In praise of a themed dinner
hosting 101, lentil patties and other festive bits
Since moving into my current flat two years ago, I’ve hosted many dinners and parties. I was lucky to find an unfurnished flat, and while the move was more expensive because of that, it also meant that, for the first time in eight years of living in London, I could finally curate my own living space. I’ve done it gradually, but the first thing I bought — before even thinking about a wardrobe — was a big dining table that would become the centerpiece of our living room. I wanted a table that could comfortably seat at least eight people, with the hope of hosting many dinners. And that’s exactly what’s happened. I still don’t have enough seating and often have to get creative — experimenting with buffet-style or standing parties in my tiny flat. But it works for now.
Now, about my slight obsession (or joyful admiration) of a good themed dinner party. I’ve written before about my love for food and bringing people together. My parents, bless them, will be thrilled to get another mention in this one too, as when really think about it, my love for dinner parties stems from them. As do my unrealistic expectations of love but we don’t need to go into that right now. I’ve always been very impressed by my parents’ ability to sustain friendships. Their group of friends — made up of six couples — have known each other for over 30 years. Some individual relationships go back longer, like my dad and his friend from primary school who started the whole gang and gradually welcomed the new members. Over time, they all got married and started families, which meant that I grew up alongside the other kids, forming lifelong friendships too.
Growing up, my parents would throw dinner parties, or we’d go to their friends’ houses. As kids, we were always allowed to join 'the adults' for the first half of the evening. But once we finished our food, we were excused 'upstairs' to play imaginary games until they were ready to wrap up. I always hated that moment. Don’t get me wrong, I wanted to play with the other kids, but I also wanted to stay up with the parents. I wanted to take part in the lively discussions about politics and society or hear the latest gossip about someone I didn’t even know. Sitting there around all the food, drinks, and their pleasant chatter, soaking up the adult world — there was nothing I wanted more. When we got older, as teenagers and young adults, we were finally allowed to stay up with them. And now, as adults, we throw our own dinner parties.
One of their many traditions — and why I am so insistent on it as well— is hosting themed dinners. It’s their little private supper club that began after one of the holidays when they were still buzzing with excitement about the new dishes we got to try and were looking for ways to preserve the summer. I can’t remember exactly which family started this, but I do remember it was a Spanish night and soon it became a standing meeting in their calendars. One family picks a cuisine, country, or region and curates the dishes and the atmosphere. Once, one of my aunties brought back a paella dish from Spain and kept it on her lap for the entire flight exactly for this reason. I checked notes with my mom and she said they have done ‘8 editions’ so far. Obviously, I’ve partaken in many of these nights and can attest that they always go all in and present the theme in its full glory. So, when I host a dinner, I try to emulate the same. In short, I’m grateful to my parents, aunties, and uncles for sparking my love for bringing people around the table and for shaping my ideals about love and friendship that I carry with me today.
I thought I’ll give you a step by step guide, that would work for any occasion, not necessary a holiday one. This is also because I am posting this way too late and no one will throw an xmas party now. You might throw a NYE party though, so just think of it as your guide to a themed dinner or any party you are hosting next.
One of the party guests recently asked me how long it took to prepare everything. I deadpanned, ‘About a month,’ which made everyone giggle. But honestly, I approach it the same way I would any work event — way ahead of schedule, over-prepared, and with careful attention to detail. I’m a logistics queen. I’m also very type-A (can you tell?), so for me, hosting isn’t stressful at all. It’s actually when I thrive.
Hosting 101: A Step-by-Step Guide
Pick a time and date that works for you at least a month in advance if you’re living in a city like London and if it coincides with any major holiday. You wanna get in peoples’ calendars early and you want them to commit to you and not bail (also, my alternative memoir title). Think about the party everyday until it happens.
There are many ways to invite people. Personally I’d like us all to go back to the old days and getting letters about fabulous soirées. Until that happens, though, WhatsApp is usually the go-to. I’m not a fan of WhatsApp groups—they’re often filled with random links and chatter. I prefer ones where only important updates (timing, dress codes, +1s) are shared, and once I have all the info, I mute it. But here's a fun alternative: Partiful. I was invited to a party via a link to this app, and I instantly loved it. It’s like Facebook events from our teen years—set up an event page, invite your guests, and they just accept or decline. No clutter, no spam. You can customise the design, send a few automated reminders, and even share photos after the event. I swear this is non-spon but if Partiful people wanna work with me, I am game.
About two weeks before the event, start thinking about the type of food you want to serve and the overall vibe. Is it a sit-down dinner or a buffet? This really depends on how many people you’ve invited, so it’s something you should decide early on. However, my last party is a perfect example of how you can combine both in one night. We ended up inviting more people than we had chairs or table space for, so from the start, I planned for snacks and finger foods. I bought paper plates, wooden cutlery, and set everything up on the table. As I was cooking and getting into the flow of things, I realised something was missing—a main event dish to anchor the meal. Which brings me to my next point...
