How to host a dinner party when strapped for time..

A bit side-tracked in my search for dinner party ideas I found this article in the Sydney Morning Herald .. a reader writes in asking for help. She's in a situation where she has eight guests coming for dinner in the evening but she'll be at work all day.. how does she handle this?

Here's their quick tip - they've also got the recipes they suggest so check out the article if you have time.. it's down the bottom of this post.

"To stop feeling totally out of control and to make the dinner a success, I've learnt it's essential to have the shopping done the day before and have at least part of the meal prepared ahead of time."

Yes, sometimes we forget the most obvious..

Maybe something like this might help too:



The SmartShopper® is a "voice activated" grocery shopping assistant. Through voice recognition you'll be able to input grocery store items throughout the week as you need them. The SmartShopper® is pre-loaded with over 2,500 grocery store items. In addition to food and beverage you will also find household items, cleaning and beauty supplies, office and school supplies, etc.

SmartShopper® is a voice recognition grocery list organizer. Its intuitive interface is fun to use and easy to master. Just push the record buttom, say the name of the item you want to add to the list, and SmartShopper® does the rest; it's as simple as that! There are over 2,500 items in SmartShopper's® library, and it can even learn new items tailored to your lifestyle. SmartShopper® automatically organizes your list into categories, making visits to the store more efficient. Need to make a trip to the bank, post office, or pharmacy? It keeps track of errands as well. SmartShopper® remembers so that you don't have to! The internal thermal printer is ink-free, which means you don't have to worry about replacing messy ink cartridges. SmartShopper®, makes life simpler. Includes 3 paper rolls- 4 AA batteries required, not included- Silver

But back on track I'll continue on my search for more dinner party ideas!

http://www.smh.com.au/news/recipes/midweek-dinner-party/2007/08/20/1187462167058.html

Randa
The Hostess with the Mostess