just hosting people for an hour, or even less, before going out, I go with easy. In recent weeks, I’ve found that I really love these bamboo bowls from Target as combo plate and bowl option. They are disposable and look so much better than the basic white styrofoam option. For silverware here I didn’t chose disposable but these are easy to clean. I usually hand wash my Sabre silverware throughout so adding a few more pieces is totally fine with me. However, for an easy night of hosting I had a few weeks back, I used this pretty green recyclable silverware. Again, it’s a visual and quality step up from the plastic we’re used to seeing and if you’re going for a theme, the color can work within that.
So, what should be on this “pre dinner” snack board? I think it depends on how much time you have between people arriving and departure. Here are my suggestions for three time options: 30 minutes, 45 minutes and 60+ minutes.
Ideal time to sit 45 minutes between guests arriving and take off:
Cheeses: semi-soft, cut or crumble. This way, guests are not worried about a spreadable soft cheese smearing on their dinner outfits. Cut and crumble take a few more seconds to plate but is completely worth being able to wipe off if there’s a drop of food on clothing.
Meats: mix it up by having salty and savory like a pepper rimmed salami, pepperoni and salty proscuitto. This variety gives guests something to truly taste and enjoy the different palettes vs feeling like everything tastes exactly the same. I think the variety also wakes up your taste buds in preparation of a tasty dinner (but of course, there’s no “proof” of that LOL).
Fruits & extras: the variety of salty, sweet and tangy is always fun. Fruits are great because they water-based and perfectly curve immediate hunger without ruining dinner by being too heavy. Your guests also won’t feel “guilty” for spoiling their dinner if they have the option of light fruits, either fresh or dried.
Drinks: my go-to is a light bottle of wine such as rose or champagne. Both are celebratory enough to toast to before dinner and light enough to compliment a cheese boards or smaller snacks. If you want to ditch the chance of having to wash glassware, there are so many seltzer and mixed cocktails now available in cans that are easy to keep on hand in the fridge and perfect to toss in recycling before heading out the door.
In a pinch with 30 minutes: I would have items such as nuts, crackers and olives scattered around the gathering space with options for seltzers and mini water bottles, if you’re anticipating a long night. This time period and snacks option allows for less cutlery and the napkin based “plate” options. With just 30 minutes, guests usually are running around a bit to get in that last ladies room stop before leaving; checking lipstick; changing shoes, etc. They may not be sitting down for more than 10 minutes so small snacks all around do just the trick. If you’re feeling crafty, you can make little goody bags with pre-package bite size snacks. This is the zero cleaning method (LOL) and your guests can take the snacks with them to nibble on in the car while on the way to dinner, especially if there’s a long drive ahead.
In no rush with 60+ minutes: This is where I would make a heavy cheese board with everything from the 45 minute board plus breads, dips and possibly a baked bread like brie in a croissant roll with jam. My thinking here is that your guests probably haven’t eaten in at least an hour before arriving to you (to accommodate getting ready + travel) and then have at least 1.5 hours until they have dinner. Especially if you are lounging with a few cocktails in hand, your guests will have at least 2 in this time frame and no one wants to show up to dinner absolutely starving. If you think guests will be at your home for well over an hour and a half, as in your home is part of that evenings social plans, I also suggest asking people to bring their favorite snack. You, of course, still want to be prepared but this way, everyone can contribute and have something they love.
If advance prep is too much for your guests (this totally happens and is okay!) you can rely on a heavy cheese board, breads, treats and a few different cocktail options to please everyone. For hosting this long, I may suggest using your plates that are a step up from disposable but still dishwasher safe. This way, you don’t have to worry about too much waste from guests getting second and third rounds of snacks. Y’all know that I’ll take absolutely any excuse to pull out my favorite plates and with this much time, you actually have guests sitting down and comfy so real plates are just an added, elevated bonus.
Looking for cocktails to make? I have 6 of my favorite tequila options here and tons more under lifestyle posts. Not into charcuterie boards for this type of hosting? No worries at all! I find that a simple taco bar (60+ mins) ; dips, chips and bread sampler (30 mins); or variety of Trader Joe’s apps (45 mins) can also work. Altogether, you should make what is best fit for you and your guests. Sometimes, you have a long night of eating and drinking ahead where you might not want to have more food at your house. Or you want food but don’t want drinks since you’re celebrating over a nice bottle of wine at dinner. In my opinion, there’s no hard right or hard wrong when hosting your friends and family. This will also look a little different each time around depending on timing, availability, audience and energy.
Do you have a go-to meal, snack or food option when hosting friends for short periods? I would love to know in the comments! Thanks so much for reading friends! xo- Azanique <3
