It’s nice to have a theme for a dinner party and recently I decided to focus on Italian food. It was a far cry from the occasion many years ago when I tried to woo my (now) husband with a candle-lit Italian feast of Heinz minestrone (tarted up with a handful of Schwartz herbs), a spaghetti bolognaise and a catastrophic attempt at zabaglione.
As an antipasto I prepared acciughe sotto pesto or anchovies in parsley and olive oil for those who, like me, have somewhat limited Italian! The great thing about this recipe is that it can be prepared days ahead of the dinner party so long as it is kept in the fridge and the anchovies are completely covered with the oil. The anchovies are placed in a large jar along with some olive oil, parsley, a dried chilli and some garlic, mixed up and left for the flavours to develop. I served it with a lovely rosemary and garlic focaccia from my local deli.
For my main course I opted for a delicious roast lamb dish which is traditionally served in Italy at Easter.  I had made a herbed olive oil in advance using rosemary, sage and garlic and it is this oil that gives the lamb its fantastic flavour. I had cheated by ordering a deboned leg of lamb from my local butcher, although if you are handy with a knife you can do this yourself. The oil needs to be drizzled over the inside of the lamb before it is rolled and tied, then more drizzled on the outside. I cooked it with small potatoes and a glass of wine which made for some very tasty pan juices.
For pudding I made a tiramisu (literally a pick-me up) which turned out to be dead easy to make and certainly more successful than my zabaglione!

So you want to throw a dinner party for a group of friends but are short of time to shop and prepare for it – what’s the best plan of attack? Gone are the days when you could buy a cheap load of mince, raid the Schwartz packets and cook a huge spaghetti bolognaise, then open up a few bottles of cheap wine and know that you would have a ball. You’ve left your student days behind and are looking for something a bit more sophisticated. You have a bit of cash to spend on it but want good value for your money.
If you live in London and can get to Borough Market (only open on Thurs, Fri and Sat incidentally) this could be the answer to your prayers. You could lay on a fantastic spread for your guests and not have to cook a thing. Pates, cheeses, cold meats, olives, artisan breads, pies, shellfish, patisserie and not forgetting the wine – you name it you will find it at this South London market. Its critics say it is expensive but, as is so often the case with food, you get what you pay for.  If you can’t get to Borough Market then why not explore your local deli? My local deli in Harrogate, for instance, sells a fantastic range of local Yorkshire produce that would grace the table of any discerning gastronome.
If you are willing to do a bit of “cooking” you could have a look on the website of the various speciality butchers who will deliver dishes like beef welling ton which just need to be popped in the oven. For a starter you could get your local fishmonger to prepare a platter of shell fish. My local fishmonger will prepare one to your requirements with 48 hours notice and all you need do is remember to pick it up on the day of your dinner party. For pud have a look at an upmarket patisserie where you will be bound to find something to tempt the taste buds.

With the recession biting, it is easy to think that having a dinner party is too expensive, but with a bit of planning it needn’t be. It is certainly cheaper than eating out at a restaurant and is a great way of catching up with friends and lifting the gloom of falling stock markets! Best of all, with luck you’ll get a few return invitations.

If you’re used to offering a glass of champagne as an aperitif to your guests, why not try a prosecco or a cava at a fraction of the price? If you’re not too bothered about bubbles, then a glass of wine goes down just as well. In the summer, a jug of sangria made with red wine, lemonade and fruit is a cheap alternative and far more refreshing. If you are serving wine with your meal, forget about label snobbery. Buy a wine box and decant it into jugs or carafes.

Soups make a reasonably priced starter. You may be lucky enough to have a neighbour with a glut of tomatoes at this time of year. Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth but make a batch of delicious tomato and basil soup. On a hot day vegetarian recipes such as a chilled gazpacho made with tomatoes, cucumber, peppers, onion and garlic makes a change from a hot soup.

There are lots of online recipes on the internet and in cookery books for using cheap cuts of meat. If you have a slow cooker then this is an ideal way of making a melt in the mouth casserole. Reasonably priced meat such as oxtail is making a comeback after years of neglect, so be the first to introduce your friends to something different. For an accompanying vegetable, forget about the expensive imported goods that you find in supermarkets. Instead, stick to what is in season and have a look at your local fruit and veg market. You might be surprised at how much money you can save.

Don’t feel obliged to serve cheese at your dinner party. If your friends are anything like mine, they are usually watching their waistlines and/or their cholesterol levels and only take a tiny piece to be polite. Instead concentrate your budget and efforts on a pudding. Again think seasonal. When rhubarb is in season it can be bought cheaply or grown in your garden and made into a healthy and tasty fool using low fat yogurt and a little double cream.