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Home » Dinner Parties » Serial Dinner Parties – Family Vacation to the Outer Banks

Serial Dinner Parties – Family Vacation to the Outer Banks

June 19, 2023 by Lori V Leave a Comment
Disclosure: This post may contain Amazon or other affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I may earn a commission from qualifying purchases. This does not change your price should you buy something.

Dinner Party Diaries – Volume 1: Issue 14

Somedays I find myself not just planning a lone dinner party.  Instead I’m planning what amounts to a series of dinner parties.  Some of those times are simply dictated by the scheduled events of a given weekend–hosting friends on Friday, family on Saturday, and cooking for another party on Sunday.  Other such instances are common around holidays.  However, my most recent example of what I’ll call serial dinner parties was my family vacation to the Outer Banks.  We rented a big house, and thirteen of us moved in together for a week.  It was a ton of fun, and there was a lot of food consumed.  Of course, this was a prime opportunity to cook for a crowd with a variety of dietary preferences, restrictions, and an allergy tossed in–one of my favorite pastimes.  

Wild horses on the beach on our family vacation where we cooked serial dinner parties

Now, mind you, we didn’t cook dinner every day. However, we did make a few of our tried and true crowd pleasers that I’m always happy to share.  You may not find yourself spending a week in a rental house with your family; but many of these recipes make great options for potlucks, summer picnics, cookouts, or your everyday dinner party.  🙂  These recipes all scale up or down fairly easily. (That may be why I chose them for my menus.)  

Making Sure You Have Your Kitchen Essentials

When cooking for a crowd, there are a few devices that I find handy to have at my disposal regardless of if I’m in my own kitchen or elsewhere.  So . . . we took most of these “essentials” along in our checked luggage.  This may sound a bit extreme, but it’s really annoying to not have the right tools for a cooking job.  We can both improvise well in the kitchen, but we’d rather not expend that much mental energy while on vacation.  Check out my post on Vacation Rental Kitchen Essentials to find out more about some of the items we brought along.  

Planning Flexible, Scalable Menus

When planning for serial dinner parties in a location that requires grocery shopping for nearly all of the ingredients, it’s important to be thorough but flexible.  You may need to make some gametime changes or decisions on the fly once you are there and see what you are actually working with–both in terms of food and cooking devices.  

Here are a few tips: 

  1. Remember Pantry Staple Ingredients
    • Don’t forget that you’re going to need some basics like oil for cooking, salt, and pepper.  It’s not like at home where you can just assume these things are already there.  Either plan to buy them or take them.  
  2. Pre-mix Seasonings / Spices in Advance
    • Avoid buying spices that you already have at home or taking your entire spice drawer with you. Figure out what seasonings or spices you are going to need, mix them in advance (if needed), and just pack the mix(es).  
  3. Have a Plan B for Meat and Produce
    • It is entirely possible that the store near your vacation rental will not have the exact cut of meat or vegetable that you want.  Pick recipes that are flexible so that you can pivot if needed.
      • For example: The zucchini in the local store either looks bad or doesn’t exist.  Perhaps substitute yellow squash if it’s available.  If not, see about broccoli or some other vegetable that can use the same seasoning and cooking method.  
  4. Pick Recipes that Can Be Adapted to Alternative Cooking Methods
    • It’s good to have in mind multiple cooking methods for the same ingredients.
      • For example: If one dish (like brownies) is taking longer than expected in the oven, you may want to cook something else (like zucchini) on the grill or stovetop to avoid a time delay.  

With those tips (i.e. lessons learned) in mind, we planned out our menus.  I wasn’t looking to create new recipes at scale and this isn’t the crowd to use as guinea pigs, so we kept things relatively simple.  We planned 3 meals in advance. Then we placed a grocery order for delivery the morning after we arrived with most of the ingredients we needed.  As with all of the best laid plans, things change.  So in the end, we wound up doing an ad hoc version of an additional dinner, converting one of the planned dinners into a lunch, and adding in a breakfast casserole.  It all worked out and no one came even close to starvation.  Check out the food below.  Even if you aren’t planning food for a family vacation, these are some flexible recipes for any number of occasions.  

