Dinner Party Recipes

These dishes will have your guests vying for an invite to your next soiree.

Building a dinner party menu can be tricky. Fussy eaters, intolerances and varied tastes mean cooking for your mates can become a bit of a minefield. Over the years, Broadsheet has gleaned cooking inspiration and recipes from hundreds of the best chefs from around the country and world – including dishes that will go down a treat at your next dinner party.

12 Chicken Recipes for Dinner Parties, Midweek Meals and More

Food & DrinkThese poultry recipes are far from paltry. We have chicken with mushrooms from a much-loved, now-closed Melbourne diner, a spectacular Hainanese chicken rice, Sri Lankan chicken curry, Gordon Ramsay’s cornflake chicken sliders and multiple other ways to spin this versatile protein.

Recipe: When Life Gives You Lemons, Make This Lemon Chicken

Food & DrinkIt’s one of many recipes in a new cookbook honouring the Chinese restaurants of regional Australia. This lemon chicken – which sells phenomenally well thanks to its combination of salty chicken and sweet, tangy lemon sauce – comes from Gawler Palace, a decades-old restaurant in country South Australia.

Recipe: Jerk Spice-Rubbed Chicken From the Uplifting New Ottolenghi Cookbook

Food & DrinkYotam Ottolenghi’s new cookbook is all about comforting dishes. This spice rub has been passed around the world, originating with a Jamaican chef in Melbourne. It’s simple, it’s alive with flavour and it’s deeply satisfying.

Recipe: A No-Sweat Italo-style Nachos From a New Cookbook Dedicated to Happy Hour

Food & DrinkThe book, Happy Hour Snacks, doesn’t mince words – it offers exactly what it claims on the cover. This breezy nachos is exactly what you want to eat with a glass of chianti.

Recipe: A Mortadella- and Burrata-Topped Ciabatta Snack That’ll Steal Scenes at Happy Hour

Food & DrinkIt’s from a new cookbook devoted to what to eat when you have mates over for snacks. This stacked stunner pairs perfectly with a sparkling red wine.

Recipe: Yotam Ottolenghi’s Uber-Comforting Southern German-Style Potato Salad

Food & DrinkOttolenghi’s new cookbook is a celebration of comfort food, and this recipe fits the bill. It forgoes mayo, getting its creaminess from the slow release of potato starch into a warm broth, taking note from Germany’s Bavarian and Swabian regions. Crisp pancetta seals the deal.

Recipe: Start Your Next Dinner Party Off Right With Lucia’s Cauliflower Fritti

Food & DrinkChop up some florets, throw them in batter and shallow-fry for light, crispy magic. It’s that simple.

Recipe: Meatsmith’s Rabbit Cassoulet with Chickpeas and Fennel

Food & DrinkAre you hesitant to cook rabbit at home? You shouldn’t be. This warming cassoulet with the savoury boost of guanciale is a brilliant winter warmer.

Recipe: Sicilian-Inspired Baked Ricotta With Honey and a Kick of Chilli

Food & DrinkRosy Scatigna, head chef of Sydney’s Bar Morris, reckons this bold, gooey dish is the perfect recipe for a host to have up their sleeve.

Recipe: Embla Chef Dave Verheul’s Stracciatella, Walnut and Cime Di Rapa is “Old Nonna Stuff”

Food & DrinkThis simple yet unusual antipasto dish looks like savoury Neapolitan ice-cream. Grab your favourite crackers and dig in.

Recipe: Flourless Lemon and Almond Cake With Chocolate Ganache

Food & DrinkLondon-born, Tuscan-raised cookery writer Amber Guinness was inspired by Capri’s famous chocolate-almond torte for this cake – which just happens to be gluten-free. The zest of five lemons makes it extra special.

Recipe: Dave Verheul’s Choccy Ripple-Misu (Aka “The Rippa”)

Food & DrinkTaken from the Embla chef’s debut cookbook, On Sundays: Long Lunches Through the Seasons, this nostalgic choccy ripple cake crossed with a classic tiramisu is a delicious update on a well-loved favourite.

Recipe: A Silky, Buttery Lemon Tart With Basil Cream That’ll Dazzle at Your Next Dinner Party

Food & DrinkGuardian columnist and Great British Bake Off contestant Benjamina Ebuehi’s lemon tart is given extra zing with the addition of a fragrant basil cream.

Recipe: Supernormal’s Big-Flavour Beef Rib Ssam

Food & DrinkBig, punchy flavours come in small, lettuce-wrapped packages in this standout Korean-inspired recipe from long-time Melbourne favourite Supernormal. It’s perfect for your next hands-on dinner party.

Recipe: Michael Van de Elzen’s Grilled Asparagus and Broccoli Tart with Smoked Cheddar and Chilli Oil

Food & DrinkMake the most of asparagus season with this springtime tart recipe that comes together easily for a quick weeknight dinner.

Recipe: Adam Liaw’s Tomato and Prawn Risotto With Chilli Butter

Food & DrinkThe new cookbook from the cook, host and writer, 7 Days of Dinner, is all about answering the daily question, “What should we have for dinner tonight?” This creamy risotto is designed for “fish Fridays”, but is a winner any night of the week. And Liaw has some tips for making the risotto perfectly textured.

