Make-Ahead Dinner Party Menu – The New York Times

I’ve always been a big fan of cooking today for tomorrow.

Many meals taste better if they are prepared and allowed to rest for a day before serving. Spreading the work over two days makes many cooking projects easier. It can also mean the difference between an exhausted host and a relaxed one.

A warming meal for a winter evening, this menu brings out the best in everyone: you can enjoy the feast as the flavors develop and the textures improve.

The centerpiece is a hearty lamb stew, my favorite cold-weather dish. Lamb shoulder cubes are slowly cooked, sprinkled with pickled olives, basted with red wine, brushed with crushed red pepper and kissed with rosemary and garlic.

It’s not a dish that’s ready in 10 minutes; It takes quite a bit of time to prepare and requires about a good hour of simmering to meld all those flavors. But it can also be prepared well in advance – a few hours or, preferably, a day before serving. In fact, most stews like this only get better when reheated. As a side dish you will need a hearty bread or perhaps rice or fried potatoes.

For this meal, I prefer a simple salad on the side rather than a course I previously enjoyed. It provides a cooling counterpoint. I recommend crispy Belgian endive leaves, dressed with a lemony shallot vinaigrette and a hint of anchovies. Adding some green leaves, such as wild arugula, watercress or spinach, makes the salad more colorful.

At a dinner party, it can be fun to have a somewhat indulgent dessert. Why not crepes? With practice, it can be handy to have up your sleeve. They feel fancy but aren’t too difficult once you get the hang of it.

These are filled with orange-scented ricotta. It’s best to prepare the crepes at least a day in advance and, if time permits, the filling and orange caramel sauce too. You can even stuff them, fold them into triangles and pop them in the oven. While they are heating, warm the sauce.

Rest assured that your lucky guests will be delighted by this feast – and you’ll be especially happy that you did most of the cooking well before the party.