Potluck planning tips take the stress out of entertaining

(ARA) - Hosting a potluck dinner is a great way to ensure that all your guests will have something they enjoy, while taking the pressure off of you, the host or hostess, to prepare that perfect meal all by yourself. When your guests bring a dish with them, you can escape from a day spent in the kitchen and spend more time relaxing, preparing and actually enjoying the pleasure of entertaining.

While in theory it seems that calling your guests and asking them to bring a dish may be all the planning necessary, there are some steps you can take to ensure your dinner party goes off without a hitch. No one wants 10 different types of salad and no main entree or worse yet, no dessert.

Incorporating a potluck into your entertaining schedule this year is a great way to learn more about what your friends and family enjoy, allowing them to still take pleasure in your company and their own traditional recipes simultaneously.

Planning tips for a perfect potluck:

* Develop a guest list - One of the best things about entertaining is surrounding yourself with all the people who mean the most to you. While you may be tempted to invite all friends from just one group, invite people who know you, but don't necessarily know each other. This makes for an interesting dynamic and allows your friends to intermingle and develop further friendships of their own. Variety is the spice of life. Don't worry about the dynamic; your friends all have you in common and they will enjoy the opportunity to mix and mingle.

* Come up with a theme - While not necessary, coming up with a theme adds another element of fun to the average dinner party. Start your own tradition by coming up with a common theme in the food, decorations and even in the clothing you and your guests wear. Your guests don't need to have culinary school experience to make the perfect dish. Whether you chose to have guests bring their childhood favorites, or you go for something like a south of the border fiesta, totally 80's, or spring-inspired theme, you will add a signature flair to your evening that will be remembered for years to come.

* Start inviting guests a month prior to the event - Although this may seem a bit early, when planning a dinner party, it's important to give guests adequate time to prepare. This also takes the stress out of the planning process for you so that nothing needs to be done last minute. Come up with an easy-to-make invitation, whether in e-mail form or traditional print on paper type, and begin sending them out. To come up with an accurate number of those attending, ask guests to RSVP no later than a week before the potluck date.

* Assign dishes - You want to make sure the right amount and type of food shows up the day of the event. The important part about assigning dishes for a potluck is allowing guests the freedom to bring the dish of their choosing. If any of your guests have a cooking degree, you may want to suggest they bring something out of the ordinary, exposing your other guests to their fine cooking. To help sort out the dishes, divide guests into lists of those bringing appetizers or salad, main dishes or desserts and then double check a week or so out to make sure no one is bringing the same thing. Or, you can also include a RSVP card with a spot to fill in the dish with your invitation.

* Make your own party favors - One really fun idea is to have all your guests send you the title of their favorite song or two. Burn them into a CD to play during dinner, then make extra copies and use them as favors - you will create a great memory for them to take with them.

* Provide an assortment of to-go containers - One of the best parts about entertaining for both you and the guest is being able to enjoy leftovers the next day. In preparation for this, purchase an assortment of lidded take-home containers and you will be all set.

* Most importantly ... have fun - All too often it's easy to get bogged down in the stress of planning and you end up missing out on all the fun while it is going on. Kick back and relax. After all, no matter what happens, these are people who you care about and who care about you in return. Even if things run slightly amok, these are the moments that spur great memories.

Information in this article was provided by Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Seattle. Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Seattle offers culinary arts and patisserie and baking training programs in Seattle. To learn more about the class offerings, visit Chefs.edu/Seattle for more information. (Le Cordon Bleu does not guarantee employment or salary.)

Courtesy of ARAcontent