Cook This: A Dinner Party Plan

Planning a dinner party in advance (even just mentally) makes the end of your week as relaxing as it should be. Carve out a festive weekend meal tonight and all you'll have to worry about is where to market and who to invite.

The Menu:

Gin Rickey (Is it a sin to drink gin before noon?) by Giulia Melucci

A frisky pre-dinner cocktail, anyone? And for wine with dinner, we'd go with interesting but light whites, say Albarino or Verdejo from Spain or even a white Rioja. The meal below is nice and citrusy, so it should pair well with similarly citrusy whites.

Wild Ramp Pesto by saenyc

Notes: This absolutely delicious seasonal pesto (seriously, we can't say enough about its perfection) would be beautiful dolloped on burrata or lathered on toasted levain as a bruschetta appetizer.

Preserved Lemon and Spring Vegetable Risotto with Grilled Pernod Shrimp by The Dog's Breakfast

Notes: Spring in a bowl. Serve a few slices of that toasted bread from course one for guests to mop up the lemony liquid left behind (if there is any, that is.)

Aunt Mariah's Lemon Sponge Cups by ENunn

Tell us these aren't show stoppers. Your guests will want one for the road -- we guarantee it -- but that certainly isn't happening if you're serving them in egg cups as precious as Amanda's in this shot. Stop! Thief!

The Plan: 

Weeknight projects:

• Make your lemon cups: these can be made in advance, then left to cool, and refrigerated (carefully covered) until you're ready to serve them at room temperature. We're actually big fans of them cool too!

• Make the ramp pesto: don't kid yourself, friends, double the recipe here. You can use it all week. On pasta, in panini, with roasted vegetables -- when the season calls, pesto in the fridge is a must.

• Invite your friends with seductive hints like "ramp pesto"..."grilled Pernod shrimp"..."lemon sponge cups": they'll clear their schedules.