A light & rustic dinner party menu is just what you need when hosting a casual get-together. That’s what I put together for my Fall tabletop deisgn and entertaining on the patio shoot and it turned out delicious.
Whenever I entertain at home I’m guilty of thinking that I have to create a gourmet meal that takes hours to prepare. Although that’s actually my idea of fun, I’m also learning the art of restraint and embracing the idea of serving food in a more natural and rustic state. If you’ve ever been to France or Italy you know how they serve a casual meal – fresh wholesome ingredients with minimal prep. And it’s amazing!
I was inspired by that concept and decided on this dinner party menu consisting of a cheese board starter, nicoise salad, and rustic pasta with sausage. It’s the type of meal that ignites your taste buds with basic ingredients and fantastic flavor combos.
Light Rustic Dinner Party Menu:
Cheese Board Starter
Nothing is as classic and satisfying as a cheese board when entertaining at home. There’s no need to go overboard for a casual dinner party, just add 2-3 cheese options, nuts and fruit, and bread or crackers. The beauty is in the arrangement and you really can’t go wrong there. Just add:
- blue cheese
- white cheddar
- purple grapes
- fresh figs
- walnuts
- almonds
- french baguette slices
Nicoise Salad
This salad is more like part of the main coarse rather than a starter salad. The protein packed salad is a fabulous combination of ingredients, and oh so French! Add the ingredients in separate rows to add beauty to the presentation.
- Mixed bed of spinach and arugula
- white tuna {I like the tuna from the pouch rather than the can}
- boiled eggs, quartered
- tomatoes
- nicoise olives
- whole caper berries
- sliced green onion for garnish
- vinaigrette dressing
Pasta with Sausage
Nothing satisfies a crowd like pasta tossed with flavorful add-ins. To keep this light and rustic I added sausage medallions. You don’t need a heavy sauce, just some good olive oil. I actually used the oil that the sun-dried tomatoes were packed in, to drizzle over the top and it was superb.
- penne pasta, cooked al dente
- cooked sausage medallions
- sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil
- mini bocconcini
- fresh basil leaves
- regular or flavored olive oil, or oil from the sun-dried tomatoes
Round out the table with a baguette served with soft butter, or ricotta in a bowl drizzled with olive oil and freshly ground pepper.
Choose a crisp dry or semi-dry white wine to wash it all down.
For more menu ideas for casual entertaining, check out my fall dinner party and menu recipes from last year. Cheers!
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Susan says
October 7, 2015 at 8:21 amBeautiful!!
I LOVE your wooden serving pieces!! Where did you get the wonderful salad bowl and cheese board!?
Chris says
October 19, 2015 at 8:40 amThanks Susan, I love those too. I pretty much shop at HomeGoods or Marshall’s / TJMaxx for most things. They always seem to have some cute wooden items for entertaining. 🙂
Susan says
October 20, 2015 at 7:43 pmThank you so much for taking the time to answer. I LOVE your blog and ideas. I found your blog through your Instagram page.
Jane Maynard says
October 9, 2015 at 1:22 pmI want to go to this party!!! 🙂 YUM!
Sher Shepps says
October 9, 2015 at 3:58 pmWas the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes really the only oil you added to the pasta? did you serve this room temp or hot? Can’t wait to try it.
Chris says
October 19, 2015 at 8:45 amIt sure is Sher. There’s some great flavor in it. I like to call sun-dried tomatoes nature’s candy as it has such an intense flavor with a little sweetness.
We eat this warm, freshly made. The heat from the pasta and sausage add just enough warmth to the other ingredients (they don’t need to be hot).