food Archives - CURLY AND CANDID

Dinner Party Tips For Those Who Love To Entertain

Nicki CawoodFebruary 27, 2020

If you’re looking to create a dinner party that’ll live long in the memory of each and every one of your guests, these tips could help you. Dinner parties are an art form and they truly can be perfected if you put enough time, thought and effort into planning out and preparing yours. Whether you want to host a dinner party or work colleagues, friends, family or to celebrate a special event, you can really have a lot of fun with it. Here are the things you’ll need to get right in order to create the ideal dinner party.

Put Together a Seasonal Menu

When it comes to choosing what to eat, why not put together a seasonal menu that everyone can enjoy? Food that is in season is often the freshest and particularly with fruits and vegetables, you can get some fabulous tastes for very little cost. Ask your greengrocer what is in season when you plan your menu. Similarly, enjoy putting together meals that represent the season, i.e. spring, summer, autumn and winter. I’m most definitely an autumn gal and can think of a few favourites I would like to share with others.

Be the Ideal Host

Your role as the host of the dinner party is one that you should try to take seriously but not too seriously. If you approach this in the right way, you’ll be able to split your time across all the different things you’ll need to be doing. That includes cooking and plating up the food, being a social presence at the party and so on. Make sure that you relax enough to enjoy the occasion yourself though.

The Finishing Touches

There are lots of little things that make a big difference when it comes to preparing your dinner party. For example, the location of the dinner matters. The tone and atmosphere will be entirely different if you decide to take an alfresco approach to dining. And things like high-quality table napkins from Richard Haworth can really add the finishing touches that your guests will notice and appreciate a lot.

Get the Atmosphere Right

Getting the atmosphere of the dinner party right is something that you should definitely think about and take into account. Sometimes, you’ll want to create a sophisticated atmosphere that’s a little indulgent. But other dinner parties will call for something much more casual and informal. It all depends on the occasion and what kind of dinner party you want to create.

Ask About Dietary Requirements Well Ahead of Time

Finally, it’s important to do what you can to avoid any unnecessary disasters on the night of your dinner party. That means making sure that you ask well in advance if any of your guests have any special dietary requirements, either out of necessity such as allergies or choice such as being vegetarian or vegan.

For your dinner party to be remembered for all the right reasons, these are the things that you’ll need to get right. If you can tick these boxes, you’ll ensure each and every guest at your dinner party has a great evening and leaves with a smile on their face.

In Family Time, Food, General

Papa John’s Pizza Virgins

Nicki CawoodJune 17, 2019

What do you think will make my children do anything? I mean anything from tidying rooms to doing homework to being silent for a (limited) period of time. Is it screen time? What about pocket money? Do I need to employ The Mum Look? No, I need to dangle the promise of pizza in front of their eyes. We’ve tried many pizza places and restaurants with varying success and next up on our hit list is Papa John’s.

I hadn’t realised until very recently that there was a Papa John’s in Harrogate. In fact, they are all over the place. None of us has ever been, though I’m reliably informed by a friend that it will make all of the other pizzerias pale into insignificance. Now that I know that there is a branch not too far away I’ve been doing my research.

Where Does Papa John’s Come From?

Papa John’s pizza restaurant is a franchise business and was founded in the US. Their headquarters are in Kentucky and according to the internet (what would we do without it?), it is the fourth biggest pizza delivery chain in the whole of the USA. The USA is vast, which makes that a heck of an area and customer base to cover.

What Do They Offer

Let’s face it. There are a lot of pizza shops around. There are cafe’s and restaurants who offer pizza and on top of that, there are hundreds of cook at home options. Why do I think that Papa John’s, therefore, would be a good fit for my family?

From a world of mouth perspective, I’m hearing great things. Really great things! I’m hearing about fresh ingredients, allergies and intolerances catered for, fab staff and clean premises. That’s a darn good start for me.

The Menu

If you pop onto the website and put in your postcode you are directed to your local Papa John’s. We’re planning a day out in Knaresborough soon so nipping into Harrogate which is our nearest one won’t be a hardship. Menus are fairly general in terms of what you can order but I imagine some things might be specific to the place you visit or the place you order from for delivery. The menu items look awesome. There isn’t a children’s menu but there are small pizzas (9.5”) and sides so we could easily customise that to suit our two. To be fair they would probably choose something from the adult menu (hollow legs, I feel a growth spurt coming on).

I’m a bit of an awkward so and so when it comes food. I’m diabetic and dairy free which makes carb-heavy meals and cheese a no go. That’s a pain for someone who loves pizza. Thankfully the vegan menu is pretty good and includes the vegan Sheese® which means that I can have pizza (I don’t have to eat a massive one!), sides (this pleases me) and a pud! There’s a good range of drinks for us all to enjoy so as far as I’m concerned it’s a winner.

What About You?

We are definitely big food fans! What about you? Have you been to a Papa John’s? Are there any special items I should know about? The meal deals look good so I’ll definitely be looking at those. My last question, and it’s an important one. What is your favourite pizza? Mine is ham and pineapple, just so you know.