Recipes

6 Spectacular Make-Ahead Dinner Party Dishes

Six make-ahead dnner party mains, from lamb to seafood soup to eggplant parmesan.
Image may contain Bowl Food Dish Meal Cutlery Spoon Soup Bowl Pottery Soup Vase Jar and Bread

As impressive as they look, the best thing about these entrées is that they're prepared in advance, which means you'll spend more time with your guests and less time in the kitchen on party night.

  • Image may contain Dish Food Meal and Roast
    Marcus Nilsson
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    Duck Confit with Spicy Pickled Raisins

    The best part of making this duck confit recipe? All the rich fat you’re left with. Use it to roast potatoes­—it’s an easy way to upgrade a classic. Whatever you do, don’t throw it away (it freezes well).

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  • Image may contain Bowl Food Dish Meal Cutlery Spoon Soup Bowl Pottery Soup Vase Jar and Bread
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    Seafood en Brodo with Tarragon Pesto

    Most fish markets will sell you the bones you need to make the rich broth, but avoid those from oily fish like mackerel or bluefish, which will overpower the stew’s flavor.

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Dawn Perry is the author of Ready, Set, Cook; How to Make Good Food With What's on Hand and a former digital food editor at Bon Appétit. Before joining Condé Nast, she developed recipes in the kitchens of Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food, and Real Simple. She got her culinary start ... Read More
Digital Food Editor, Emeritus
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