It's A Party

With a large family of five children and seven grandchildren, and being the social people we are, we have many functions and events throughout the year. Included are birthday parties, anniversaries, our monthly ethnic dinner group, our annual cookie exchange event, our pre-Christmas get-together for family and friends and of course, special occasions. This by no means is the sum total of our parties because other ideas reveal themselves to us as the year progresses such as mini-golf tournaments with participants returning to our place, a ‘christen the pond’ party or a housewarming, to name a few of the extra parties we host in a year. One year we held my daughter’s reception in our home. Most of our parties are fairly large which, for many people, would seem to be an intimidating thought but a party can be any size. Entertaining need not be ‘scary’ if your party is planned and well organized with careful thought from its inception. By planning ahead, preparing simple ‘make ahead’ dishes, and having everything in place before the guests arrive, entertaining really can be fun and enjoyable.

DETERMINING THE THEME

What kind of a party do you want to plan? This won’t be difficult if the occasion is a birthday, anniversary, wedding, baby shower or some other special occasion. But if you decide you would like to have a party and would like a theme, there are many ideas. We have planned parties around a certain ethnic food, a car rally, a golf tournament, a murder mystery evening (this one is limited to eight people), a 40th anniversary party of a 21st birthday (we often stretch far to come up with a theme), and Hallowe’en parties. We’ve also had a ‘we’ve got a surprise’ party (but with this you have to come up with a good surprise).

It’s important to decide whether the party will be for adults or will children also be included? It will make a difference when deciding on the food and set-up for the party.

INVITATIONS

Make a decision on how many guests are manageable for the space you have. It’s better to invite fewer rather than more than the space can comfortably accommodate. Space will be determined on whether it will be an outdoor or indoor party? Prepare your guest list. Phone, e-mail or send out invitations at least two weeks ahead of time. Three weeks is preferable, with a request for an R.S.V.P. If it is a ‘bring your own bottle’ type of party, specify on the invitation or else be prepared to have a good selection of beverages.

FOOD

Plan well in advance what type of food you will serve. Make it as easy for yourself as possible so you don’t spend ‘party time’ in the kitchen. I always plan ‘make ahead’ dishes and usually have buffet-style parties so that serving requirements are kept to a minimum. (This type of entertaining, without a doubt, is the easiest). Many dishes can also be frozen well in advance of the party. Occasionally we have ‘pot lucks’ planned as well as some that are volunteered.

Most appetizers also can be done ahead of time. If small children are included in the party, try not to have snacks that will be dropped all over the floor leaving a trail behind them to remind you of Hansel and Gretel in the forest. You will want to have clean-up kept to a minimum as well.

My menu items for informal parties usually include: lasagna, chili, cabbage rolls (all of which can be frozen), and potato salad, various cold salad-type dishes (which can be made a day or two ahead of time), and cold cuts and buns. Appetizers usually include: pate, spinach dip, cream cheese with seafood sauce dip (an extremely easy but popular appetizer), humus, and various chips and nuts, etc. (Most of these, I have to admit, are purchased to cut down on the work involved in preparing and having a party). Occasionally I will have an appetizer that requires heating.

For family or small group sit-down dinners I have had fondues with chicken, beef, European sausages, vegetables, perogies, seafood and assorted dips such as tartar sauce, teriyaki sauce, plum sauce, garlic butter, seafood sauce, etc. Fondues are nice in that all the preparation can be done ahead of time with the guests cooking their own meal. For other sit-down dinners, I have had ham, Swiss steak, turkey, etc., always with a large assortment of vegetables, and potatoes or rice and a dessert or birthday cake.

SET-UP

We use a 4’ X 8’ sheet of plywood (set up in our downstairs family room) covered with a tablecloth and put all the appetizers on this table. Decorations are dependent on what kind of a party it is and the time of the year it is. Candles are always on the table although are placed towards the back if there are small children attending. I usually put appetizers out for the first part of the party and the main dishes such as chili, lasagna, etc. are put out later in the evening. I use paper plates and napkins to cut down on my work (this is not the case for more formal sit-down dinners, of course).

If the party is a birthday, a ‘welcome home’, an engagement party or a shower, we usually put up an appropriate sign with the decorations but this is only our personal preference.

For those special occasions when we have a sit-down dinner, we use several 4’ X 8’ tables put together and can accommodate about 25 or so people. In most cases I try to prepare the dishes ahead of time and heat them at the last minute to be put out on the table with the help of a few extra hands. (This works well with almost all dishes).

In all cases, whether we are having a relatively informal party or a more formal occasion with a sit-down dinner, the tables and chairs, including set-up of the table, and anything else required are always set up well before everyone arrives so that relatively no party preparation will be required after the guests arrive. This keeps the last minute stress of entertaining to minimum.

I rely heavily on lists and find that this is the best way to organize the food, the set up and guest lists. When I make my menu of what I am going to serve, regardless of what kind of party I am planning, when the dish is completed, I put a check beside it and when it goes out on the table, I put a line through it. In this way, nothing will be forgotten. With the guest list, I check off when I’ve sent an invitation and then another check if they are attending or a line through if they are unable to attend.

The following is a sample menu for a non-sit-down Party

Cabbage Rolls
Chili
Rice
Tossed Green Salad
Buns
Dessert or Birthday Cake
(Except for the green salad, this entire menu can be prepared ahead of time)

Sample Menu for a More Formal Sit-Down Occasion

Swiss Steak
Mashed Potatoes
Mashed Yams with Brown Sugar
Cabbage Crunch Salad
Green Peas
Corn
Garlic Bread
Dessert of choice
(Except for the mashed potatoes, this menu can be prepared ahead of time)

Cabbage Crunch Salad (serves 8)

Salad
2 tbsp sesame seeds
½ cup slivered almonds
½ small to medium cabbage, shredded thinly
4 green onion, chopped
Handful of crispy noodles

Dressing
2 tbsp chicken noodle soup mix
½ tsp pepper
1 tsp sugar (or to taste)
¼ cup olive oil
3 tbsp white vinegar

Mix cabbage and onions with dressing, then add almonds and sesame seeds. Crumble noodles on top and serve. (Except for adding noodles to the top of the salad, this is best done a day ahead of time)

Swiss Steak (serves 8)

2 pounds eye of round
½ cup flour
2 tsp salt 2 tsp paprika
2 onions, sliced
1 large can stewed tomatoes
1 large can tomato sauce
½ tsp pepper
Olive oil

Cut meat into pieces, dip into flour seasoned with salt and paprika. Saute onions. Remove onions with slotted spoon, leaving oil in pan. Brown meat, remove from pan. Put remaining seasoned flour into pan, stir. When flour and fat are mixed thoroughly, add boiling water; enough to make some gravy. Add tomatoes and tomato sauce. If too thick, add more water. Pour over meat and onions in a casserole. Bake, tightly covered at 325 degrees or until meat is tender, approximately two hours.