Discover the secrets to giving distinctive, memorable dinner parties in five easy steps. This article, the second in a series of five, shows you how.

5 Steps to the Perfect Dinner Party

  1. Choose a theme

  2. Organize, Organize, Organize

  3. Put some thought into your guests
  4. Pay attention to the details
  5. Serve fabulous food effortlessly

The Plan

Once you have decided on a party concept or theme, something around which to organize the details of your party, your next job is to make a plan and write it down in detail.

  1. Decide how many guests you will have and who they will be. Think about everything from food restrictions or allergies to where everyone will sit.
  2. Plan your menu. What will you serve? How many courses will there be? Will you cook everything yourself, will you buy dessert at the local bakery, will it be pot-luck?
  3. Plan your invitations, menus and party favors based on your concept or theme. Depending on how complex these will be, you may need to work on them at least a week ahead of time. At the very least, plan to have menus and favors ready to go no less than two days ahead. Invitations, of course, have already been prepared and sent.
  4. Choose your music based on your concept or theme. Make a complete playlist on your ipod or copy it onto a couple of CD’s so you won’t have to think about it for the rest of the evening.
  5. Make two grocery lists, one for items that can be purchased more than three days ahead of time and one for fresh items that need to be purchased within a day or two of the party.
  6. Make a detailed plan of attack – of what are you going to do and when – and post in on your refrigerator. Prepare one list to be done ahead of time, one for the morning of the party, one for mid-day, and a list of things that need to be done just before and after guests arrive. In the midst of chatting with friends, it is entirely too easy to forget to put the rice on 30 minutes before dinner. Then, when you are getting ready to serve the main course, you realize that you have to extend the cocktail hour by 30 minutes, and your carefully roasted chicken will now have to be reheated.
  7. Plan your table setting, including: tablecloth, napkins, china, glassware, silverware, centerpiece, candles, everything. Try out a few ideas a week or so ahead of time. I always find setting the table takes longer than I think, because I keep trying different combinations to get the effect I’m looking for.
  8. Make sure you know exactly which dishes will be used for every course, based on what would set off the food to its best advantage. (Remember, everything does not have to match.)
  9. While you’re at it, plan how you will garnish each dish, write it down, and add those items to your shopping list now.
  10. Don’t forget to also plan which serving pieces you will need, including serving utensils.
  11. Take every single item out two days ahead of time and check to make sure it is sparkling clean and ready to go. You don’t want to take out your cocktail glasses when you are ready to serve, only to find that they are cloudy and you have to give them a quick wash while guests look on.

Do it ahead of time

One of the most important lessons I leaned from watching my mother entertain is to do everything you can as far ahead of time as possible. Remember that everything will take more time than you think. And, although you may be able to get up early and do 10 hours of preparation, will you really feel like attending your own party after all that?

The most time-consuming details, such as the planning, invitations, menus, party favors and music should be done at least several days ahead. The party preparations will be in full swing starting the day before the party, and if you leave these details until then, they will become more of a chore than an enjoyable part of your party.

Once the final preparations start, everything that can be done the day before should be done the day before. Shop for groceries, set your table, get out your serving pieces, chill the wine, prepare any of the food that can be prepared a day ahead. The less you have to do on the actual day of the party, the better. Then, on the day of the party, prepare everything as early in the day as it can be prepared.

Organizing in this way may seem daunting at first, but once you have done it once or twice it becomes almost second nature. And it makes a world of difference, allowing you to breeze through your party, confident and serene, enjoying yourself and being a most lively and charming host. Your guests will wonder how you manage to do it. Your secret: organize, organize, organize.

Charlotte Rose is a passionate cook and creative party-giver. To find distinctive menus and plans for creating your own memorable dinner parties, visit her website at http://www.CharlotteRoseCooks.com

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