Ina Garten's Default Dishes For Easy, Elegant Dinner Parties

Hosting a dinner party can be a great way to bring together friends and family and bond over a delicious meal. However, trying to come up with a menu that both looks and tastes great can be a bit stressful. Some entrees might seem too simple and casual, while others can have you slaving away for hours in the kitchen.

In an interview with Today, Ina Garten shared a few of her favorite go-to's for solving just this problem that she explained are "so easy to make, so elegant" and all the components create the perfect meal. One menu item involves a tasty boneless chicken breast with goat cheese and basil under the skin. She also pairs that with a decadent fettuccini with white truffle butter alongside some roasted carrots. 

Although they look beautiful, thankfully, these sides don't require hours of your time and let you enjoy your evening while still leaving a good impression on your guests.

When it comes to making Ina Garten's menu, there are a few things to keep in mind. For instance, to get a juicy and flavorful chicken breast, don't forget to brine it beforehand. This method adds flavor and tenderness to the meat, which comes out once it's cooked. Plus, you don't need to be fancy — a simple saltwater brine will suffice and won't distract from the basil or goat cheese flavors in her suggested dish. 

Then there's the fettuccine. The celebrity cook can't get enough of white truffle butter, which has umami notes that enhance your pasta and add savory flavor to it. If you want something a bit stronger and more potent, you could also try using black truffle butter. The white truffles are more subtle than black truffles, so swapping them for the latter can get you more of a mushroomy kick. Alternatively, you could always experiment with regular mushroom butter for a herby and perhaps more affordable alternative.

Lastly, don't forget roasted vegetables. Here, you can incorporate other spices and herbs to bring your own twist to the meal. For instance, play up the flavors Garten mentioned and make cinnamon-roasted carrots. Or lighten up the meal with a lemony zing and make citrus-glazed roasted carrots.

If you're hosting an al fresco dinner party on your patio, while this menu can still work, you might want to mix it up a bit. On her website, Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten suggests that a simple pizza and tasty Caesar salad can be a great pick for these types of gatherings. They'll still taste delicious, but they'll save you the trouble of having to transport dishes in and out of the kitchen or try to keep everything at the right temperature on chillier evenings.

And if you do decide to go with something a bit fancier looking, you can use another one of Garten's tips for hosting outdoors — make use of serving trays. This lets you bring out multiple dishes at once and avoids racing back and forth from your patio to your kitchen. It's also a way to implement her aforementioned fancy yet simple meal of chicken breast, pasta, and roasted carrots while still enjoying the outdoor ambiance.