game day

The big day finally arrives. The house is clean, tables set, music laid out, serving dishes in their place, bar is stocked, nametags printed. The freezer and frig hold all the components for tonight’s dinner for twenty. The beauty of this meal is that it is served room temp. Meaning I can set it all out right before the first guests arrive, ensuring a seamless pace to the entire evening.

In the morning it’s time to marinate and grill the chicken, cut the lemons and limes for the bar, whip the cream, zest a couple limes for the tarts, and get all the components together for the baby heirloom tomato salad so it can be tossed right before the guests appear.

Marinating the chicken is a snap because I whipped up the citrus marinade the day before.

Before lighting the grill toss chicken breasts with marinade and let sit for 30 minutes.

Grill the chicken breasts until just cooked through, about 5 minutes per side depending on the thickness. Cool completely, cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temp before serving.

Cut the lemons and limes in wedges. Place in a decorative dish, cover and refrigerate.

Combine the heavy cream with powdered sugar and a splash of vanilla extract.

Whip until peaks form. Cover and refrigerate until its time to top the individual key lime tarts.

Slice the tomatoes for the baby heirloom, bocconcini and basil salad. Place in a large Ziploc bag.

Boil the fusilli, drain and toss with defrosted pistachio pesto. Cool to room temp, place in large Ziploc bags and refrigerate

A half-hour before the guests arrive drain the mozzarella, sliver the basil and toss with the sliced baby heirloom tomatoes. Set out in its serving dish along with everything else.

In a matter of minutes dinner for twenty is ready to go!

(For more tricks of the trade in creating a dinner for twenty click on the previous eight posts)