The Food

Meal 1: Improv Group Dinner

Beef Filet
– We bought a whole beef tenderloin, cooked it with the sous vide cooker, and cut it into individual steaks.  Then my cousin finished them on the grill. 
– Sous Vide: Cooked at 120 degrees F for 90 minutes.  This got us to rare.  Cutting into steaks and finishing on the grill allowed for more individualized levels of doneness.  The linked recipe helps with some general guidance, but we did our own thing as noted above.
View Recipe
Pasta Salad
My cousin made 4 boxes of Suddenly Salad Pasta Salad for the group.
View Item
Easy Roasted Zucchini
Simple, healthy, and delicious, this Easy Roasted Zucchini makes an excellent side dish for a dinner party, a crowd, or everyday dinner. With only a handful of ingredients and minimal prep time, you’ll want to add this one into your rotation.
View Recipe
Easy Roasted Zucchini on rimmed baking sheet - finished

Meal 2: Breakfast Casserole

Keto Ham and Cheese Breakfast Strata
This Keto Ham and Cheese Breakfast Strata is a great low-carb breakfast casserole that can be made in advance and that your guests will love!
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Ham and Cheese Breakfast Strata on a plate with a holiday napkin

Meal 3: Planned Dinner – Pork, Veggies, & Cookies

Easy Herb-Rubbed Pork Tenderloin
We cooked 8 pork tenderloins with the sous vide cooker as listed. The only change from this recipe is that we seared them on the stove top to give them a nice crisp exterior instead of using the broiler (because the oven was occupied).
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Herb-Rubbed Pork Tenderloin - sliced on serving plate
Keto Spinach and Artichoke Casserole
This casserole takes all the things to love about spinach and artichoke dip and turns them into casserole. This Keto Spinach and Artichoke Casserole makes a great versatile side dish that can complement any number of main courses. Try it for your next dinner party and it’s sure to be a hit!
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Keto Spinach and Artichoke Casserole - Finished Casserole - Cut Piece
Broccoli and Asparagus Louie Salad
A little decadent and creamy with a kick and a nice crunch, this Broccoli and Asparagus Louie Salad makes a great side dish, something to take to a potluck / party, or just something delicious to have for lunch during the week.
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Broccoli and Asparagus Louie Salad - Finished Salad Close Up
Keto Chocolate Chip Cookies
In the interest of keeping things simple we made some Keto Chocolate Chip Cookies from a box.
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Regular Non-Keto Chocolate Chip Cookies
We also made regular non-keto Chocolate Chip Cookies from a bag.
View Recipe

Meal 4: Lunch – Pizza Casserole

Keto Pizza Casserole
This Keto Pizza Casserole is a delicious and flexible low-carb recipe that works great for a crowd or for weekly meal prep. Check out these 3 variations to please even your picky eaters.
View Recipe
Keto Pizza Casserole - finished and plated
Keto Brownies
Again, with the goal of keeping things quick and easy, we made Keto Brownies from a box.
View Item
Regular Brownies
We also made regular, non-keto brownies from a box.
View Item

Meal 5: Planned Dinner – Pork Tacos, Cauliflower Rice, Mousse

Pulled Pork (for a Taco Bar)
We started with this sous vide carnitas recipe as a basis and off-roaded from there. If you haven't tried this before, I'd suggest starting with this recipe from Serious Eats.
View Recipe
Easy “Mexican” Cauliflower Rice
When you need an easy side dish with minimal ingredients, effort, and clean-up, this Easy “Mexican” Cauliflower Rice is an excellent choice! Try it for your next weeknight meal or dinner party.
View Recipe
Easy Mexican Cauliflower Rice in Taco Shells
Easy Fajita Veggies
If you need an easy side or topping for your next taco or fajita bar, try these tasty Easy Fajita Veggies. Easy to prep in advance, you’ll be able to quickly check these off of the to-do list and move on.
View Recipe
Sliced red onions and bell peppers
Margarita Mousse
Decadent and fun, this Margarita Mousse is a creamy confection with a tropical kick from the lime, orange, and (of course) tequila. Despite its extravagance, it comes together quickly and then can hang out in the fridge until it takes center stage as the perfect end to your dinner or dinner party.
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Margarita Mousse in an individual serving dish with a lime wedge

Even if you’re not ready to host serial dinner parties, I hope you try some of these dishes at your next get-together. 

Filed Under: Dinner Parties

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