Informal Entertainment

Your chances for a successful party are much greater if you key your efforts to your own belongings and service rather than struggle to meet the exacting demands of the kind of dinner which has just been described.

Your standards need not be lowered in the least. ) Plan a menu which will simplify last-minute preparation and subsequent serving. Offer fewer courses and put several kinds of food on one platter.

But please do not let your guests sit, trying to make conversation, with a gradually congealing slice of meat before them, while waiting longingly for the vegetables and the reluctant gravy boat to follow.

If you must rely on indifferent service, or if your harassed cook is trying to pinch-hit as a waitress, plan to serve the main course yourself from an attractively arranged platter.

For informal meals, when the hostess may be both waitress and cook, it pays to spend lots of time planning menus that can be prepared in advance and served with little fuss.

Here again, in order that food will reach the table at the right temperature, it is wise to choose co-operative equipment such as covered dishes -but do remember to allow a place to put hot lids-double dishes with provision underneath for ice or hot water, and a samovar arrangement for hot drinks.

For both service and removal, a cart may facilitate matters, especially if there are no children trained to help unobtrusively. Deputizing your guests invites chaos, and should, except in extreme emergencies, be avoided.

When service is completely lacking, it is sensible to decide well in advance what concessions will achieve the most peaceful and satisfying conditions for everyone. Plates, already prepared and garnished, can be brought into the dining area on a tray or cart.

If the meal is a hot one, we find this scheme impractical for more than four people. For a larger number of guests, attractive platters and casseroles of food may be placed at each end of the table, so that serving responsibilities are divided $ but whatever the meal, be sure to serve hot foods hot and cold foods cold.

There are many devices for keeping foods hot during a meal and while it is true that food is always best when served just as it comes from the stove, the informal hostess should not scorn such heating aids as electric trays, candle warmers, chafing dishes or electric skillets.

 Be sure, though, that none of these devices allows the food to boil or permits steam to form. If it does, crusty foods go limp and sauces may become either too thick or too thin.

Try iced platters or an ice tray, for chilled foods. For a buffet, serve dramatic-looking meats en croute, and chaud-froid. Both are "insulators" which will keep foods from drying out.