Dearest Poodleful, Regards, Emily Post

Poodleful believes that the basic rules of entertaining in the '00s have not changed significantly in many years.

However, through the many guests she has had over for dinner, she has some modern advice for fellow hosts and hostesses.

1. One of Poodleful's favorite tips is: Have the guests over AFTER the little darlings are in bed. Poodleful has entertained both ways, with children awake and with children asleep and has discovered that the evening is much more enjoyable for everyone if the two year old is getting her forty winks. Poodleful usually asks guests to arrive for dinner shortly after 8 PM.

2. An entree and a dessert are sufficient for guests. Poodleful and her husband have experimented with the number of courses many times. Some poor guests have suffered through six or seven courses at her earnest but misguided hand. If you must, Poodleful feels like a simple salad, served either before or after the entree is allowable.



3. If you are the guest, please be sure to take something to your hostess. While Poodleful thinks fresh flowers are nicest, if you know that your host and hostess drink, a bottle of wine is also very nice (try to by something original--not expensive but not the cheapest most obvious selection either).


4. Seating arrangements: Traditionally, it goes man-woman-man-woman. But, Poodleful likes to mix things up sometimes, and just to be original, sit woman-woman-man-man, or any other variety. Poodleful feels as if the traditional arrangement is slightly stuffy and kind of awkward at times. And the most important thing about etiquette is that it is supposed to make others as comfortable as possible.

5. Avoid the following foods unless you know your guests fairly well: beets, turnips, shellfish, veal, foie gras, pate, mincemeat pie (Poodleful just included mincemeat pie on the list because she has always HATED it), mushrooms, lots of hot red pepper flakes and any other foods that are not popular with more or less everyone. While you cannot satisfy everyone's palate, there is nothing worse than watching guests fake love for your offerings because they feel as if they have to.
This comes from Poodleful's concrete experience.

6. Lock your dogs (except for Poodleful) in the bathroom close to the time that your guests are scheduled to arrive. Not everyone loves Fluffy as much as you do. (Although everyone loves Poodleful, seriously.)

7. This may seem obvious, but if you are the guest, than MAKE sure that you compliment the chef on their food, whether or not you like it. There is nothing more disappointing than receiving pointers and criticisms about a meal that you have lovingly prepared for a guest. (Poodleful does not mind criticism if she is close personal friends to the guest, this is mostly applicable to fairly formal circumstances.)