1. THE CENTER OF IT ALL
Decorate your table with a centerpiece to establish a mood. Lisa Hadesman and her husband, Yehia Farug, entertain often, taking advantage of seasonal items to create stunning centerpieces that fit in with ethnic fare they enjoy serving. Here branches studded with fresh figs are laid directly on the table for drama, and complemented with bowls of herbed olives.
2. PLACES, EVERYONE
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If your gathering is large enough to call for place cards, put them in a variety of photo frames.
3. TALK THAT TALK
To start conversation around the table, Chicago interior designer D.D. McClendon, owner of Brava Designs, ties small tags with pretty ribbons to the stems of her wine glasses. On the tags, she writes the names of authors or movie stars or the titles of books or movies to get people chatting about what they’ve read or seen or what they plan to see and read.
4. IT SITS WELL
If your table is small and you are afraid that your guests won’t fit comfortably around it, avoid using place mats so you can put place settings closer together. Most wooden tables will be fine if you polish well before and after and use coasters for drinks. Use some chairs that are a bit smaller for your skinnier guests.
5. GUESS WHO?
Wow your friends. Have a surprise guest over. It can be an old friend who has moved away or a celebrity for whom you may have to pay a fee.
6. FASHION PLATE
Dress for comfort, ease and elegance. For Chicago fashion designer Maria Rodriguez (pictured), it’s easiest to move around in a long, flowing dress. But she offers a bit of advice on dressing for any party: “Do all your prep work before you get dressed so you don’t spill things all over yourselfand stick to black since it doesn’t show stains.” (See Fashion, pg. 42.)
7. ETERNAL FLAMES
Create a mood with candlelight. It’s the easiest, fastest and most effective way to up the ambience of any room, says designer Rodriguez. Candles are most dramatic in large numbers, where they make a dazzling impression. Rodriguez collects long-stemmed candleholders, so she’s always ready to put this precept into action. In summer, when she can’t use her dining room fireplace, she fills it with this collection and lights the candles en masse for show-stopping drama.
8. IN LIVING COLOR
Make the dinner table look tempting with color and form. Vibrant colors and unusual shapes attract attention because they make the table interesting, says Lisa Hadesman. Start with vivid dishes in unique shapes and build your table setting from there. Plus, these dishes are still neutral enough to complement a wide variety of foods. This is a consideration for Hadesman and husband Yehia Farug because they often make exotic dishes that reflect their individual cultures (she’s Jewish and he’s Egyptian).
9. GLASS ACT
Make mini-arrangements of flowers in vintage juice glasses. Place one at each setting or set them in a cluster at the center of your table. Check antiques stores, flea markets and yard sales for interesting cups.
10. THEME YOUR PARTY
For casual dining have a bistro theme party, as Chicago florist Bill Heffernan sometimes does. On the table use place mats, baskets of bread, sausages, olives and colored glassware, and lay napkins over the backs of chairs. Or take some tips from Chicago designer Michael Anthony, who suggests starting with a theme so you have a common denominator that acts as an ice breaker when you mix a diverse group of guests. “It encourages conversation and interaction,” he says. For a Halloween party, he insisted on costumes. For a non-holiday evening, he asked guests to come as a twosome: “One couple came as a chest of drawers.” (Use your imagination.) For a Memorial Day party, his menu featured an all-American feast of hamburgers, hot dogs and appropriate accompaniments, red, white and blue decorations and a dance band playing on his deck. For his monthly “Dysfunctional Sunday Group,” invitees order their favorite takeout food, then help themselves to a buffet while they watch the favorite movies they’ve brought. “We also save time to go around the group and let everyone complain about anything,” he says.
11. CHILL IN THE AIR
Use your space and equipment well,
making the most of components already in your home. For instance, transform a second sink that isn’t critical to meal preparation into a sunken tub for chilling sodas, wine or beer. Fill the tub with ice, leaving the drain protected but open. Replenish the ice as it melts and drains. This technique guarantees consummate chilling prowess.
12. LISTEN TO THE MUSIC
Music can help set the right mood for a party, particularly at the beginning, as guests arrive. Mix up the musical styles from R&B to classical to jazz and hip-hop, or focus on one type of sound. Sharon O’Connor started a clever business, Menus & Music, that pairs a theme of music with food through cookbooks with dozens of recipes and CDs or cassettes. Examples include “Rock & Roll Diner,” with recipes from real diners and music such as “Mustang Sally,” “My Guy” and “You Send Me,” and “Dinners for Two,” with food from such swank places as the Inn at Little Washington, Timberhill Ranch and The Point, and music by Chopin, Mozart, Vivaldi and Shostakovich. For more information, call 800-444-9515.
