Hosting a party is an impressive juggling act. With one eye on the kitchen and one eye on your guests, you have to effectively manage a stove full of boiling dishes, serve up the drinks, make sure everyone is being entertained and keep a relaxed, cool exterior to stop everything from boiling over. It’s time to take a long, deep breath. Hosting your own dinner party need not be a pain in the neck and by adapting the kinds of recipes you use, you can pull off the evening of your dreams with very little effort on your part. Want to be the host(ess) with the most(ess)? It’s time to get your cook on.
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Who doesn’t like a plate of shrimp? Tasty, juicy and oh so good for you, these spicy shrimp can be whipped up in the blink of an eye and will really impress your dinner crowd. All you need to do is season the shellfish with a little spice, leave them to sautee in a pan and you have an entrée to be seriously proud of. Extra points are yours if you prepare the honey lime dipping sauce ahead of time; it really transforms the flavor of the shrimp and will have your guests coming back for more.
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Want to maximize your time? It’s all about the one-pot recipe. This hearty salmon dish makes the most of your time in the kitchen, letting you relax as the stove takes on all of the hard work. While you let the heat work its magic on the fish, you can casually season some arugula with a lemon and olive oil vinaigrette. Ten minutes later and you have a complete meal; how’s that for time keeping?
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Making the most out of your time in the kitchen is all about choosing the right kinds of dishes. If you want to inject your party with a little more flavor and free yourself from the chains of the kitchen, then you need to turn to all things Mexican. Oven baked tostadas are a great way of making something healthy and balanced and these bad boys won’t cost you a whole lot of extra time in the kitchen, either. The best thing about these tostadas is that you can play with the ingredients you have, adding a little of taking a little away as you see fit. One bite, and you will be really hooked.