In this day and age, I constantly hear from people that setting the table with good china and silverware is ‘old fashioned’ and that good dishes are a thing of the past. They may think so, but good manners are never out of fashion and setting a good table is an extension of yourself. My granddaughters know when they grow up and have places to live of their own, the dishes we gave them for their birthdays are to be used and not kept in boxes in the closet.

I will show you step-by-step how to make your table look like a picture in a magazine when it actually took you an extra five minutes. I will also show that you can make a dinner of just salad and meatloaf look expensive and that it took you all day to prepare. Then you can move up the ladder inch by inch and add a thing or two to take ordinary into elegant. The most important factor in this equation is the ability to take the steps to change and explore new ways of doing things.

So, you have decided to host a dinner with your husband’s (partners or friends), colleagues or relatives and you are scared silly. Sit down and write out the way you envision the dinner to be, especially if you have never done this before. Maybe it is your first apartment and Mom and Dad are coming over.

• Start with music. It should be soft (if a dinner party) and can be light jazz, or romantic. There are many CD’s out there for ‘Romantic Dinners’.  It doesn’t necessarily mean romantic dinner, just pleasant music that is playing in the background. People want to be heard when talking, and not have to shout over the music. Now consider:

 

• Hors d’Oeuvres
• Appetizers
• Soup and/or salad
• Entree
• Dessert
• Coffee
• Liqueur

The recipes on my site are proven winners and your guests will want a return visit.

Any salad dressings, sauces or roasted nuts, cut up vegetables, or shredding can be done the day before. The day of the dinner, of course, you prepare the food that cannot be done before hand.

Before your guests arrive, check one more time on the condition of the bathroom to make sure it is absolutely spotless, especially if you only have one bathroom. Make sure the toilet seat is down. Your guests will be arriving momentarily, now is the time to light the candles in the living room and turn on ambient music.

Most of all…Enjoy!