Great Dinner Ideas with Wine

Hosting a dinner party should be exciting and not stressful. It's a great way to enjoy sumptuous food, good wine and build a good relationship. Make your dinner party awesome with kickass, but simple to pull off food recipes. Whether you're having a holiday party or just a simple get-together dinner, these delicious dishes are perfect all year round and will surely impress your guests.

Try these simple recipes that feature fresh salads, impressive main courses and suggested wine pairings. Whatever dishes you like, your guests will be delighted.

Vinegar-Braised Chicken with Leeks and Peas

This chicken dish is easy delicious and easy to prepare for a party dinner or a simple weeknight dinner.

Here's what you need:

8 whole chicken legs

Salt

Freshly ground pepper

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

3 large leeks, halved lengthwise and cut into 1-inch pieces

1 cup low-sodium chicken broth

1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar

One 10-ounce package frozen baby peas, thawed

2 tablespoons chopped tarragon

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

1/2 cup crème fraîche

Here's how to make it:

1. Preheat oven to 425° and position a rack in the upper third.
2. Turn the chicken legs skin side down and cut half way through the joint. Season generously with salt and pepper.
3. Heat half of the butter and oil in 2 large nonstick skillets.
4. Cook the chicken legs over high heat until browned for 5 minutes. Turn and cook the chicken for 1 minute. Then pile all of the chicken into one skillet.
5. Cook the leeks in the other skillet over high heat until slightly soft for about 2 minutes. Add the broth and vinegar and let it boil. Season with salt and pepper. Into a medium roasting pan, pour the mixture.
6. Put the chicken on the skillet with the leek mixture, skin side up and roast for 25 minutes until it's cooked through. Put it into the broiler and broil it for about 2 minutes until the skin turns gold and crisp. Transfer the chicken to a platter; leave the liquid mixture in the skillet. Set aside.
7. Place the skillet over a burner and over high heat, boil until the liquid reduced by half for about 5 minutes. Add the herbs, crème fraîche and peas; let it simmer until sauce slightly thickened for 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Pour the sauce over the chicken and serve.

Suggested Wine Pairing

Full-bodied white Côtes-du-Rhône.

Suggested Vegetable Salad

Spicy Carrot Salad

1. In ¼ cup water, microwave grated carrots and minced garlic until crisp-tender.
2. Drain; toss with lemon juice, olive oil, salt, red pepper flakes and parsley.

Free-Form Sausage-and-Three-Cheese Lasagna

This country-style and gooey lasagna is packed with cheese and sausage. You can arrange the pasta in different forms, because it's free-form style.

Here’s what you need:

1/2 pound lasagna noodles

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for tossing

1/2 pound sweet Italian sausage

1 cup water 4 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced

One 28-ounce can whole tomatoes, chopped and juices reserved

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

1/2 pound fresh mozzarella, cut into 8 pieces

6 ounces Italian Fontina, cut into 8 pieces

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1/4 cup thinly sliced basil leaves

Here's how to make it:

1. Preheat the oven to 425°. Cook the lasagna pasta in a large pot of boiling water and add a pinch of salt for about 5 minutes. Dain the pasta and transfer into a bowl of cold water let it stand for 2 minutes and drain again. Pat pasta dry, transfer to a bowl and toss with olive oil.
2. In a small skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add Italian sausage and cover. Cook in a moderate heat, turn once until turned brown. Add over, cover and let simmer until sausage is cooked for about 4 minutes.
3. In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add garlic and cook until golden brown for about 3 minutes. Add tomatoes with moderate heat for 10 minutes, stir occasionally. Add the cooked sausage and let simmer for 4 minutes. Transfer sausage to a plate; leave the sauce in the skillet. Simmer the sauce in moderate heat until thickened for 12 minutes. Breakup the sausage and season the sauce with salt and pepper.
4. In a ceramic baking dish, butter it, arrange 3 lasagna pasta in different directions and leave about 2 inches of overhang. Spoon a scant 1/4 cup of the tomato sauce over each lasagna pasta and sprinkle with a little grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese at the top. Add a piece of mozzarella and Fontina on each lasagna pasta and add a few chunks of sausage. Fold the overhanging lasagna pasta on top of the cheese and sausage. Repeat the process with the remaining lasagna pasta, mozzarella, tomato sauce, Fontina and sausage and sprinkle with a little more Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Brush the softened butter on any bare pasta and curly edges and sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Suggested Wine Pairing

Rich, peppery Primitivo.

Suggested Vegetable Salad

Creole Green Beans

1. Combine blanched thin green beans and red onion slices.
2. Toss with Creole mustard, red wine vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper.

Garlic-and-Rosemary Roast Pork Loin

This is a juicy roast dish marinated with a garlicky marinade ad a whole bunch of fresh rosemary.

Here's what you need:

1/4 cup plus

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

8 large garlic cloves, chopped

1 bunch of rosemary, leaves only, coarsely chopped (1/2 cup)

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

2 pounds center-cut pork loin

Here's how to make it:

1. In a small bowl, stir 1/4 cup of the olive oil with the garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper. Rub the mixture all over the pork. Transfer the pork and marinade to a large, Ziploc bag and refrigerate overnight.
2. Preheat the oven to 400°. Let the pork stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Brush off all the marinade from the pork. In a large ovenproof skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil until shimmering. Add the pork to the skillet and cook moderately in high heat until brown for 5 minutes. Transfer the pork to the oven and roast for 40 to 45 minutes, until golden. Insert a thermometer in the thickest part, 135°. Transfer the roast to a carving board and let rest for 15 minutes before slicing it and serve.

Suggested Wine Pairing

Herb-scented Washington state red blend.

Suggested Vegetable Salad

Caesar Salad

1. Purée minced garlic and anchovies, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper and 1 egg yolk; with machine running, slowly add 1/4 cup olive oil.
2. Toss with romaine; top with Parmesan and croutons.