As I was prepping and running around, with two people dropping out last minute, I started getting anxious. What if people eat too soon, and the party fizzles out with no games, no cake, and no main dish? Horror. I needed something easy, shareable, and tasty, so I went with lasagna. It’s my go-to recipe, and I knew it would be a hit. When in doubt or doing things last minute, always defer to familiar classic. So I bought the ingredients, thinking I’d reheat it if needed, or have leftovers the next day. It’s a bit extra, but it’s always better to be over-prepared than under. As predicted, people started to tire of the snacks, and there was definitely a moment when the main event was needed. So I popped the lasagna back in the oven, crisped it up until golden and bubbly, and we rearranged the room to make space for extra seating. We gathered around the table, and just like that, the party turned into dinner. Incredible how a small change of setting, combined with a little planning, completely transformed the vibe of the night.
Dimmed, warm light from a lamp sets the mood. Candles are a must—no overhead lighting at parties (or really, in my life, thank you very much). Since I knew I’d be going home for Christmas, instead of getting a tree, I picked up a couple of swag wreaths, decorated them with red ribbons and dried orange slices, and draped them with warm string lights around the windows. I also bought a lovely wintery flower bucket and laid down a red tablecloth that’s been a consistent feature at every party in this flat.
A few days before, either arrange a food delivery or go around your local area like a maniac with an inexplicable obsession for supporting independent grocers. Buy all your ingredients, then inevitably forget half of them and have to repeat the whole process. It’s also great cardio.
I’d recommend prepping some food the day before if you can, but it really depends on your menu and how much time you have. Everything I’ve listed here could be made in one day, but it would be tiring—and probably less enjoyable. The "do-ahead" method works best for me.
Music and the final touches. Arrange everything on the table and put on some music. For the soundtrack, go with "background music"—familiar, but not too mainstream. It’s a personal choice, so trust your instincts on what will vibe best with your guests. I queued up my Christmas playlist (the entire Love Actually soundtrack, of course) along with my chill dinner playlist, full of Khruangbin and berlioz tracks.
Try actually eating something you made (it’s easy to forget when you're busy hosting and making sure everyone else is happy). Most importantly, have fun!
This might be extra and I used to think that too whenever my mom would do this after a party but depending on the state you are in, as best to your abilities, try cleaning before going to bed. A little goes a long way and you will thank your past self for making a headway and tackling most dishes a day before when you wake up hungover the next day. Cleaning drunk dancing around after everyone has left also hits different. I kinda love it actually.
Everything on a table (recipies and links)
Lentil festive patties (V)
This is an original recipe I have been making for years now. It’s vegan and can be adapted to be gluten free by swapping flour. If you are short on time or just not an avid baker (same here) just use puff pastry like I did for my party. If using puff pastry, scroll immediately to filling ingredients and method and bake according to the instructions on the packet. The secret of this recipe lies in its filling. Something about the combination of spices, dried mushrooms mixed with soft lentils resembles meat flavours. Beloved by vegans and enjoyed by the die hard meat eaters, these patties became a Christmas staple at our house.
Preparation time: over an hour
Ingredients for 40-50 patties:
Dough (cup for me = 250 ml)
1 cup and 2 tablespoons of plant based milk (I use oat)
3 cups of flour
1 packet dry yeast
2 teaspoons of cane sugar
half teaspoon of table salt
1/3 cup of sunflower oil
Filling
1 cup of lentils (green or brown are best for this I feel)
4 dried mushrooms
half teaspoon of sunflower oil
salt to taste
1 large onion
2 bay leaves
2 allspice berries
1 juniper berry
(if you can’t find these spices, visit your local polish shop, they’ll 100% have it)
2 cloves
5 tablespoons of sunflower oil
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
salt and black pepper
a large pinch of nutmeg
2 tablespoons of plant based milk
Dough Preparation
My mom has this stand mixer which she uses for doughs like this and it definitely speeds up the prep time so this recipe calls for using one as well. But you can knead the dough by hand, it’s just a bit more laborious. Or just use the puff pastry instead.
Heat the plant based milk in a small saucepan - it should be warm, but not hot. Add sugar, yeast, salt and warm milk to the stand mixer bowl and knead for 3-4 minutes.
Pour in the oil and knead for another 2-3 minutes.
Remove the dough from the mixer bowl, shape it into a ball, lightly sprinkle the bowl with flour and place the dough in the bowl. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and leave to rise in a warm place without drafts for 1-1.5 hours. Basically away from the windows.
