Three recipes. That’s all you need.
Ina Garten posted her winter dinner party menu on Instagram. It has potato galette, lemon chicken, and brownies. Nothing else.
I made all three dishes in my kitchen. I wanted to see if they actually work for regular people. They do.
The galette turned out crispy. The chicken stayed juicy. The brownies disappeared fast. My guests asked for the recipes before dessert even ended.
This menu works because it’s simple. You’re not stuck in the kitchen all night. You actually get to talk to your friends.
Winter makes us want to stay inside and do nothing. Garten says Invite people over instead. She’s right. Good food and good friends always beat Netflix.
I’m going to show you exactly how to make Ina Garten’s winter dinner party menu. What works. What doesn’t? And how to do it even if you’ve never cooked a whole chicken before.
What Makes Ina Garten’s Winter Dinner Party Menu Stand Out From Other Holiday Menus?
Most celebrity chefs give you twelve recipes. Ina Garten gives you three.
That’s the whole difference right there.
She knows you don’t have a restaurant kitchen. You have one stove and one oven. Perhaps you have a friend who arrives early to help open wine bottles.
This winter dinner party menu uses your kitchen smart. The potatoes cook on the stove. The chicken bakes in the oven. The brownies are already done. Nothing fights for space.
The timing is easy too. The galette stays crispy if it sits for ten minutes. The chicken rests under foil. The brownies taste better at room temperature anyway.
Other menus try to impress you with fancy ingredients. This menu impresses you by being practical and achievable. You finish cooking before guests arrive. You sit down and eat with them.
Look at the ingredients. Potatoes. Chicken. Chocolate. Butter. You find everything at your regular grocery store. No weird stuff you can’t pronounce.
Garten also uses shortcuts. She tells you to buy caramel sauce instead of making it. Most chefs would make you spend an hour caramelizing sugar. She knows better.
This winter dinner party menu respects your time. It doesn’t assume you went to cooking school. It assumes you can follow directions and want to feed people you like.
The menu is also suitable for groups of various sizes. Got four people? Make less chicken. Got twelve? Make more galettes. Everything scales up or down.
Why Ina Garten’s Winter Dinner Party Menu Works for Busy Hosts?
You cook in stages. That’s the secret.
Make the brownies first. You can do them the day before. They sit on the counter, covered. One thing done.
The chicken takes the longest, but you don’t have to watch it. You prep it. Put it in the oven. Walk away. Add wine later. Walk away again. The oven does the work.
The potato galette comes last. You make it while the chicken rests. Takes maybe twenty minutes total. You’re not standing over the stove for an hour.
The Three Dishes That Make Up This Winter Dinner Party Menu
- The starter is a potato galette. You cut potatoes into thin strips. Cook them in a hot pan with oil. They form a golden cake. Flip once. Done. It’s basically fancy hash browns.
- The main is skillet-roasted lemon chicken. You flatten a whole chicken. Season it with thyme and fennel. Roast it on lemons, onions, and garlic. The lemons get sweet. The skin gets crispy.
- Dessert is salted caramel brownies. Make brownie batter. Add chocolate chips. Bake. Pour caramel sauce on top. Sprinkle sea salt. The salt cuts the sweetness.
Each dish has a job. The galette starts things off hot and impressive. The chicken feeds everyone without fussing over timing. The brownies end the meal on a rich note.
1. How to Make Ina Garten’s Winter Dinner Party Menu Potato Galette
Use russet potatoes. Not red. Not Yukon gold. Russets have more starch. That starch holds everything together.
Cut them lengthwise into matchsticks, like thick French fries. Keep them the same size. If some are thin and some are thick, the thin ones burn.
Heat oil in a pan until it’s really hot. Add potatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Press them down hard.
Step-by-Step Instructions for the Perfect Galette
Don’t touch the potatoes for five minutes. This is hard. You’ll want to stir them. Don’t. They need time to form a crust.
After five minutes, drizzle more oil down the sides. Slide a spatula under everything to make sure it’s loose. Shake the pan. The galette should move as one piece.
Now flip it. Put a plate over the pan. Hold them together. Flip the whole thing. The galette lands on the plate. Slide it back into the pan, uncooked side down.
Cook the second side for an additional 5 minutes. Both sides should be golden brown.
Place it on paper towels first to absorb excess oil. Then move it to a cutting board. Slice it like pizza. Sprinkle chives and fancy salt on top.
Common Mistakes When Making This Winter Dinner Party Menu Starter
Wet potatoes are the biggest problem. After you cut them, dry them with paper towels. Water makes steam. Steam stops browning.
Using a pan that’s too small is another mistake. The potatoes should be thin, not piled high. If they’re stacked, the bottom burns before the middle cooks.
Don’t flip too early. Wait until you can shake the pan, and everything moves together. If it sticks, wait another minute.
Always use paper towels after cooking. Even good galettes have some extra oil. The paper towels catch it.
2. Ina Garten’s Winter Dinner Party Menu Main Course: Skillet-Roasted Lemon Chicken
Start with a spice blend. Put thyme, fennel seeds, salt, and pepper in a food processor. Grind it up. Mix it with olive oil to make a paste.
Slice the lemons thin. Put them in the bottom of a cast-iron skillet. They’ll become soft and sweet when cooked. Add sliced onions and garlic on top.
The chicken sits on everything. It needs to be butterflied. That means you cut out the backbone and flatten it. This helps it cook evenly.
