Autumn Dinner Party- Help please!

[singingpixie]

Hi everyone,
In my insomnia tonight I've decided to plan an autumn dinner party for my housemates/significant others/friends. It will probably be late october/early november. I'm trying to make the food slightly fancier than we would normally have, but not over-the-top-difficult. There should be 12 of us, most in our 20s, some early 30s. I'm thinking late october/early november. Here's the general plan:

Menu (served as courses- I can have roommates help me plate):
Salad: Field greens w/ pears, goat cheese, walnuts and cranberry vinegarette- easy and quick to throw together!
Soup: butternut squash- I can do it in the crock pot
Pasta: Sweet Potato Gnocchi w/ apple cider sauce- a little more labor-intensive, but I can have it holding warm in the oven
Main: Almond-crusted pork tenderloin w/ cranberry-apple conserve w/ vegetable (glazed carrots? wilted spinach?) I'm a vegetarian, so the fact that these are just basically dredged and baked means I'm likely to do ok w/o being able to taste.
Dessert: Apple Cobbler, cheese- simple, and light enough to be able to pair a wine

The original plan was to have each housemate (5 of the 12) contribute $20 for the groceries (as well as help me cook a bit- I'll do most, but extra hands are helpful), and to have the guests each bring a bottle of wine- I'd assign each person a course to pair with. There are 5 courses, and 7 guests. How much wine should we plan on consuming as a group of 12 over a 5-course meal? Would 5 bottles be enough, or should I double-assign one or two of the courses? If 5 bottles are enough, I could just ask two guests to contribute to the grocery fund instead- we're all really close, most of us have lived together at some point, so that isn't an awkward request at all. If I should double up, which courses would be the best to have doubled?

So I guess my questions are
1) How much wine/which courses? (See above)
2) How does the menu look?
3) How does the plan seem in general? Any pointers?

Thanks!

 

[Ranatra]

I could just ask two guests to contribute to the grocery fund instead

I don't believe in guests ever being asked to contribute money toward the dinner. They're GUESTS.

If all of the 12 are wine drinkers, I'd probably go with 6-7 bottles of wine to be safe. ( I'm going by how much wine my family drinks at dinner parties, not huge drinkers, but they like their wine)

 

[golfgal]

I also think it is rude to invite people to a party and then ask them to pay for it. If this was a jointly planed/conceived idea, fine but not one that you are doing on your own.

As for your other questions, the menu looks great. How much wine, how much to people drink? That would be the only way to answer that question. I would say one bottle for every 2 people but then some people can drink a bottle by themselves and some people will have 1/2 a glass and be done.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

If you are planning a party is it rude to ask people to contribute.

Also I thought your SO didn't like drinking? I am a little confused with this post.

 

[singingpixie]

If you are planning a party is it rude to ask people to contribute.

Also I thought your SO didn't like drinking? I am a little confused with this post.

I think we've resolved that... Or at least it hasn't come up since I last talked to him, and we've had a party since then. In any case, it didn't seem to be a problem to begin with as long as we had people over, he just didn't understand why I was drinking if it was just a normal dinner.

As for asking people to contribute, I understand your point, but seeing as we're all poor college students/recent college grads, I think it would go over ok, especially if the one I ask is an ex-roommate. Last time I threw a party I ended up spending over $100 that I didn't need to spend, so I'm trying to figure out a way to have people over for a fun time without going broke. I can probably make due on just roommate contributions though, since there are 5 of us.

 

[Trish Bessette]

I think your menu looks great!! If your friends are ok with contributing then go for it no bashing here

I would love your soup, pasta & main course recipes! Would you mind PMing them to me?

Have a great time! Since I love to decorate here is a cheap centerpiece. Buy a pumpkin and carve out the inside, place a potted mum in the hollowed out portion. It is very festive as a centerpiece.

Enjoy!!

 

[disykat]

I think having roommates contribute and others bring wine is a great idea. The rules are different if it's a group of close friends in your situation IMO.

I think your menu sounds great. I'll second the pumpkin idea - but different. I threw a dinner party in October a few years back. I bought a star shaped cutter and just placed random star cutouts all over the pumpkin and stuck a candle inside. It looked terrific. You could do whatever shape you want - though I'd probably skip "jack-o-lantern" and go for a more sophisticated look!

 

[singingpixie]

Trish, I just PMed those recipes to you.

Thanks everyone for all your help so far- any thoughts on which course I should double bottles for?

I'm thinking I'm going to ask 6 of the 7 guests to bring wine, and ask the 7th to contribute (the one I'm asking lived with us for years, and is a younger guy who would have a hard time picking a wine anyway, so it might work out better lol!). That makes 6 bottles of wine for 12 people- of course it will be little servings of each one, but I think that should be plenty over the course of dinner assuming I keep water glasses full.

 

[FormrCastMbr]

Hi Singing Pixie!

Your party plans sounds wonderful...I agree that you can ask your house mates to contribute monitarily and ask the other guests to bring a bottle of wine. You know how your friends will react...

The menu sounds awesome!!! Yummy Yummy!

As far as the amount of wine, you should make sure you have more than plenty...for 12 people, I would say at least 10 bottles...maybe more types for appetizers and entree...then less for a dessert wine. For the types you should get, ask a salesperson at the local wine shop or go online and search for wine pairings...I can tell you that during the holidays I love a spiced wine...around here they call it "holiday wine" and it is good warm or cold...crock pot is great for this...with orange slices floating.

The pumpkin decoration with the mum is a great idea as well...

Don't stress, just be as organized as possible...set the table the day before, get all your other dinner wear and glasses ready, prep some of the food the day before, etc...

Enjoy!

 

[singingpixie]

Just bumping for the daytime crowd

 

[singingpixie]

OK, now another question-
My friends are not exactly experienced someliers (sp?). When asking them to bring something to go with a specific dish, would it be considered helpful or not if I include a suggestion? I would clarify that they should not feel limited to it, but I think it would be less intimidating for some of them to go buy, say, a Pino Noir instead of looking for "something that goes with pork." thoughts? I'll also include a "hint" on the invite, something like "look for suggestions on the internet or ask the employees at Total Wine and Beverage."

 

[FormrCastMbr]

How about just saying that you are having a wine pairing party and that each guest should bring "whatever" wine? Or, "if you could kindly bring such and such a wine to enjoy with this "course"..."

As you said earlier, you are all young and just getting started (financially), I think it would be fine for you to say something like this...I am sure you and your friends all have the understanding, that you need to all chip in and help one another when a party arises...

I hope this helps. Please let us know what you decide...