slow cooker

The One-Dish Dinner Party

Throwing a dinner party in a small kitchen–and/or small apartment–seems like a crazy idea. But once you’ve compiled a guest list, planned a signature cocktail, and tweaked the furniture set-up to accommodate twenty, excitement for the party will beat out any worries about the space.

And then you come to the menu. Holiday season seems to beg for adorable bites of intricately constructed appetizers and multi-course meals–but those will create a huge mess and confine you to the kitchen during the best part of the party.

Fortunately, festivity can be found in another place, too: your big pot. Stews, soups, and risottos are easy to make, even in large batches, and you can feed dozens of guests from one single vessel without sacrificing the holiday spirit. In fact, there’s nothing cozier and more generous than the one-dish meals below.

So here are five of them, no-fuss holiday meals you can make for this year’s dinner party. Bonus: all are wonderful made up to a whole day in advance, saving plenty of last-minute time for moving your couch out of the way, lighting the candles, and pouring the wine.

Beef Stew

Walk into a home where beef stew is simmering, and your mouth immediately begins to water. Tender brisket, sweet softened onions, and rich broth will comfort and warm your guests. Here’s my favorite recipe.

Vegetable-Coconut Curry

You might not think to look to Asian cuisines for your holiday meal, but if you’re on a strict budget or have lots of vegan and gluten-free guests, a huge pot of vegetable curry, made with coconut milk for heft, sweet potatoes for bulk, and whichever vegetables you favor, will solve all your problems. If a second pot doesn’t phase you, serve fresh jasmine rice on the side.

Risotto

Contrary to popular belief, you can finish risotto a few hours before you plan to eat, then leave it at room temperature. When you’re ready to eat, slowly reheat the pot, add a little extra stock, and then finish with plenty of Parmesan cheese. To turn the peasant dish into the center of a party meal, you’ll want to add a little something extra, like roasted butternut squash cubes and toasted pine nuts or bacon and sweet peas.

Moroccan Chicken Tagine

The surprising combination of boneless chicken thighs, raisins, chickpeas, tomatoes, and Moroccan spices comes together to create a stew that’s immensely familiar and yet like nothing you’ve ever eaten. You can find the recipe here – it gets better with time, so make in advance if you like.

Lasagna

While the making of lasagna requires more than one dish, you can clean up all your prep long before the party. For vegetarians, I love to layer noodles, marinara, ricotta, mozzarella, and Parmesan until I reach the top of a 9-by-13 baking pan (or more than one if there are lots of guests). Bake, covered with foil, for about half an hour, then uncover and let the lasagna’s cheesy top get brown and bubbly at the end.

Moving?

Get connected with the best moving company!

like a boss!

Sign up to keep up with all the best…

Rent like a boss!

Sign up to keep up with all the best…