Who's coming? Know your guests! Allergies? Intolerances? Is there something they don't like? Do they have a favourite food? What do they like to drink? (yeah, hope they do know what you do drink too!).

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Don't repeat yourself: chances are you have friends who come over frequently. It's a good idea to keep a log of what you served before, so that the same person doesn't get the same menu twice (unless they ask for it!).

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Plan your menu: just enjoy yourself, make sure that you plan for on-the-spot cooking for no more than 1 dish, everything else should be made or prepped earlier in the day or the day before. Usually I cook the first course while eating little snacks or the starters, and cook the main course and/or the side dishes while eating the first course. The better you plan, the more relaxed you'll be and you'll truly have a good time.

 

Set the table: it seems obvious, but apparently it's not. Set the table in advance, and remember that sometime people do arrive earlier than expected.

 

Clean up: never show the mess in the kitchen, first because it simply isn't nice to look at, and second because if you do want to make a fuss and cook something really cool, you do not want to embarrass your guests by showing the extent of your efforts - you want to always give the impression that it was all effortless.

 

Risotto and Pasta: these cannot be cooked in advance (well, the sauces usually yes, so have them ready). It's a good idea to prepare the fresh ingredients before, chopped, measured, etc. Your friends will keep you company in the kitchen, so having it all cleaned up works perfectly.

 

Roasties: very easy to prepare the potatoes in advance, cut and washed, and leaving them covered in cold water until you're ready to cook them.

 

Wine: ensure you put the white wine in the fridge at least 4 hours before dinner, open the red wine an hour before dinner to let it breathe (if your friends bring some wine, put the white in the freezer and open the red immediately). If we don't get to open a bottle, I store it in a cabinet with a tiny label on top with the name of the person who brought it, so that we can open it next time they come over.

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Be ready! Nonna Lu's tip and teaching: the lady of the house must always be ready to host any given number of guests with no notice at all. My aunty Zia Romana was a master at this, and her dinner parties (at times improvised) were legendary! So this is what I always keep in the house for those "just in case" moments, and it served me so very well time and time again!

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• Pasta, most shapes, and gluten free also

• Risotto rice

• Basmati rice

• Olive oil

• Butter

• Tomato tins and tomato paste

• Tuna chunks tins, both in oil and in brine

• Dry herbs: rosemary, sage, parsley

• Dry porcini

• Saffron, nutmeg, black/white pepper, dry chilli flakes

• Guanciale (this is Italian cured pork, a special part from the cheek) or smoked streaky rashers

• Eggs

• Cheese and ricotta (which is also cheese, but different)

• Red and white wine

• "Ready to bake" bread, normal and gluten free

• Grissini and / or crackers

• Olives

• In the freezer:

  • Beef, vegetable, and fish broth in 500ml bags

  • Prawns

  • Chicken breast and / or chicken oyster thighs (1 or 2 per bag)

  • Spinach

  • Garlic butter and pepper sauce (in small bags) in case I have steak in the fridge

  • Little boxes of fresh, washed, and chopped parsley, basil, and dill

 

It has to be said I also have a multitude of dishes already cooked and ready ​in the freezer, in bags that serve 2, but this does require some planning, labelling the bags, and, quite important, a log of what's in the freezer!