Ina Garten Just Shared The Dreamiest Dinner Party Menu—Plus a Playlist to Go with It

Rack of lamb, butternut squash soup *and* swing music? We’re definitely interested.

Though planning for Thanksgiving is taking up a lot of our potluck and party-planning brainpower right now, there are plenty more get-togethers on the horizon. With family and friends coming to town for the holiday season and a new year fast approaching, it’s always a good idea to have a few recipes in your back pocket for a last minute dinner with loved ones.

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The good news is that Ina Garten is ready to help put together your dinner party contingency plan. The Barefoot Contessa host has planned the perfect dinner party—from dinner and drinks to dessert and soundtrack—so we can just follow her lead and get ready to enjoy the evening. Ina shared her latest menu on Instagram, describing it as one of her favorite fall menus. And as a little treat, she even offers tips on how to make many of the dishes ahead of time.

“At times of extraordinary stress, it’s even more important to reach out to friends and invite them for dinner,” Garten wrote in her caption. “I love giving parties, but who wants to spend the whole day cooking? I just want to see my friends and make them a really delicious meal.”

The menu definitely promises to be just as delicious as Ina says. Pair these simple dishes with a classic mix of songs like Ina’s dinner party playlist, available on Apple Music and Spotify. The blend of rich flavors, friendly conversation and the sounds of Grace Jones, Frank Sinatra and Carole King are sure to facilitate a blue-ribbon soirée.

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Fresh Whiskey Sours

Ina recommends mixing this five-ingredient beverage up in the morning, then tucking it back into the fridge until your guests arrive. Since you’ll need freshly squeezed lemon and lime juice for that titular “fresh” taste, getting all that prep work out of the way means you can relax (and even go ahead and wash whatever dishes you used in the process).

Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

Here’s one you can absolutely make ahead of time. Ina suggests whipping up this six-ingredient soup even three days in advance, if you like, then reheating it for your guests. Just store it in the fridge until you’re ready to heat and eat, and you’ll have a homemade soup course so easy to serve, you’ll feel like a hosting genius. Heat the soup through, taste for salt and pepper and you’re all set.

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Rack of Lamb

You’ll want to be taking this lamb out of the oven just before your guests arrive, but that doesn’t mean you can’t work ahead. Ina suggests doing all of the prep work—creating your seasoning mixture and coating the lamb with it—ahead of time, then simply putting the lamb in the oven about 35 or 40 minutes before you want it served. The lamb will only cook for 20 or 25 minutes, depending on how well cooked you’d like it to be, but you’ll need to let it rest under foil for another 15 minutes. Then you can serve it up and get back to enjoying the night.

Orzo with Roasted Vegetables

Ina’s orzo salad is a dinner party classic—she once told Food Network that her rack of lamb paired with this veggie-packed orzo is her “signature dish.” It’s also a fairly simple recipe to put together: just roast your eggplant, bell peppers, onion and garlic according to the recipe instructions, pair them with your cooked orzo and dress the salad with Ina’s simple lemon vinaigrette. You can do just about all of those steps ahead of time, Ina says, and simply serve the dish at room temperature.

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Easy Cranberry and Apple Cake

This simple but striking cake is a great way to bring some fall flavor to your next shindig. The recipe is flavor-packed thanks to fresh cranberries, pieces of Granny Smith apples, fresh orange and cinnamon. As an added perk, the cake is best made ahead, preferably early in the day that you plan to serve it. Just let it come to room temperature and slice it up for your friends and family. Folks who wait to bake it late in the day can also serve it warm, if they like.

Read the original article on Eating Well.