how to cook a five course dinner

Is there such a thing as a five course dinner?

A full and elegant dinner doesn't requires hours of work and years of experience. A five-course meal may be time consuming and difficult to create and serve, but most dinners that don't come from the frozen food section of the local grocery store are fairly close to five courses.

What does it take to prepare a five-course meal?

That’s all what it takes for a five-course meal. If you love cooking and treating people to some homemade food, then preparing a five-course meal is definitely your cup of tea, or coffee if you are a coffee-lover! (*wink*) What Does a Five-course Meal Include? Appetizers may consist of canapes, crudites, cheeses, dumplings, or small starters.

What are the best dishes for a 5-course dinner?

Chinese chicken salad is best suited for a five-course meal, and does not require much of an effort. An Italian dinner is one of the easiest and most popular of all. They are easy to prepare and the ingredients are easily available in the stores.

How do you choose a course for a dinner party?

Choosing the Courses Decide how many courses you want to serve. A full course meal can have anywhere from three to twenty courses. Serve an amuse-bouche. This course is usually presented before the soup or appetizer and is served on small appetizer plates. Present the soup course.

How do you make a 5 course menu?

5 course meal: A 5 course dinner menu includes an hors d'oeuvre, appetizer, salad, main course, and dessert. 4 course meal: A 4 course dinner menu includes an hors d'oeuvre, appetizer, main course, and dessert. 3 course meal: A 3 course dinner menu includes an appetizer, main course, and dessert.

What does a 5 course dinner include?

Five-course mealAppetizer.Soup.Main course.Dessert.Cheese.

How do you serve a multi course dinner?

How To Plan a Cohesive Multi-Course MealTiming is everything. No matter how many courses you have, timing should factor into the dishes you choose. ... Vary the dishes. Each dish should flop back and forth between high and low impact and heavy and light flavors. ... Create a logical journey.

What's in a 7 course meal?

Seven-Course Dinner? No Problem!Aperitif. The meal begins with the “aperitif” – often some kind of finger food like pretzels, crackers or nuts served with a choice of a sweet, fruity drink. ... Entree (Appetizer) ... Salad. ... Main Course. ... Cheese. ... Dessert. ... Coffee.

Which comes first soup or salad?

When soup is served for a luncheon or dinner, Emily Post's “Etiquette” offers the following advice: --Soup should be the first of six courses. It should be followed by fish, the entree, salad, dessert and coffee.

What comes first salad or appetizer?

This will add to the course length, so a four-course dinner will include an appetizer, main dish, and dessert but also a fourth course — hors-d'oeuvres — served before the appetizer. If you choose a five-course dinner, you'll get a four-course meal with a salad after the appetizer, before the main dish.

How do you serve a 6 course meal?

A meal expanded to six courses means adding an appetizer, soup and palate cleanser prior to the main course, and serving the salad after. The order is usually appetizers, soup, palate cleanser, entree, salad and dessert.

How do you host a multi course dinner party?

5 Tips for Hosting a Multi-Course Dinner PartyPlan your menu wisely. Planning the menu is usually my favorite part, other than actually getting to hang out with the people I love. ... Plan your serving items wisely. ... Prep throughout the week. ... Spread out the cost. ... Enlist the help of others.

Getting Ready For The 5 Course Meal

While we’re all more than familiar with three-course meals and what they involve, a five-course meal is slightly different and takes a little more planning.

Some Ideas For Five-Course Meals

You didn’t think that we were going to leave you out in the cold, throw you to the wolves, and not offer you a helping hand with the planning of your five-course meal, did you?

The Prospective Italian Meal

Everyone loves Italian food, so choosing a five-course Italian meal is a no brainer.

A Course in Simplicity

Soup, salad, an appetizer, an entree and dessert comprise a five-course meal. Five-course meals typically begin with light fare and grow progressively bolder in flavor and complexity.

Timely and Discreet

Ensuring courses arrive at the table well-cooked and appetizing is challenging but doable. Every situation is different, and you'll have to tweak your scheduling according to your menu. Generally, steer clear of precision-timed foods for first courses, which means no souffles.

Honored Guests First

For very formal five-course meals, seat the lady of honor to the right of the host and the man of honor to the right of the hostess. Serve the honored guest first. Then commence serving the lady of honor, and move counterclockwise. In the absence of an honored guest, serve the most important female guest first.

The Best-Laid Plans

A basic rule for arranging plates and stemware is solids on your left and liquids on your right. "BMW," or "bread, meat and water," from left to right is another guideline. The entree plate takes center place, and the bread plate occupies the 11:00 position in relation to the entree plate.

