Over the years I have discovered that fulfilling two or three hosting obligations within days of each event is doable, especially when I serve basically the same menu. (My guests don’t know that I made the same dinner or lunch 24 hours earlier for somebody else!) My most recent menu for dinner guests has been salmon with peach salsa topping (you just throw the salsa on top of the salmon, wrap in foil and bake for 25 minutes); cubed potatoes tossed with onion soup mix and olive oil and baked in the oven and a salad of Romaine lettuce, tomatoes, blue cheese crumbs, thin red onion slices and a balsamic vinegar and olive oil dressing. One week I served this same menu three times to different groups of friends who I wanted to entertain. (Since the food was so good, it wasn’t a problem for me or my husband to have this meal multiple times that week!) I got rave reviews on my dinner and the same lovely centerpiece of fresh flowers. A bonus: we got multiple invitations for future dinners at these friends’ homes!

I got this entertaining thing down pat…now! Too bad I didn’t learn my hostess secret years ago. I would have saved a lot of time and effort. Another advantage: I only have to put on my hospitality personality for a few days every once in a while!