Food to Flowers

After reading Lulu Power's easy entertaining tips in this month's Sunset magazine, I knew I had to have her book. It arrived yesterday and I know this will be a book I reference for years. Lulu is a former caterer to the celebs and now has written a book essentially on party planning and all that goes with it. After just reading the first few pages, I am shaking my head at some of the major mistakes I let happen at Jon's graduation party we hosted last year.

So far, here are some of my favorite bits of Lulu's advice (paraphrased):

-Store extra ice in the washing machine if you don't have enough room in the freezer or coolers.
-Chill wine in 20 minutes by emerging in a half filled bucket of ice water with a handful of kosher salt.
-Offer a beverage to guests right away. People feel more comfortable holding something-especially if they don't know anyone at the party.
-Attach a kitchen timer to your apron.
-Write directly on white porcelain with a Sharpie to give dishes a more personal touch. (Menu, Welcome, Names, etc) It wipes right off.
-To keep mugs or serving ware warm, fill them with hot water while drink/ food is being prepared and then once food is ready to transfer into their respective dishes, it is already hot. (Obvi get rid of water and dry)
-Infuse sugar with vanilla beans, it takes one week and is a dream to bake with.