pre-party preparation
When you give a dinner party, you don't always have to cook the main dish the night or the day before. You can plan dishes which take only half an hour to make, from start to finish. But if you do cook ahead, which is good to do either the night before or on Sunday, you ought always to plan main dishes which have sauces and are better for being warmed over. The soups you serve can often be combinations of canned ones, improved by the addition of cream, sherry, herbs, spices, and other seasonings. There's no point in fixing those ahead of time. But soups, and cooked dishes you wish to serve cold must be prepared ahead, even if you only put the cans on ice.

end of meal
For dessert you will usually plan fruit, cheese and crackers, or pastry. Buy the pastry from a bakery that you know has good products. Some­times, you'll serve salad with a good cheese or a cheese dressing instead of dessert. Prepare the salad greens the night before so they will be crisp and cool for the dinner.

that kitchen list
It may seem to you that I have been relatively casual in this sample schedule because I seem to have taken it for granted that all staples are on hand. This has to be taken for granted. That pad on the kitchen wall, on which you list all staples the moment you discover you need them, is even more important to you than to the household with a full-time housekeeper. Every time you shop on the way home from work, or when you telephone a big order on Saturday morning, you include everything on the staple list. You haven't time, especially before a party, to go running out to the delicatessen for the items you find missing.

your bar
Your bar supplies must be kept track of in the same way, and for the same reasons. If you're limited for storage space, you check soda, bitters, liquor more often and buy more often.