Food Safety

5 Thanksgiving Food Safety Mistakes & How to Avoid Them

Turkey cooking mistakes

properly thaw frozen turkey
Mistake #1 – Not Properly Thawing Frozen Turkey

When it comes to thawing the bird- the key is to think ahead.

  • How many pounds do you have?
  • How many days will you be required to leave it in the refrigerator to reach its thawing point?

The dangerous mistake occurs when the turkey is not thawed in the refrigerator. Never thaw on the counter or just sitting in a sink full of water.
The FDA guideline states frozen food of any kind should only be thawed in one of 3 ways:

  • In the refrigerator
  • Under continuous running cold water
  • In the microwave. (If food is thawed in the microwave it must be cooked immediately.)

Thankfully Butterball has a calculator that will help you plan

  • How much turkey you need by weight
  • How long to thaw a frozen turkey by the pound
  • How long your cook time will be
Undercooking the Turkey
Mistake #2 – Undercooking the Turkey

Cooking a turkey can be a daunting task if you have never done so. Be sure to remove all of the innards and the neck which will be tucked inside. You can use them to make a stock for the gravy.

The danger lies in the internal cooking temperature of the turkey. Turkey is considered poultry and the FDA urges that all poultry must be cooked until it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.

Make sure you have tested your food thermometer. Keep it handy and check various parts of the bird. It is not done until every area you insert the thermometer in reads at least 165 degrees F. To test the accuracy of your thermometer you can place it in a glass of ice water for thirty seconds. If it reads 32 degrees F your device passes the test.

Properly reheating side dishes

Reheat the Side Dishes to the Correct Temperature
Mistake #3 – Not Reheating the Side Dishes to the Correct Temperature

Most people will make at least a few of the Thanksgiving side dishes ahead of time. This makes perfect sense considering how much cooking is involved.

Where this can become dangerous is assuming that since a side dish was once cooked properly it can be served with just the chill removed. All ready-to-heat food is required to be heated until an internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F.

The reason you must reheat to an internal temperature of 165 F is that bacteria grow very rapidly as food passes through what is called the temperature danger zone.

The temperature range for the danger zone is 40F-140 degrees F. These little bacteria can make someone very ill. Especially when it comes to children, the elderly, pregnant women, and anyone who may be immunocompromised. Think about who might be sitting at your table this holiday season and use your thermometer to check temps as you reheat the side dishes.

Properly refrigerating food sooner than later

Leaving Food Sit Out Hours After Serving
Mistake #4 – Do Not Leave Food Sit Out Hours After Serving

Many people have a sit-down family-style meal where everyone passes each delicious dish one at a time. Other households prefer to serve a wonderful buffet-style meal in which everyone makes a plate from a central location and carries their Thanksgiving dinner to their own seat. 

Regardless of how you prefer to dine, food-safety should still be top of mind.

Remember the old days where children were always instructed to wash their hands before dinner? This is still a great idea, in fact, in a post-pandemic world, everyone should wash their hands before sharing serving utensils. You as the cook should be washing in between touching each food item.

When it comes to serving your Thanksgiving feast the biggest rule of thumb is to not let any of the food sit out for more than two- hours. Once everyone has had time to eat, pack up the food, and get it in the refrigerator. If it is still hot or warm, simply divide it into smaller containers.

Mishandling of the Thanksgiving Leftovers
Mistake #5 – The Mishandling of the Thanksgiving Leftovers

Packing food in small containers with leftovers in them makes sense on so many levels.

  • If you are packing that leftover turkey stuffing and gravy into single-use disposable containers, your wonderful Thanksgiving leftovers can be offered to your guests as they leave.
  • If the containers are reheatable, you can portion out some ready-to-go meals for your family too.

    In the long run, this is the most efficient way to eat all the lovely thanksgiving food items in a timely manner. We live by the food-safety 3-day rule. By Sunday night all the leftovers must be frozen or thrown out. Make sure you follow the food safety rules of reheating foods to 165 degrees F also. Yes, you can eat the turkey meat cold, but if want some mashed potatoes and gravy or mac and cheese, remember to use the thermometer.

When it comes to food safety, you really cannot pick and choose. Bacteria and viruses are part of the world around us. We must learn to live with them and use the knowledge at hand to protect those around us.