Why Butterflied Chicken Makes This Winter Dinner Party Menu Special?
Butterflied chicken cooks in half the time. Instead of ninety minutes, you need forty-five. The breast doesn’t dry out while you wait for the thighs to finish.
The flat shape gives you crispy skin. Regular roast chicken has skin on top that crisps and skin underneath that stays soggy. When it’s flat, almost all the skin gets crispy.
It’s easier to carve, too. You’re basically cutting pieces that are already separated. No wrestling with weird joints.
You can buy it already butterflied. Some stores call it spatchcocked. Same thing. It costs a little more, but it saves time.
Timing and Temperature for Perfect Results
The chicken roasts at 450 degrees. That’s hotter than most recipes. The high heat crisps the skin fast.
Start with the chicken skin-side down. Sounds weird, but it works. The skin protects the meat from direct heat. Brush it with herb oil. Flip it. Brush again.
Roast for thirty minutes. Add white wine. The wine makes steam and keeps things moist.
Check with a meat thermometer. You want 160 degrees in the thickest part. It’ll reach 165 as it rests. Don’t cook it all the way in the oven, or it’ll be dry.
Take it out. Squeeze lemon juice over it. Cover with foil. Let it rest for ten minutes. Make the galette while you wait.
3. Ina Garten’s Winter Dinner Party Menu Salted Caramel Brownies
Use real chocolate, not just cocoa powder. Melt butter and chocolate together over simmering water. This stops the chocolate from burning.
Let it cool after it melts. Hot chocolate will cook the eggs. You want everything at room temperature.
The batter contains instant coffee. You won’t taste coffee. The coffee complements the chocolate’s flavour.
Store-Bought Shortcuts Ina Garten Actually Recommends
Garten recommends using store-bought caramel sauce. She means it. She even writes “store-bought is fine” in the recipe.
Most cooking shows would make you caramelise sugar yourself. That takes skill and time. Store-bought tastes good.
Warm it up so it pours easy. Drizzle it over hot brownies. It soaks in a little but mostly stays on top.
Any grocery store has good caramel sauce. Look for brands with real cream and butter. Skip anything with corn syrup first on the label.
This shortcut keeps the recipe doable. If you had to make caramel from scratch, you might skip dessert. Garten knows this.
How to Get the Right Balance of Salt and Sweet?
Sprinkle sea salt over the warm caramel at the very end. Don’t use table salt. Sea salt has bigger crystals. You get little bursts of salt in each bite.
The amount matters. Too little and it’s just regular brownies with caramel. Too much and it tastes wrong. Start with less. Add more if you need it.
The salt makes the chocolate taste stronger. It cuts through the caramel sweetness. Without salt, these are too rich. With salt, you can eat a whole piece.
Flaky sea salt works best. Maldon is good. So is Jacobsen. You want salt, you can see.
What a Dietitian Says About Ina Garten’s Winter Dinner Party Menu?
A dietitian reviewed this menu and suggested adding vegetables. The menu has potatoes, lemons, onions, and garlic. That’s not enough.
She suggested adding a salad or roasted broccoli. Something green. Something with fibre and vitamins. Currently, it’s high in protein and carbs.
She also pointed out the chicken skin. Chicken skin has saturated fat. Too much affects your cholesterol.
Simple Swaps to Make This Winter Dinner Party Menu Healthier
Swap one russet potato for a sweet potato in the galette. Sweet potatoes have more vitamin A and fibre. They taste slightly different but still work. You get colour and nutrition.
Use bone-in chicken breasts instead of a whole bird. Breasts have less fat than thighs and wings. You get more meat than people actually eat. Just watch the temperature. Breasts dry out faster.
You could keep the skin on, but peel it off before eating. The skin protects the meat while cooking. It keeps everything moist. You just don’t have to eat it.
The brownies are a dessert. They’re supposed to be rich. Cut them smaller if you want. Or serve them with fresh berries.
Adding More Vegetables to the Menu
A simple salad fixes the problem. Arugula with lemon juice and olive oil. Takes five minutes. Doesn’t compete with other flavours.
Roasted broccoli works too. Toss broccoli with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast at 425°F for 20 minutes. Do this while the chicken rests.
Green beans are another option. Boil them for three minutes. Drain. Toss with butter and lemon zest. Done.
The dietitian is right. This menu needs more vegetables. But adding them is easy. You don’t change the main recipes. Just add one simple side.
How I Modified Ina Garten’s Winter Dinner Party Menu for My Guests?
I tested this menu exactly as written. Then I changed a few things. The changes made it better.
I added an arugula salad. Took three minutes. Gave people something to eat while I finished the galette.
I used chicken breasts instead of a whole chicken. My guests don’t eat dark meat. Breasts meant less waste.
I cut the brownies smaller. Twenty-four pieces instead of sixteen. People took two pieces and felt fine about it.
I made the galette half russet and half sweet potato. The colours looked better. The sweet potato tasted good, too.
The biggest change was timing. I started earlier. Made brownies the day before. Prepped chicken two hours early. Made the galette last.
This gave me time to shower and change. I answered the door without food on my clothes. Small changes cut my stress in half.
The menu still worked. Guests still asked for recipes. Food still tasted good. But I felt relaxed.
Ina Garten’s winter dinner party menu is a starting point. You make it fit your life. Your guests. Your kitchen. Your schedule. That’s what good recipes do.
