Impromptu Dinner Party
Another item from The List, Gentle Reader.
The Task: Throw a dinner party within 72 hours of the desire to throw a dinner party striking. I’ve managed to do one within 24 hours, years ago, but I had a captive guest list in those days.
The Execution: I happen to be dog-sitting for my mother this week, while she’s in New Orleans. I love entertaining at Maman’s – it’s a gorgeous, well-decorated place. I thought a dinner party would be just the thing to liven up a week mostly devoted to dog-walking. The trouble is – she lives miles from civilization.
I mentioned the idea to Miss K, and we started coming up with a guest list – with a few caveats:
We wanted an entirely queer guest list
We wanted to invite people that we either hardly ever see, or who are outside our normal circles
We both had to agree on each guest
We had to be reasonably certain that all our guests would enjoy each other’s company.
Naturally, this made things nearly impossible, so we (reluctantly) threw out number 1, and began combing our acquaintances and friends-lists, in search of people who might make for scintillating conversation – and who lived close enough to be able to make it. That we both agreed on, and didn’t know that well.
I know we’ve just met, but I’m throwing a dinner party in the middle of nowhere…
We sent round one of invitations – our strictly queer list – and got turned down across the board – apparently, it was a busy weekend. Round two went slightly better – we got one yes and one maybe. We refused to compromise on either of our two remaining rules, and – a little resigned – sent out a third round, without much hope. As they say, third time’s the charm, and we were able to fill out our table.
Preparations were awfully easy, after that – we had decided on sweet and sour chicken because we had most of the ingredients to hand.
Both K and I were running late, so dinner wasn’t quite on time when our guests arrived. She hustled me out of the kitchen to fix drinks, greet people, and be utterly charming.
K took care of finishing the meal – it’s a good thing, too, as I am rubbish behind the stove. She finished the dish, we served it up, and engaged in fascinating chat and gossip. It was a wonderful evening.
The Verdict: Well, apart from the difficulty in getting anyone to show, this was exactly like any other dinner party. It went really smoothly, all things considered, and was a fantastic night – but it wasn’t anything really out of the ordinary. So great for being a dinner party, but only bleh as far as list items go.
Tagged: Entertaining, Fabulous Parties, Miss K, The List, Whimsy 