As the cook and or the host of a meal, it is your responsibility to ensure that you have properly warded off the potential spread of viruses and properly killed off any bacteria that can potentially make you or someone you love ill. Having a happy holiday season starts with being healthy.

Remember: thaw food properly, cook poultry to 165 degrees F, reheat foods to 165 degrees F, refrigerate leftovers within two hours, freeze or discard leftovers after three days and wash your hands, wash your hands, wash your hands.

Have a Happy and Healthy Thanksgiving!
To learn more about safe and healthy meal prep visit our site at Meal Prep Made.

Black N White Dinner Party

Entertaining at Home Gains Popularity

Have you been toying around with the idea of inviting a few friends to your home for an informal but delicious evening meal, perhaps one where you sit outside and share some acoustic guitar, or enjoy the company of each other’s children?  

Are you dreaming of having a luncheon with finger sandwiches and sparkling lemonade or maybe a lavish afternoon cocktail party with nuts, and canopies?

Have you always wanted to host a unique barbeque with a whole hog on a spit or a giant paella pan sitting on a fire being layered with flavor around your guests?

Maybe just the thought of a formal six-course, sit down dinner for six or eight around your dining room table makes you smile?

When boomers were growing up many of their parents entertained at home all the time because they simply didn’t believe in or have the means for babysitters. When they wanted a night out, their entertainment solution involved taking us kids out to a movie and or a restaurant with them, but that was not always desirable for the obvious reasons: the costs, selecting a family-friendly option, waiting in line for a table with hungry children, no option to sit at a bar, keeping the kids entertained and well behaved. Not only is stressful for the children it is not very enjoyable or relaxing for those around them.  Often parents would instead opt to have people over to their own house for a meal or a game night.

Children love having people over as this comes with all the honors of showing people their home, pets and favorite toys. Sometimes other children arrive for them to play with. You can help them create the fondest memories are of playing tag, kick the can or hide-and-seek with the younger guests.

Then there is the food and drink. can you remember the excitement you felt as you watched your parents prepare for guests to visit? Back in the day, many moms had beautiful chip and dip sets. For those who are unfamiliar with a chip and dip, it is a large bowl for potato chips with a little added bowl that sits connected on the rim of the bowl that holds the dip. Many had matching highball and martini glasses; what a beautiful set that would be today.

The moms put the chip and dip out and the dads set up a makeshift bar.  As guests would arrive, mom would lead them into the living room, dad would take drink orders and mix the cocktails. The children would be allowed to have a special, non-alcohol drink with ice in a special glass.

Entertaining at home has changed quite a bit over the years most of us do not own a chip and dip with matching glasses, but there are some constants. The first and most important rule of entertaining is making people feel comfortable and welcome.  This very basic but required element of having guests in your home comes naturally to some.  This begins before they even enter your home, by allocating the proper spaces for your guest to park and communicating those instructions in advance of their arrival.

The first and most important rule of entertaining is making people feel comfortable and welcome.  

Once they enter your home have something wonderful for them to smell and see to create an inviting and comfortable vibe. Smart real estate agents who host open houses are the master at this. They pop some cookie dough in the oven so that as you enter it will invoke a warm and homey scent. Then you see the plate of cookies next to their listing sheet so you can not resist picking one up and look at the property details.

During your event, pay individual attention to your guests to allow them to feel important to you. This may be as simple as asking someone to sit next to you at the dining table or showing them your garden.

There really is an art to entertaining and the more often you open your home to guests the easier it becomes.

Most people don’t entertain very often, therefore when they do, it is overwhelming. Having people over to their house can be very intimidating for some. Other than close family members, most people do not share where or how they live with others. However, most people absolutely enjoy visiting a friend at their home. Think about friendships you share and the first time you went to their home and it will likely conjure up memories about what endeared them to you.  I have a friend that I knew loved textiles, I visited her home to find she dedicated an entire room to a giant loom. I was impressed and truly understood the depth of her passion for textile work.

Domestic spaces create a more intimate environment than you can experience at a restaurant or country club.  It affords the opportunity to get to know the host or hostess better by seeing their unique style of decor, learn about their hobbies, meet their family members (including pets) and see just how they pull it all together in real life. It is real, with no facades and when it is done properly, it creates lasting relationships among hosts and guests.

Domestic spaces create a more intimate environment than you can experience at a restaurant or country club.

