Ina Garten Valentine's Menu Is Perfect for Galentine's Day

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Valentine’s Day is a fraught holiday. If you’re partnered up, there’s tons of expectations and pressure about how to make it the most romantic day ever, which can be quite a feat when millions of other people are trying to have the same most romantic day ever, and restaurant reservations are impossible to get. If you’re single, it can be a few different things: a painful reminder, an opportunity for a friendship celebration, or something you’d rather just ignore. But why does Valentine’s Day have to be split along these lines? Cookbook author Ina Garten shared on Instagram that, though “people usually spend Valentine’s Day with their one special person,” she and her hubby Jeffrey, who have been together for more than 50 years, “like to extend the love and include friends, as well.” We’re totally on board for this concept. If you’ve been thinking of hosting a Valentine’s Day dinner party for loved ones of all sorts this year, then Ina Garten‘s Valentine’s Day dinner party menu could be just what you’re looking for.

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Garten even shared her tips for making the Galentine’s Day dinner party menu. You can prepare many elements ahead of time, so that when your guests are over, you can actually spend time having fun with them and celebrating all kinds of love, rather than being alone in the kitchen.

So, what’s on the menu? For drinks, Garten recommends her legendary big batch Cosmopolitans. You can prepare the drinks in the morning, then shake with ice and pour into glasses when ready to serve.

For appetizers, Garten recommends her fig and goat cheese toasts from her book Modern Comfort Food. These need to be made the closest to when people arrive, about an hour ahead of time. If you prepare it too far in advance, the bread might get soggy, but luckily, they’re not hard to make. You could even enlist a friend to help, and make it part of the party!

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The entree is so good, we’d be tempted to have a Valentine’s Day party alone so we don’t have to share. It’s a slow-roasted filet of beef that’s paired with a basil Parmesan mayonnaise. The beef is super simple to make, and it can even be made the day ahead of time, then just warmed up when it’s time to eat. But the homemade mayo is what really sets the recipe apart and makes it special enough for a Valentine’s dinner party. It’s creamy, tangy, rich, and herbacious.

A side of oven-roasted vegetables and a mouthwatering dessert (a vanilla rum panna cotta with salted caramel) complete the meal. Related story This Portable Slow Cooker Is the Summer Pot Luck Essential You Never Knew You Needed & It's Nearly 50% Off at Walmart

After treating your friends to this ultimate Valentine’s Day dinner, you’ll feel more showered with love than if Cupid had struck you with an arrow.

Before you go, check out the gallery below:

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