Recipe: Lucy Tweed’s Show-Stopping Sticky Date Brioche

Food & DrinkTweed reckons this warming, butterscotch sauce-doused pudding is the “ultimate weekend-away dessert for a dozen”. (It also makes a viable breakfast.)

Recipe: Julia Busuttil Nishimura’s Sugar-Dusted Apple and Ricotta Frittelle

Food & DrinkThe sweet Italian snack sees a simple batter dolloped into hot oil and deep fried for a soft, moreish finish. This particular version is loaded with ricotta, rum, green apple and sultanas and takes just a few minutes to fry up. And you can watch the author of Ostro cook it live this weekend.

Recipe: Jessie Spiby’s Spicy, Summery Squid and Prawn Pasta – With Wine to Match

Food & DrinkWarm nights and sun-drenched days inspire communal dining. In partnership with Winesmiths, we asked chef Jessie Spiby to break down a simple pasta that combines seafood with a house-made roasted chilli oil you’ll want to have up your sleeve.

Recipe: Go Modern-Retro With Mortadella Party Sticks by Saturday Night Pasta Author Elizabeth Hewson

Food & DrinkForget those 1970s cabanossi-and-cheese sticks and ride the mortadella wave with these ridiculously easy dinner-party snacks. Just add drinks.

Recipe: How To Nail the Negroni Sbagliato, by The Everleigh’s Michael Madrusan

Food & DrinkOr, as House of the Dragon actor Emma D’Arcy puts it, the one “with prosecco in it”. Here’s how to make “the mistake” at home.

Recipe: Yotam Ottolenghi and Noor Murad’s Crunchy Parmigiana Pie Is a Dinner Party Masterpiece

Food & DrinkThe classic Italian-American dish – from the new Ottolenghi Test Kitchen cookbook, Extra Good Things – gets the Ottolenghi treatment thanks to the addition of string-like kataifi pastry.

Recipe: O Tama Carey’s Succulent Sri Lankan Chicken Curry Is An Ideal Weekend Cooking Pursuit

Food & DrinkThe Lankan Filling Station chef says this winning dish is “hot and oily, tangy with tomatoes and sweetly spiced with cardamom and cloves”.

Recipe: Stephanie Alexander’s “Quintessential Summer Salad” Has Just Five Ingredients

Food & DrinkThis easy tomato-and-basil salad by the iconic Aussie chef is best made in late summer and autumn, when tomatoes are at their best. “All one really needs for success is great tomatoes and excellent extra-virgin olive oil.”

Recipe: Yasmin Newman’s Easy, Zesty, Tropical Kinilaw (the Philippines’ Answer to Ceviche)

Food & DrinkRibbons of green mango, fresh sashimi-grade fish, calamansi (a Filipino citrus), makrut lime leaves, coriander oil and coconut milk make this a brilliant summery dish. It takes just 20 minutes to prep and no cooking is required.

Recipe: Dessert King Reynold Poernomo’s Honey-Glazed Basque Burnt Cheesecake

Food & DrinkUntil recently, the Masterchef contestant and Koi Dessert Bar owner hadn’t even heard of a Basque cheesecake. He shares a rich, mousse-like – and uncharacteristically imperfect – version all his own.

Recipe: Shane Delia’s Show-Stopping Baked Salmon with Tarator, Burnt Butter and Pomegranate Tabouli

Food & DrinkFor your next family dinner or dinner party, don’t go past this theatrical dish from Broadsheet’s cookbook, Home Made. The pre-boned salmon is presented on a single large platter and covered with colourful tabouli, nutty tahini sauce and coffee-infused burnt butter, ready for everyone to dig in.

Recipe: Sarah Shaweesh’s Vegan Palestinian Eggplant Makloubeh

Food & DrinkThe owner of plant-based Palestinian cafe Khamsa shares a traditional dish that should be flipped at the table for maximum impact.

Recipe: Easy Italian Butterflied Prawns (And What to Drink With It)

Food & DrinkThis traditional Italian dish is a twist on the classic prawns on the barbie. In partnership with Piper-Heidsieck, here’s how to impress at your next backyard do.

Recipe: Annabel Crabb’s Glass Potatoes

Food & Drink“They’re called ‘glass potatoes’ because the bottoms are a translucent, crackling, toffee-coloured brittle delight.”

Recipe: The Apollo’s Saganaki Cheese with Honey and Oregano

Food & DrinkThis pan-fried cheese is a relatively simple dish that diners adore. Now you can make it at home.

Recipe: Yu-ching Lee’s Soy Milk Crème Caramel

Food & DrinkThis simple, five-ingredient dessert is the perfect conclusion to any Asian meal.

Recipe: The Town Mouse’s Roast Chook

Food & DrinkA juicy new take on an old favourite.

Recipe: Cumulus Inc’s Whole Slow-Roasted Lamb Shoulder

Food & DrinkOne of the restaurant’s most-ordered dishes.

Recipe: Chin Chin’s Chilli-Salt Chicken Wings

Food & DrinkThese spicy, moreish wings can be deep-fried or oven-baked. Either way, they’re fun to share.

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