There once was a woman who started a business women’s wine club for the purposes of networking and getting to know some fellow business leaders better. We were in tough economic times, many people had cut back on time and money spent out networking. Budgets were tight; spending money on marked-up wines and appetizers was not a priority.

This savvy businesswoman understood that networking with others is paramount to business growth, so she gathered a list of ladies she liked and some she wanted to get to know better and invited them to her home. She served wine and simple appetizers on a random weeknight. Each of the women in the group took turns hosting the event at their home each month. Those bonded friendships with some of the most amazing businesswomen in the area will last a lifetime.

You do not have to have people over just for business, it can be simply social. Perhaps you have met others at church, or at school that you would like to get to know better. If you just moved into a new neighborhood having the neighbors and their children over for a BBQ or an evening of cards is a great way to form friendships. Inviting people to your home is always advantageous.  

If you just moved into a new neighborhood having the neighbors and their children over for a BBQ or an evening of cards is a great way to form friendships.

If you need help preparing a menu, the food, serving, caring for guests, clean up and or entertaining www.ChefEvents.Net can provide you with lots of ideas and advice on the topic.

garden-dinner-party-1

How To Host The Ultimate Dinner Party

The Ultimate Guide for a Memorable Evening

A memorable dinner party leaves a lasting impression–a warm feeling of community and rambling conversations, peppered with flavors that fill the stomach as well as the soul. Food has the power to bring people together–whether you’re serving family members, business colleagues, or new friends. To help you create a dinner party that your guests will always remember, we’ve put together a list of guidelines and elements every great host or hostess follows.

The recipe for a successful dinner party is very simply–a classic combination of food, friends, drinks, and meaningful discussions. Every choice you make–from theme to menu to music–should center around creating this atmosphere of warmth, openness, and discussion. However, every host or hostess adds their own personal flavor to the event–a sprinkle of fun, a dash of competition, or a heaping spoonful of classic elegance.

In this article, a professional caterer and chef will take you through the process of hosting a dinner party, starting with overall guidelines, then breaking down into actual timelines, processes, and checklists. Whether you’re a beginner or an expert who just needs help organizing, this guide will ensure you have all the details you need to throw a low-stress dinner party your guests will keep talking about for years to come.

1. Everything begins with the theme

A theme is the foundation of a memorable dinner party. It determines everything from your menu, to your choice of entertainment, to how your invitations will be decorated.

So how do you choose a theme? First, think about the reason for your dinner party. Are you entertaining close friends, or trying to impress new colleagues? Are you celebrating a holiday, or hosting a game night? Will the event be kid-friendly?

Also, consider the atmosphere you’d like to create. Is this a formal dinner, or a casual gathering? Would you like your guests to feel calm and relaxed, or excited and boisterous? Will this be an intimate event with close friends, or will the evening be an energetic introduction of many new acquaintances?

The atmosphere and theme work together. Even a theme as simple as “Christmas Dinner” can be interpreted in many ways. Is it a classic, elegant, Charles Dickens-style Christmas? A Southern charm Christmas? A fun, whimsical, snow wonderland Christmas with elves and sparkles? A gingerbread and candy Christmas?

Once you’ve decided on the atmosphere you hope to create, you can really narrow down your theme. Many factors can determine a theme. Perhaps you have a new French recipe book you’d really like to try. Maybe you want to host a fresh Springtime gathering with colorful flowers, chilled soups, and napkins folded into doves–or an Autumn gathering with harvest foods, butternut squash souffle, and rustic decor. You can do something as traditional as a Summer tea party, a standard 5-course meal themed around cultural cuisine–or really stretch your creativity by serving only foods found in Harry Potter or Game of Thrones.

The theme is the party’s foundation. Now, it’s time to build upon that theme. Menu items, decorations, music choices, entertainment options, conversation starters, and even the font you choose for invitations — all of it stems from your party’s theme. Every choice you make should further the theme and atmosphere you’re creating for your guests.

2. A memorable menu sets the tone

Good food creates a community and brings people together. Every memorable dinner party tells a story, and the menu is the plot hook. Each course carries guests through a culinary experience, unfolding the story and keeping guests engaged throughout the meal. A great menu is a conversation-starter.

Just because a menu is memorable doesn’t mean it has to be complex. Some of the best advice is very simple:

  • Choose dishes you’ve already successfully cooked in the past.
  • Choose menu items that are in-season; seasonal items bring nostalgia
  • Choose foods you can easily cook ahead-of-time. This frees you to focus on hosting.

