How to have a swell dinner party!

1) Have a house that is a complete disaster and has not been cleaned since maybe the previous Halloween. (very scary)
2) Have your husband/chef be out of town for the past couple of days.
3) Invite a bunch of people over you know pretty well, but maybe have never had over all at the same time before. Hope you can remember how many people said they will come.

Here's what will happen:
A) Your fabulous friend Annie, known for her incredible soups and stews, will volunteer to make Columbian Chicken Stew and show up with said stew, all the accoutrements, so that you can clean the Haunted House and only need to provide salad (mixed greens with broccoli and tomatoes in lemon vinaigrette), cornbread, and dessert (currant cookies, we keep the dough in the freezer on the ever ready, and a Mrs. Rizzo's Lemon cake leftover from Wedneday's birthday party) and some fruit salad (mango, tangelo, kiwi).

b) Other fabulous friends will bring delicious appetizers - melon wrapped in prosciutto, and furthermore volunteer to take care of Coco during the French Expedition.

C) Wine, including the ever popular Veramonte SB will show up.

D) It will be a sunny day.

E) John will get back just as the dinner is served.

It will be a swell party.