Filling Preparation
Add the lentils, dried mushrooms, oil, salt to a saucepan and pour in enough water to cover the lentils. Cook covered on low heat for 20 minutes.
Dice an onion.
Heat the oil in a pan, add the onion and all the spices and fry for 4-5 minutes until the onion is liquid and golden.
Fish out the spices from the soft onion.
Strain the lentils and return to the pot. Add the onion with oil, soy sauce, salt, pepper and the final pinch of nutmeg and blend everything at the end.
Finally, add the plant based milk and blend again.
Transfer to a large bowl and set aside in a cool place/fridge. You can make this ahead and store for few days in the fridge too!
Forming the patties
If you have ever made ravioli I think this follows a similar method.
Forming the patties: After at least an hour of resting, stretch the dough out for a moment and then roll out to a width of 0.5 cm. Dust the surface with flour lightly to avoid sticking.
Divide it into 3 or 4 wide strips about 6 - 8 cm wide.
Using two teaspoons, put the filling in the middle of each strip and place the second strip on top, like a sandwich. It’s better to err on the side of caution and add less filling to avoid any leakage during baking.
Smooth the dough, press to seal the edges and sides.
Cut the strips into even square-ish patties.
Proving and baking the patties
Proving: place the patties on a tray with baking sheet, cover with a cloth and leave to rise for at least 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 180° C (356° F).
Baking: using a kitchen brush or your fingers brush the patties with some plant based milk. Put them in the oven and bake for about 20 - 25 minutes until golden.
Serve warm or cold. Delicious with borscht, and Christmas Eve cabbage, which I might share about more over the holidays.
PS. There are quite a few patties, exactly two oven trays. It’s best to place them on two baking sheets and bake in turns.
Olives three ways
If in doubt of what to serve, you can’t go wrong with an olive. Here are my trusty olives recipies to try at your next party.
Tapenade
Ingredients
500 g black olives
2 garlic cloves, crushed (or more, depending on how garlicky you want this to be)
3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1 lemon, juice only
3 tablespoons of capers, chopped
small bunch of parsley, chopped
1/4 cup of grated Parmigiano
salt and pepper to taste
Method
Add all ingredients to a bowl and using immersion blender blend everything until its a smooth paste. Taste as you go and season with more salt, pepper, lemon depending on what you feel is necessary. It should be tangy and aromatic.
Serve in a bowl to accompany the charcuterie board or spread it on a warm crostini.
Swap black for green olives, add an anchovy, skip parsley, add another herb, skip Parmigiano. Mix and match etc. etc.
Gilda Pintxo Olives
All you need is big olives (pitted), pickled peppers, anchovies and toothpicks. I used Perello olives because no party in North East London can go ahead without them and because I like my gilda on a spicer side.
Grab a toothpick and add each ingredient one by one. I usually do 2:1:1 ratio (two olives, one pepper, one anchovies). This is easily adaptable snack - skip anchovies, add cheese etc etc. It’s just perfect party snack and goes so well with that welcome drink when people start to arrive.
Marinated olives
You can find the recipe at the end of the linked post. But really all you want is some Castelvetrano olives (hands down best olives) gently warmed in olive oil and spices.
Charcuterie board
This is less about food and more about presentation. Charcuterie components include: 2-3 types of cheese, usually two more familiar classics, and one funky number (we went for mature cheddar and brie); fruits, typically apples and grapes; chutney (we chose spiced plum and blackberry), olives (see above) and crackers.
Hummus and veg
I love making hummus and usually will make my own for a party, but my flatmate was in charge of hummus and charcuterie (this shows growth) and so we used a store bought hummus. There are ways of making it look fancy and homemade. Take it out from that plastic container, transfer to a cute dish, drizzle with some olive oil and/or tahini, sprinkle some smoked paprika, add chopped parsley or coriander on top and voilà. No one will ever know. Plate it with some cut vegetables (i.e. carrots, radishes and cucumbers) and crackers.
Very good lasagna
I swapped ricotta for mascarpone as at this point I’ve been to so many grocers I was losing my mind a little. When the last one I visited didn’t have it I just followed my instinct and reached for mascarpone instead. The lasagna slapped so my piece of holiday advice for you is to just try that other cheese?
Dessert
Chocolate orange brownies
Get your friends to bake if you can’t, or ask someone to bring sweets. People have done this even without me asking, and I find it very cute. One of my friends made this delicious festive brownies, which she served with vanilla ice cream. Others brought cupcakes and truffle chocolates. This is my love language.
Thank you so much to everyone who has subscribed to and read this newsletter over the last few weeks; it means the world to me. I’m so excited to write more in 2025!
Happy Holidays 🎄