Your menu should also make sense together, with complementary flavors. For example, serving sushi as a side dish would likely clash with spaghetti and meatballs as a main course. Likewise, the menu should offer a mixture of heavy and light dishes. Guests may feel sluggish after eating heavy, hot hors-d’oeuvres like miniature quiche, followed by thick clam chowder, and a dense cheese casserole. If you’re serving a dense main course, try offering lighter fare for the first two courses. Likewise, if the main course is very light–like couscous, white beans, and veggies–guests may still feel hungry. A heavier soup or hors-d’oeuvres would be appropriate.

Choosing Each Course

A typical dinner party has five courses, but an ambitious host or hostess may prepare as many as seven courses. Depending on the culinary culture, each of these courses may vary. Here is an example of a seven-course meal:

  1. Amuse-bouche (mouth-pleaser)
  2. Hors-d’oeuvre (appetizer)
  3. Potage (soup)
  4. Salad
  5. Entrée
  6. Side dish
  7. Dessert

If you choose to stick to three or five courses, you can simply remove items like soup, salad, or the amuse-bouche.

In a classic dinner party, the amuse-bouche and hors-d’oeuvres are served during cocktail hour. Then, guests can be seated, as each following course surprises and delights, working together to tell the story of your overall theme. Each course should have a common thread, which ties back to the party’s theme and atmosphere.

3. Decor, music, and place-settings create ambiance

Your tablescape and decor creates the tone for the evening. If each course tells a story, then your tablescape is the background for the theatre of your menu.

How do you want your guests to feel? A relaxed and elegant evening may require dim lighting, white candle centerpieces, baby’s breath flowers, with linens folded into crisp doves. Likewise, a tablescape full of color and whimsy will create a more exuberant and energetic vibe. Everything from lighting to centerpieces, to music will set the tone for the evening.

Depending on how formal the dinner party is, there are varying levels of how to set a table. But a beautifully-dressed table will typically have:

  • A table cloth
  • A table runner
  • A centerpiece
  • Properly-arranged plates and silverware
  • Folded linens
  • Name cards

There are thousands of creative, whimsical, elegant, and classic ideas for decorating a tablescape, which can easily be found online. Sometimes just browsing through photos can help you brainstorm the perfect theme and decor for your dinner party.

4. Seating arrangements encourage discussion

Remember – the highlight of any dinner party is memorable conversations! As the host or hostess, you have the power to create an engaging seating arrangement, setting your guests up for success by creating an atmosphere of openness and discussion. This begins with your table-setting and seating.

Create name-cards that coincide with your chosen theme, and place them where you desire each guest to sit. Name-cards can be creative, tucked inside a linen napkin folded to look like a flower, or simply, resting on each guest’s plate. You can find a ton of creative place card ideas online.

You can seat the guests however you wish, but if you hope to spark memorable conversations, some experts suggest a few guidelines:

  • Don’t seat spouses or romantic partners next to each other. This creates temptation for guests to only talk within their comfort bubble.
  • Follow etiquette rules, such as seating guests of honor at the head of the table at special events.
  • For a networking event, seat guests who share common interests near each other, to spark conversation between them.
  • You know your friends’ personalities! Try sitting an introvert next to an extrovert, so even the more quiet guests can be drawn into conversations.
  • If you have great conversationalists with amazing stories, let them take point! But don’t let them bowl over everyone else.
  • Consider your guest list – if you have a guest who doesn’t know anyone, make sure you invite a friend for them so they don’t feel uncomfortable.
  • Find lots of interesting ideas for seating different personality types online!

However good the food, however fine the drink, and however fun the atmosphere — the highlight of a dinner party remains memorable and meaningful conversation among friends.

5. Games and conversation starters help get the discussion started

Since conversation is key to a memorable dinner party, a wise planner prepares ice-breakers and conversation-starters to help generate discussion. Something as simple as conversation cards can add a sense of fun and whimsy to jump-start the evening. Many websites offer free printables, some with different themes to match your party!

It’s also helpful to have a handful of questions in your back pocket, to pull out if the conversation begins to lull. “How did you two meet?” is a great question to generate discussion amongst couples. Here are a few other examples:

  • “If you could have an alternate career, what would it be?”
  • “Let’s all try to learn from each other. What’s one life experience or piece of advice you’d share with the world?”
  • What books are on your summer reading list?
  • If you could travel anywhere, where would you go and why?
  • What is your one big life dream?

