Here are the recipes I used, plus the adjustments I made to them, to cap my dinner party at $60:
A cute appetizer that checks all the apero hour boxes—fluffy focaccia, salty cured meat, and a briny pickle—no cooking required. Go easy on the mortadella; the recipe calls for 2 lb., which is a lot. I needed barely a quarter of that, saving quite a bit of $$$. The pickled thing is up to you. What’s in your pantry already, or something you’ll have no problem using up? For me, it’s cornichons, so I swapped those in for the pepperoncini. The mayo felt unnecessary to me, so I skipped it.
Brown Butter Pasta With Lemon and Parm
The ingredient list for this recipe is so short it looks like a joke, but you can coax quite a bit of flavor out of these staples by turning them into a luscious sauce. This dish is a great reminder that you don’t need a pricy protein to anchor a main dish; noodles are plenty filling and everyone loves them. And even a fancy box of pasta is still pretty cheap.
Every buttery pasta needs a bright salad to serve alongside. Sliced thinly, the central ingredients create a towering tangle of crunch. Skip the pine nuts—they’re expensive, and there’s plenty of texture without them (but if you have another nut on hand, throw it in). And you can ditch the parsley too. If you get a fennel bulb with the fronds attached, those can double as an herb-like garnish.
Flourless Chocolate-Orange Cake
This fudgy cake doesn’t need the crown of whipped cream on top, but it does make the whole thing feel extra special. Maximize the flavor output of just one orange by using it in three ways (zest in the sugar, juice in the batter, and thinly sliced rind as a garnish). You’ll likely have some leftovers to enjoy with coffee tomorrow; after hosting, you deserve a treat.
Don’t Buy Party Decorations
Photo by Jutharat Pinyodoonyachet
If you, like me, ever find yourself looking at some beautifully tablescaped dinner party on Instagram and thinking, “Dang, I guess I need to buy a 36-piece pewter servingware set,” I’m here to tell you: We have a disease. You do not need to buy anything. Close the app and take three cleansing breaths. A dinner party doesn’t have to have an “aesthetic.” A night of food and friends is successful so long as you have both those things (food, friends).