NOVEMBER 2025
ISSUE 018
A Guide to Your February Dinner Party
Your dispatch from Mount Desert Island, Maine.
Let’s get into it. Your guide to hosting an excellent dinner party this February.
Vibe Check
Gather your Galentine’s.
Turn off all overhead lights (no exceptions). Light lots of candles. I think these tomato candles are so fun and a great way to integrate red, also these square red ones. Remember: candlelight or lamp light only. The perfect light bulb for a cozy, “well lit” space is 2700 Kelvin, 400 lumen LED bulb.
Have music playing medium to loud when people arrive.
Guests should arrive around 5:30/6 for 6:30/7PM dinner.
Flowers: lots of think pink tulips or pink carnations in vases that are different shapes and heights. Try putting one stem in a small bud vase, three in another small vase, and then a bunch in larger vessels.
Depending on how many people you gather, you could all sit on the floor around a coffee table, casually around a dinning room table.
Effortless, easy glamour, lots of dairy, lots of red, a little rowdy.
Outfit
As usual, we want a minimal, effortless but impossibly chic outfit. It’s a tall order, but sometimes the absolute simpler, the chicer.
I love this woman’s all red outfit. The length of the skirt is impeccable, the fit of the oversized, slightly long sweater gives her effortless vibe, but she looks very elegant. Very “I just threw this on,” which I love.
I want you, the host, to wear something similar for this evening. Something monochromatic to give us that decadent, effortless feel. Think about proportions— something slinky like silk paired with a bulkier knit.
If you are not a skirt person, try satin or silk track pants.
Go barefoot or wear little slides like these to tie it all together.
Shop the whole look here.
Music
Music during a party is so important. Let’s have some jazzy gems for this dinner party.
This one is an old TSM playlist and I think would be perfect for the evening. Remember, music should be on medium to medium loud.
The vibe is celebratory and no one likes a quiet room, especially when the party is just getting started!
Nibbles & Cocktails
Effortless decadence is the theme of the evening.
We are having caviar and crème fraîche on blinis, and champagne cocktails with maraschino cherries. Instead of making the blinis, I buy these and have them delivered. They’re much less work and are absolutely delicious. All you have to do is warm them. I love this caviar, it is a great crowd pleaser, something for the caviar lover and the person who’s dipping their toe in the caviar pool. If you don’t like caviar, use smoked salmon instead! I love this one.
Add a healthy dollop of crème fraîche (1 tbs) to warmed and then brought to room temp blinis. Either scoop a teaspoon size of caviar on top, or fold a three inch (ish) piece of smoked salmon on top. Add slivers of lemon and a small bowl of chopped chives to the serving dish so people can add them if they’d like to.
A Very Excellent Champagne Cocktail with Maraschino Cherries
Bottle of champagne, I love Veuve Cliquot
Sugar cubes
Angostura Bitters
Maraschino Cherries
Drop your sugar cube in the bottle of your glass, along with three quick dashes of bitters. Let that dissolve/combine. Add your champagne and finish it with lots of maraschino cherries
Keeping in theme with our decadent and extravagant celebration, we are making an excellent and simple pasta al limone.
This dish is a crowd pleaser. It is creamy but somehow light because of the brightness of the lemon. I recommend making the sauce before your guests arrive, bringing the water to a boil, and then a simmer, while you enjoy cocktails with your guests, and then cooking the pasta right before you’re all ready to eat.
Don’t forget to use lots of fresh cracked pepper.
Dinner
Pasta al Limone
Olive oil
6 tablespoons butter
Zest and juice of 6 lemons
Approx 2 tablespoons of chili flakes
Grated parmesan cheese, approx 2 cups
1 pound dried capellini pasta (I like this one)
Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper
Add a generous glug of olive oil and the butter to a large saucepan. Melt gently over medium heat.
Stir in half of the lemon zest, half of the lemon juice, and your chili flakes. Cook for 2–3 minutes, allowing the flavors to bloom.
Turn off the heat. Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil for the pasta.
If you’d like to pause here to join guests for cocktails, once the water reaches a boil, reduce it to a gentle simmer until you’re ready to cook.When ready to serve, return the water to a boil and cook the pasta until al dente. Reserve 2 cups of the pasta cooking water before draining.
Return to the saucepan with the butter and lemon. Add the reserved pasta water, 1½ cups grated Parmesan, two generous pinches of sea salt, and plenty of freshly cracked black pepper. Bring to a gentle simmer, stirring to combine.
Once simmering, add the cooked pasta along with the remaining lemon juice and zest.
Toss until the pasta is evenly coated and the sauce looks glossy and emulsified.
Serve immediately in big, wide pasta bowls (I’ve been lusting after these) with large napkins. Finish each dish with the remaining Parmesan and extra fresh cracked pepper.
Serving pasta is a messy business, I use this method !
Dessert
Maybe this is just nostalgia speaking, but I love the idea of my Galentine’s having an ice cream party for dessert. And this is very in step with our decadent theme. It’s also simple, which we love.
Depending on how many guests you have, get a bunch of ice cream, all different flavors. I think it’s fun to mix and match flavor profiles. I am a particular fan of Ben & Jerry’s (Everything But The) and Jeni’s (Brown Butter Almond Brittle). Think extravagant— sprinkles, fudge and caramel sauce, more of those maraschino cherries, whipped cream, CoolWhip, gummy bears… you get the gist. You could put it all out in individual bowls, or simply open the packages and put it all out on the table.
Mix and match bowls and spoons. At this point in the evening people will be tipsy, comfortable and happy. When I serve ice cream I sometimes use pretty glassware instead of bowls. I think these are so beautiful.
Eat, finish drinking, pile the dishes in the sink, and enjoy the end of your Galentine’s Day evening! You’ve gathered people you love, eaten well, and thrown a beautiful dinner party. Bravo, you!
Remember— this is supposed to be FUN! Enjoy yourself. Nothing should be perfect, because there is no such thing. I hope this guide helps you eat beautifully, feel beautiful, and enjoy the beautiful people you’ve gathered.