If you plan a few questions beforehand, you won’t be stuck in a rut if the conversation starts to dwindle. Deep, meaningful conversations over wine, candles, and good food — this is the stuff memorable dinner parties are made of.

6. Make a shopping list – check it twice!

Once you’ve determined your menu, take a few moments to write down each and every ingredient you’ll need for each course. Any event planner or caterer will tell you – staying organized is key! You’ve got a lot of things to think about: cooking, decorating, invitations, seating arrangements, games. It’ll be far easier and less stressful if you take a deep breath and take the time to organize. The last thing you want is to run back to the grocery store two or three times because you forgot a small ingredient!

On a separate document, make a list of every decor item you need. Put a checkmark next to any items you already own.

Most event coordinators will tell you: Begin planning early. Give yourself at least a month to plan. Here’s a simple checklist of your timeline.

Planning Your Dinner Party

One month before:

  • Check Pinterest for unique themes
  • Brainstorm desired atmosphere and decor items
  • Create guest list
  • Begin planning menu

Three weeks before:

  • Design and send invitations
  • Determine theme
  • Create a shopping list of required decor items
  • Begin shopping for decorations

Two weeks before:

  • Guests RSVP; finalize the list of attendees
  • Check dietary needs for guests
  • Create seating arrangements
  • Finalize menu
  • Create a shopping list for ingredients

One week before:

  • Choose music; begin creating a playlist
  • Create name cards
  • Create ice-breaker question cards
  • Clean house – trash out, restrooms clean, interesting table books

Two or three days before:

  • Use finalized shopping list; buy ingredients
  • Purchase alcoholic beverages – wine, champagne, beer, or cocktail mixes.
  • Purchase bottle-openers and corkscrews for opening wine.
  • Create ice-breaker question cards

One day before:

  • Prepare as much of the menu as you can, so you can easily heat and serve the next day.
  • Begin decorating and laying out centerpieces, tablecloths, candles, flowers.
  • Hook-up playlist to make sure music plays
  • Go ahead and set your table as much as possible — one less thing to worry about tomorrow.

The day of:

  • Prepare any remaining menu items
  • Warm-up previously-prepared foods
  • Layout hors-d’oeuvres and drinks for cocktail hour
  • Arrange all prepared courses in the order you’ll need to serve them
  • Set the mood by lighting candles, turning on your playlist, and staging your home for guests.
  • Finally, get dressed for the evening.

Ideally, all of this early-preparation will leave very little work for you to do on the actual day of your dinner party. Be sure to take some time for yourself. Drink a glass of wine, watch your favorite TV show, and take a few moments to unwind.

Simple is still memorable

Your dinner party should be as distinct and unique as you. The games, atmosphere, themes, and menu should reflect who you are. Likewise, a host or hostess shouldn’t have to stress out; a dinner doesn’t have to be complex to be amazing. Remember: All of the lace, flowers, and candles on earth won’t make an evening memorable–at the end of the evening, what guests remember most are the connections and conversations.

For hosts or hostesses who are overwhelmed by the prospect of cooking so much food, there are options like competitive potlucks, taco buffets, or desserts-only themes that are equally fun and memorable but allow for guests to help with the cooking. Likewise, professional caterers or personal chefs can manage all of the menu-planning, cooking, and serving, which allows the host or hostess to focus on guests.

Cheers. Here’s to an unforgettable night of good food, meaningful conversations, and lasting memories.

Blog Dinner Party Exp

A Dinner Party Tale

Have You Ever Thought Of Having A Dinner Party?

We see it all the time in shows and movies. They make it look so grand. The house is spotless, with everything in its place. The host or hostess hears the guests coming to the door and they are ready to “put on the dog”. The hostess is perfectly dressed, made up in her pearls and heels. The host dons a suit and a tie with perfectly polished shoes.

As the guests arrive and are met at the door, their coats are whisked off out of sight. As they walk in they see that the dinner table is beautifully draped, a centerpiece of fresh flowers adorn the middle, the dishes and silverware are placed with precision. The co-host offers a cocktail and pulls ice right from the bucket with little tongs, or shakes up a convenient martini complete with little olives on a stick. All this is happening while guests stand around making polite small talk. The hostess appears with a tray of lovely canapes and passes by each guest as she receives a compliment on her food, her table, her dress or perhaps the new sofa.

