Donna's Entertaining Blog

Once again, to my daughter's delight, I've been selected as one of the room moms for her class. Besides helping to run the party, it also falls to me to organize the efforts of the other classroom volunteers. Tomorrow we will be getting together to plan the Halloween party (just a little over three weeks away!) We have so many volunteers contributing ideas, snacks, and time, I expect that this year's parties will be great. If you're a new room parent, this article will tell you how to plan a class party.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, and in support of that cause, I wanted to highlight ways that we can raise awareness while we entertain. There are many companies that will donate a portion of the proceeds from sales of pink products sold specifically for this cause. Here are my picks for pink products you can use while entertaining that will benefit the cause both in terms of awareness and financial donations. Now excuse me while I go schedule my mammogram.
_{Photo © Price Grabber}

Cakes have been backing up in my mailbox to the point where I just had to share. I've posted seven reader submitted cakes today, including two from cake-making-newbies. It proves that you should never be shy about trying one of these theme cakes, because even a newbie can make something delectable. Enjoy!

Star Wars Theme Birthday Cake
Tinkerbell Birthday Cake
Thomas the Tank Engine Birthday Cake
Race Cars Theme Birthday Cake
Winnie the Pooh Cupcake Cake
Hello Kitty Birthday Cake
Chickie Baby Shower Cake
_{Photo © Nicole}

Happy October! This is the month where grownups like to play as much as the little kids, judging by the overwhelming number of costumes for adults I've seen in the stores. As for the kids, mine are well aware that we've entered prime candy season as we witnessed while walking through our local Target store and mall earlier today. This raised the inevitable question of when we'll be heading out to pick our pumpkins. Of course, that leads to the pumpkin decorating party, the candy buying, and the costume planning. And so the holiday season begins. (I won't even talk about the Christmas decorations we saw in the department stores today!)
_{Photo © Donna Pilato}

Flavor experts Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg are back at it. The pair who brought us the 2007 IACP Cookbook of the Year, "What to Drink with What You Eat", have now written a book that could easily be called "What to Eat with What You Eat", except it's more complicated than that, earning the title "The Flavor Bible." If you've ever wondered what would be the best way to use that large hunk of Gouda cheese you were tempted to buy at the market, or what would be the perfect menu to serve your guests on a chilly autumn day, this book just may provide the answer to those questions. However, don't expect these authors to give you recipes to solve those culinary challenges. This review will tell you more about how this book does help with these and similar situations.
_{Photo © Hachette Books Group}

I checked my calendar for next week, and realized the girls will be home for two days because the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah begins on Monday night. After getting over the shock that they already have vacation days, when it seems like they just started school yesterday, I was happy to look forward to celebrating vicariously another New Year, even though we're not Jewish. In the Jewish faith it's a very spiritual time with a lot of reflection and family togetherness - who can't appreciate that? It's also a celebration with its own special recipes that include honey, apples, and other sweet items representing sweet wishes for the New Year. I plan to put a few of these holiday dishes on my menu next week. If you'd like to try a few recipes from this special holiday visit About.com's Judaism Guide Lisa Katz for Rosh Hashanah recipes. If you have more of a sweet tooth Carroll Pellegrinelli, About.com's Baking Guide, has a tempting selection of Rosh Hashanah desserts from which you can choose.

As soon as I heard about this tool for creating attractive flower arrangements, I knew that it was something to look at more closely. It's such a simple idea, but it makes flower arranging for the novice so simple. Anyone who has struggled to make that basic supermarket bouquet look special, will want to explore getting one of these reusable devices for herself. Read more about it in this review.
_{Photo © Donna Pilato}

I usually receive photos from readers of cakes they've made and would like to brag about. Today I wanted to share a photo sent to me by my friend Lisa, of a First Holy Communion centerpiece she created for her daughter's party. No single element in it is that difficult to create (although it took some time), but all of the elements came together to create a beautiful look for the party tables. I love seeing how creative friends and readers can get with centerpieces, which is why I'd like to invite other readers to send in their own centerpiece creation photos. If I receive enough photos I will create a new gallery just for centerpieces in the Cake Brag Book. Follow these directions for submitting your own centerpiece or cake photos.
_{Photo © Lisa McFadden}

This week I address an etiquette question which has puzzled many diners. Just what should you do when you drop your utensil in a restaurant or at a formal dinner party? Should you make the effort to pick it up, or just leave it on the floor? Read on to learn my answer to this dilemma of the dropped fork. If you have other etiquette questions that have been troubling you, turn to these additional resources:

Mind Your Table Manners for Business Situations
How to Set a Formal Table
Take the Etiquette Quiz

I'm lucky that I don't usually need to talk about gloomy topics on this site because parties are happy occasions. Unfortunately, this week it's pretty hard to ignore all of the bad news coming from Wall Street. It even made me reconsider the wisdom of hosting a big party next month for my daughter, and whether it wouldn't be wiser to scale things back a bit. So, I'm wondering, have you changed your upcoming party plans because of current economic conditions? Vote in this poll, and if you're scaling back your plans, share with us in the comments section how you plan to that.