Dinner Party Tips

Here are a few tips if you want to throw a fabulous dinner party:

Chilling Champagne
If company is coming and you are in a hurry to get the bubbly chilled fast, place the bottle in a champagne bucket filled with a mixture of ice and water. That will get things chilled quickly. If that still isn't fast enough, toss in a handful of salt. The salt helps further reduce the temperature below zero for speed chilling. After all, champagne is best enjoyed at a cool temperature. Don't get all heated when company's coming...cool things off quick!

Setting a Proper Table
Setting a formal table is totally up to the host. I say do whatever suits the party. Make it as formal or as casual as you like. In episode two, I chose to set the table classically. The dinner plate is placed in the center of the setting atop a handmade placemat. To the immediate left of the plate, place your salad fork; to its left, place your dinner fork. If you are serving fish, place your fish fork to the left of the dinner fork. To the right of the dinner plate, place your service knife (with serrated edges facing your plate); to its right, place your fish fork if serving fish; and to its right, place your soupspoon.

I chose to reposition the napkin during each course of this meal. You may not have to re-dress your table between each course, but I thought this was a neat way to keep the table interesting. Get creative and try different ways of folding and presenting your napkin.

Continuing with the place setting, put the bread and butter plate with bread knife above the forks you have arranged. Depending on the beverages you serve, you could have several pieces of stemware on the table. For this party, there were three. The water goblet is to be placed above the dinner knife and slightly to the left. The white wineglass was placed to the right of the water goblet, and finally, the champagne flute was left to float in the overall setting, as my guests were presented these upon their arrival. How easy is this?

Flower Arranging 101
Flower arranging is so easy anyone can do it. I chose an all white color pallet for the flowers at this party. The color choice was based upon the dishware and accessories that I had to work with. I purchased gladiolas, pale roses, miniature ornamental cabbage (kale), lilies, and whatever else my local grocer had. I used all the vessels I could around the Estate to create as many arrangements as possible; after all, I had a grand dining room to fill. Each table setting had its own arrangement of three pale pink roses with a mini ornamental kale. They were a hit. The center of the table had various heights and elevations of flowers so as not to obstruct my guests' view during dinner. I placed large arrangements of stem-y flowers (like gladiolas) on the buffet for added drama. The next time you want to create an arrangement for your dinner party, just head to the local market and mix it up a bit. Your guests are sure to be delighted!