Dinner Is Served

Upon the announcement that dinner is being served, the dinner guests make their way to the table to find a little handwritten place card with their first and last name carefully appointed in the center of their place setting. The side dishes are all awaiting them in perfectly covered serving dishes. The seating arrangement had been well thought out in advance and carefully crafted by the hosts. After the guests are seated comfortably, the hostess magically appears with a decorative and well-staged tray containing the main dish. The dinner guests make approving noises and gestures just at the sight of it. The dinner conversation is engaging the discussion is a bit more in-depth with guests sharing about current events and often a tad bit of gossip. Once dinner is through, everyone convenes in the parlor or living room for an after-dinner drink, dessert, and game of charades.

As the evening winds down guests are given their coats and our host/hostess sees each one out the door and waving as they drive off. We see that dishes are piled up in the kitchen and we hear our hosts proclaim that they can wait till morning.

The next day we find that career opportunities, business deals, and power meetings are all products of that gathering of handpicked dinner guests. That dinner party set the tone for success.

Hollywood makes it all look so easy, so natural. If only you could pull this off you could create a magical evening that your guests will talk about for months. You could orchestrate new friendships, career moves and be known as power-hosts, and gaining a seat at one of your coveted dinner parties is seen as a status symbol.

So why isn’t everyone doing this all the time?

While Hollywood plays up all the outcomes, it fails to show the details of hosting a flawless dinner party. It never shows all the hard work that goes into pulling off a successful event. That is why most often the closest we can get to creating this is meeting up at a nice restaurant for dinner. Have you ever planned a wedding? Think of having a dinner party akin to having a mini wedding.

Although the number of guests attending will be less, the same amount of attention to detail must be present. Details such as what each person will do as they arrive, where will their coats and or bags go, what they will drink, who will make said drinks? What will they be served with their beverage and on what serving vessel? How will the guest eat the appetizers, with a fork or just a napkin? This is only the first stage of the guest’s evening. Prior to that, all the food and table settings have been given the same amount of consideration.

Perhaps you have hosted a dinner or party or two and even if they were very successful you know the reality of the amount of time and effort that went into planning, hosting and cleaning up. I once hosted a themed murder mystery dinner party that took me over a month to turn my home into New Orleans Mansion. It was fabulous fun that I will always remember, people talked about that dinner for years, however, that was over ten years ago. Why do you think I did not host another since then?

Lots of Preparation

Dinner parties do not have to be as elaborate as a murder mystery. They can be as simple as having 6 to 8 people over for an evening of enjoying food and conversation. I don’t know about you, but here is what the reality of that has looked more like for me.

I spend a week planning and selecting a guest list. Spend time researching and coming up with what the menu should be (in full disclosure, sometimes I select the food first and figure out who would appreciate it most to compile my guest list). I decide on a signature cocktail, then I shop for the food in multiple grocery stores, including the liquor store.

My house needs to be cleaned meticulously and not just the inside. I must include the entrance that may include power washing stairs, cutting grass and even planting flowers. I most likely have to re-arrange the furniture to accommodate my guests.

Two days before the dinner party I prep the food that can accommodate being prepped days in advance, and I use my freezer if I must. I also start my table decorations at this time and pull together plates, choose serving vessels, silverware, napkins and shine the wine glasses. I bathe and groom the dog, wash sheets and clean toilets.

The Day Of The Dinner Party

I wake early and address anything that still needs attention. I reach out to all my guests to let them know I am looking forward to seeing them. During the day I will answer a multitude of texts about what can they bring, where they will park, etc. Cooking begins and updates made for any needed adjustments in my menu.

Approximately an hour before my guests arrive I will start fretting that I need a shower and that I have not decided yet what I am going to wear. (I am someone who can not stick to a wardrobe plan as the weather really determines how I will dress and what I will do with my hair). I now do not have time to blow-dry and straighten my hair so I opt to throw it up on top of my head and focus on at least having makeup on my face.

It is usually at this point the dog decides to act up. He tears up a toy and poops on the rug, or some other distraction before I need to attend to drinks and appetizers. I throw on any old sundress and maybe earrings if I remember and realize my nails look terrible. In the midst of planting and cleaning the house, I had wrecked my manicure. I have to decide to paint over my nails and sacrifice the time for them to dry or remove all color and have naked ugly nails. I am feeling the panic of time ticking away and worry that I will not have dinner prepared on schedule. I opt for ugly nails and get back to the kitchen.