Cin Cin: Stemware

For any multi-course meal place setting, all glasses go to the right of the dinner plate, roughly at 1:00 to 2:00. No rules exist as to how precisely to arrange the stemware, but your wine or champagne pairing determines the kind of stemware to use.

Italian

A five-course Italian dinner is among the easiest and most recognized in terms of separate courses. If you're short on time, you can easily buy all of these courses from any grocery store; just make sure you serve the food in your own dishware.

Chinese

Appetizer: Chicken Dumplings Dumplings are available in large packs at the supermarket, typically in the frozen foods section. They require boiling but are usually authentic tasting. Serve a few on a plate with a side of ginger and soy sauce.

American

Appetizer: Cheese and Crackers Any crackers and any cheese would do well here. Arrange tastefully on a plate and serve.

French

Appetizer: Fruit and Cheese Platter Slices of various cheeses and fruits on a platter provide a mix of sweet, tangy and creamy to invigorate the dining experience. Serve with wine.

Moroccan Apricot Chicken

Traditionally, Moroccan chicken with apricots includes chili pepper paste, but I use chili sauce in my version. Serve it alone or with couscous for a heartier meal. —Arlene Erlbach, Morton Grove, Illinois

Garlic Spaghetti

"I make this family favorite at least two or three times a month," remarks Jackie Messina of Chardon, Ohio. "It's wonderful with a salad and fresh Italian bread." Besides being easy to prepare, this meatless main dish is easy on the pocketbook at just 61 cents per serving.

Favorite Hamburger Stew

I got this hamburger stew recipe from a woman at our church, Lois Henry, when I needed a way to use up our bounty of home-canned tomatoes. My husband loves it, and I like that it's easy to warm up for a carefree dinner in the winter months. —Marcia Clay, Truman, Minnesota

Seasoned Tilapia Fillets

If you need a healthy, keep-it-simple solution to dinner tonight, you just found it. This restaurant-quality tilapia fillet recipe relies on spices you're likely to have on hand to deliver big flavor. This is how to make tilapia. —Dana Alexander, Lebanon, Missouri

Broccoli Shrimp Alfredo

After tasting fettuccine Alfredo at a restaurant, I came up with this shrimp Alfredo with broccoli version at home. Not only does my family love the creamy dish, but my husband prefers it to the one at the restaurant. —Rae Natoli, Kingston, New York

Stuffed Pasta Shells

These savory shells never fail to make a big impression, even though the recipe is very easy. One or two of these shells makes a great individual serving at a potluck, so a single batch goes a long way. —Jena Coffey, St. Louis, Missouri

Classic Beef Stew

This easy beef stew recipe is my favorite. The rich beef gravy helps the hearty flavor of the potatoes and carrots to come through. It's the perfect homemade dish for a blustery winter day. —Alberta McKay, Bartlesville, Oklahoma

What Does a Five-course Meal Include?

Appetizers may consist of canapes, crudites, cheeses, dumplings, or small starters.

Five-Course Meal Ideas

Before beginning with the preparations, be clear in your mind as to what cuisine you would like to have for your dinner. It can be any of your favorites or your guests’.

Salad

Chinese chicken salad is best suited for a five-course meal, and does not require much of an effort.

What Is a Full Course Meal?

A full course dinner is a meal featuring multiple courses. The basic full course meal consists of three or four courses. They normally begin with precursors to a main dish, such as an amuse-bouche, followed by the main course (s), and they are finished off with sweets, coffee, and tea.

What Is a Meal Course?

A meal course is a single food item or a set of food items served at once, such as a sandwich, soup and crackers, or steak and mashed potatoes. An average meal consists of one or more meal courses.

Sample Sequences for Up to 12 Meal Courses

A common and logical way for your full course meal to proceed is by starting with light plates, continuing with richer dishes, and finishing off with small and delicate items. Below are sample full course meal sequences, but you can choose which meal courses you would like to include on your menu.

12 Course Meal Menu

Below are explanations of the courses that may comprise a 12 course meal as well as dish suggestions for each course.

How to Create a Full Course Meal Menu

Preparing for a full course meal can seem like a daunting task, especially if it's for a large crowd. However, if you follow a central theme or cuisine when deciding what will be on your menu, it is much easier to come up with your dishes. Below are some tips for creating your menu.

Quick Tips for Serving a Full Course Meal

The way you serve or enjoy a full course meal is up to your discretion and can be as casual or formal as you prefer. Below are some tips to curate a full course meal, along with information on traditional etiquette.