It's almost misleading to call "make a list" my #1 dinner party tip. For in fact, I don't just make one list for a dinner party. I always make at least three.
One: the grocery list, which can involve shopping at up to five stores. Yeah, I know. Overboarding is the only way I do things. It's a theme around here.
Two: the task list, which breaks all my dishes down into tasks, so I can figure out what needs to be done when -- how far ahead should I make the cake? Can I set out the crackers an hour ahead so there's less to do in the minutes as people are arriving? This keeps me from getting ready to assemble my mini-cheesesteaks just before people arrive and realizing that not only haven't I baked the rolls yet, the dough needs to sit out for 20 minutes before I can roll it. Eek.
Three: the cheat sheet.
This is the one I used for that Guinness dinner party a couple months back. And, truth be told, I should have made it a smidge more detailed.
Because the reason I make this list and keep it out on the counter during the party is so I don't forget to serve anything. And at the Guinness dinner I totally forgot to set out the green apples with the fondue -- the generic "dippers" note wasn't enough. The asparagus and potatoes and bread certainly fed everyone so it wasn't a tragedy, but still, there's no reason not to serve everything you plan to serve, since that's the point of planning.
But that is, in fact, my #1 dinner party tip. Make a list of everything you're serving and keep it out on the counter during prep.
And really, this note size fits so nicely on the corner of my knife block, I'm plenty motivated to keep it brief. Because making the cheat sheet is also pointless if you put it out on the counter and then end up putting something else on top of it. Not that that's happened to me... very often.
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