13. CONDIMENTS, ETC.
Serve a wonderful entree such as shrimp, chicken or lamb curry with a delicious array of condiments that you place in small, pretty bowls. These can be grouped on a large tray and passed or put in the center of the table in a Lazy Susan. Mix condiments with relishes. Some choices: Mandarin oranges, dried apricots, dry-roasted peanuts, raisins, sliced bananas or apples, chutney, candied ginger bits, shredded coconut and lemon grass.
14. GOLDEN OLDIES
Have a dinner with golden oldies food that many people have stopped cooking and eating for health reasons but remember fondly. Consider: water chestnuts with a bacon wrapping, or little meatballs or hot dogs for an hors d’oeuvre; quiche Lorraine or onion soup with a gooey cheese topping for a first course; beef Wellington or chicken Kiev for the main course; a side dish of string bean and onion soup casserole; and a devil’s food or coconut cake a la mode for dessert.
15. I NEED SOME BODIES
If you are making several pizzas, Chinese food, fajitas, wraps or anything that requires advance preparation and lots of chopped items, do what you can ahead and store food in attractive containers that you can leave out by your range while you cook. If you leave out enough stirrers and aprons, you may encourage your guests to come and help, particularly when topping the pizzas.
16. DRINKS ON THE HOUSE
Retailer and New Orleans native Emli Marrero always serves one colorful, fun drink in a pitcher to make the evening more festive. In fall it might be white or red Sangria with sliced fruit; in spring it might be mint juleps poured into her frosted sterling silver cups. The main course might be a large paella and for dessert, a summer or winter bread pudding.
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17. SAME TIME NEXT YEAR
Start an annual tradition such as a break fast for Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement. Other possibilities: any religious dinner, a New Year’s Day brunch, a birthday party for your spouse or best friend, a back-to-work party after summer, a welcome-to-summer party after the winter (even if you don’t have a swimming pool to open), a presidential election night party (every four years), a bring-your-best-leftovers dinner the day after Thanksgiving, and a Valentine’s Day dinner just for your sweetie.
18. IT’S IN THE BOOK
A handmade sign-in book is a great way to save guests’ recollections of your special event. Whether it’s a wedding or a dinner party–ask guests to write a special sentiment and include the menu or your comments, even tuck in photos of the evening–it will become a keepsake. Buy a notebook and personalize the cover or make a simple one with pretty paper. Set it near the entry or pass it among your guests.
19. SHELL WE
Use clam shells as unusual salt and pepper cells. In the center of the table place large ones from which guests may take a pinch, or use small shells at each place.
20. YOU’RE INVITED: Take the time to send a great invitation that reflects the mood of your party. If you want people to dress up, use an invitation that has some black, silver or gold so it sparkles, says stationery store owner Barbara Ruben. If you prefer that your guests dress casually, make the invitation colorful and splashy. The type face and size of the invitation are less significant in setting the tone. With laser printing so affordable, you don’t have to spend a lot to achieve a professional look. Include a phone number for reply rather than “regrets only.”
21. IT’S WHO YOU KNOW Always try to invite a diverse group of guests, varying the ages, professions, political beliefs and ethnic and religious backgrounds to help make the evening livelier. But make sure each guest knows at least one other person in advance for a certain comfort level.
22. POT O’LUCK
Fill terra-cotta pots in different sizes with silverware and napkins for a buffet.
23. PICTURE PERFECT
Photograph guests with an instant camera during cocktail hour. See who they mingle with and use the photos as impromptu place settings at the dinner table.
24. HERE’S TO YOU
Engage people by speaking and making a toast–to the guest of honor if it’s a special occasion or, if it isn’t, simply to someone’s new haircut.
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RESOURCES
Pg. 16: Silver photo frames by Umbra, $7 each, at Art Effect.
Pg. 17: Antique glass cups from antiques stores, flea markets and yard sales.
Pg. 20: Venetian glass pen and ink, $38, at Paper Sources. Guest book supplies for making your own, at Paper Source.