The First Guests Arrive

As I am putting finishing touches on the first round of appetizers the doorbell rings. It is my first guest arriving early, carrying flowers that need to go in a vase and a bottle of champagne that they insist we open before others arrive. I grab a stool to climb to find an available vase in the upper cabinet since all my others are in use. While I have the stool pulled out I reach for champagne glasses from the cabinets without checking to see if they are properly cleaned. I spot a lipstick stain on the rim and put that one in the sink.

I trim the stems off the beautiful flowers that my guest gave me, place them in the vase and take a sip of champagne. Now the dog decides he wants to go out to pee. I am really feeling stressed and need to focus on my food in order for it to be cooked properly.

Darn, I remember now that I needed more butter, out to the freezer I go. My guests are talking to me while I am trying to concentrate on my recipe for the main dish and while I am simultaneously platting my first round of appetizers. I am trying to keep a smile on my face but in full disclosure, I am only half-listening as my attention span is wearing thin.

The doorbell rings again and it is my second guest arriving. She hands me a previously borrowed Tupperware dish and a melon that she insists needs to be cut up with dessert. I am secretly peeved that she could not bother to slice this ahead of time and that it does not even compliment my well thought-out dessert. I am really stressed, I am not having fun and want to pour another glass of champagne to take the edge off.

I am somewhat relieved when I realized at least now maybe my guests can talk to each other so I can get back to cooking. As I stir my sauce and answer questions about how I am making it and what they can do to help I am wondering how I could have been more prepared? What would make this dinner party better?

I set up appetizers in the living room but as guests arrive they are congregating in the kitchen around my previously spotless but now dirty sink and greasy stove with drips from my spoon. I look down at my sundress and I am wearing a drop of sauce now too. How did I forget to put on an apron? After urging them to move to the living room for the third time I realize this was pointless. I pour some champagne for myself and the doorbell rings. I am in the middle of cooking so I ask one guest to let another in.

Time to plate another appetizer and offer everyone a signature cocktail. The oven timer beeps and I must turn my attention away from my guests to tend to my cooking dinner. Once the dinner is done I am relieved to start cutting and preparing my platters and serving dishes. I assign the task of opening and pouring the wine to a guest.

This is not going at all like it does in the movies.

Time To Dine

We are ready to move to the dining room. finally moving away from the kitchen that looks like a bomb hit it. As we approach the table, my heart sinks a bit as I never put out the handcrafted and well thought out place cards that ensured those best connections and power-conversations ensued. I placate myself by thinking “oh well, everyone has gotten to know each other quite well standing around in my dirty kitchen anyway”.

We pass the serving plates and begin to eat when I hear a timer going off. It is my dessert. I jump up and run to the oven in mid-conversation and have to apologize for being distracted. “Geez, you would think I never had a dinner party before!”

As I get back to the table everyone else has finished dinner and my plate has been hardly touched. I clear all the dishes and fend off the offers by my guests for help as the last thing I want is everyone congregating back in the kitchen over a sink full of dirty dishes. I need them to stay put. I hand them another bottle of wine to open as this will distract them long enough for me to plate the desserts.

My dessert did not turn out at all as it looked on Pinterest. Oh well, maybe my guests are tipsy enough to not even notice that my dessert is ugly. I know at least it tastes good. Back in the dining room as I empty my glass of wine, I scarf down a whole plate of ugly dessert and realize that it is the first plate of food I have had all day.

The conversation drones on until late in the night and I am sleepy and barely able to keep up. It is now past midnight and I have been up since 5:30 AM.  Guests start talking about opening another bottle of wine and normally I would be up for it but tonight I am thinking about all the dishes I have to do. I am secretly thinking if I sneak off to the kitchen I could get a jump on them. But this is not an option with this crew of guests as they would all insist on getting in the kitchen with me.

A Very Long Evening

I will just have to be a good host and pour myself more coffee. At 2:00 AM people are finally leaving. I am wide awake and now suddenly very hungry. As my last guest pulls out of the driveway, I plate food for myself that has by no doubt sat out too long and has become dry and stone cold. I pour a glass of wine with it and look at the mess I have to clean. It will be 4:00 AM before I get to bed.