Demo Reel

Hallmark Home & Family

tODAY IN NASHVILLE

LIVE @ 9 Memphis

Featured in CapitAl One: Learn and Grow

Prep Ahead

If you’re feeling adventurous and want to try something new, test a recipe before your party. If it’s going to keep you in the kitchen too long, it probably isn’t worth it.

Blogger for The Welcoming Table and dinner party enthusiast Sandi Haustein keeps it close to home. 

“Choose two to three recipes as your go-tos,” she says. “Maybe it’s your mom’s lasagna or your killer street tacos. Pick recipes you’re known for and know almost by heart. When you know your dish backward and forward, it gives you more mental space to enjoy your guests.”

She also suggests that you clean and set the table a day ahead of time. 

“Make your dessert or salad early so you can focus on more time-consuming dishes right before guests arrive,” she says. Getting as much done ahead of time as you can takes the stress off of you and leaves room for any mishaps that might happen.”

Entertaining expert Jim Norton says getting prep out of the way early is important because dinner parties are about more than the food.

“Your guests are there to enjoy your delicious meal, but they also want to spend time with you.”

[READ MORE AT CAPITAL ONE]

At Home Memphis & Mid South

the book “four seasons of entertaining”