Imagine the end of a golden autumn day, after you and your friends have spent the afternoon browsing antique shops. The chilly air, combined with walking all day, has whetted everyone's appetites. Your mouth begins to open and the words slip out before you have a chance to catch them: "Why don't we all have dinner at my house?"
Of course everyone agrees that it's a great idea. In a panic, your brain works double-time, mentally sorting through your pantry. Hmmm, there's some pasta and breadsticks that I always keep on hand. I know we have some fresh vegetables I keep around for snacking. And there's that cake I bought on sale about a month ago and froze. Maybe it won't be a total disaster.
You finalize the menu on the way home and are ready to spring into action. You plan to serve pasta with vegetables sautéed in garlic and your best olive oil, salad, breadsticks, a bottle of red wine which you always keep in the cellar (just in case), and since one of your friends is pregnant, you also have some apple juice to offer her instead of wine. The cake can defrost while dinner is cooking, and you can pull out salsa and chips to snack on in the meantime. Your only regret is that the dinner is pretty ordinary, and you usually love to prepare nicer meals for guests. You'll just have to "dress things up" to make dinner feel more special.
Upon arriving home, the first step is to light the fireplace (if you have one), to create a cozy mood. Next you need to set out the chips and salsa . The chips could be served in the bag with the salsa in the plastic bowl you use when it's 'just family'. But to make things special, use a nice basket lined with a linen napkin for the chips and serve the salsa in a scooped out green pepper in the basket. If you don't have a green pepper, consider using the Lenox candy dish you received as a wedding present or one of the other items that are normally hiding in your china cabinet. Perhaps you have a Staffordshire fruit bowl - what an elegant chip server. Be creative! What are you saving those pieces for anyway?
As you set the table, pull out a linen tablecloth or matching placemats and napkins. Use napkin rings at each setting. They can be matching or eclectic. I have a diverse collection of napkin rings in a variety of materials including plastic, seashells, china, wood, silver, crystal, and metals. Sometimes I use matching rings, other times I give everyone a different one to match their personality as I see it. They make great conversation pieces, take up very little room to collect, and can be fairly inexpensive to put together a nice assortment. You can even make your own out of simple materials such as raffia or ribbons.
