I agree that you need three stations, use the island for the buffet , set desserts up in your dining room and have a third station for nibblies and drinks. This way you reduce congestion and people can mingle. I am a firm believer in only doing a plated type meal if you can offer everyone a proper seat. If people are going to have to eat with plates on their laps then I suggest all foods be fork friendly. ie they either are bite size or can be cut just with a fork. I did a Greek themes buffet for a goup of about 40 last year and it was great. I served a greek salad. greek meatballs, roasted veggies and chiken souvlaki but I took the meat off the skewers. As ilovepink mentions, Lasagna works well. So you could do an Italian theme with salad, lasagna, meatballs etc. You should have some drinks and nibblies ready for your guests and allow them to mingle a bit before dinner. An hour is good. I would suggest three , maybe four choices of appetizers. Cheese selection , shrimps and sauce and a hot finger food as an example. Tips to remember Plan your menu out two weeks before, include appetizers, main buffet, desserts, beverages Make a detailed list of everything you need and from that complete a shopping list. Buy all non perishibles a week before Buy perishibles a day or two before. Make or prep as much as you can the two days before the party. By prep I mean chop, cut, partially cook...as much as you can Set out the glasses , dishes , napkins , cutlery ,serving dishes, a day or two before. Do not leave any house cleaning for the day of the party. Make a detailed list of every thing you have to make or do the day of and sort the list by time. This will force you to make sure you have thought of everything and will help you understand if you have left your self enough time. 8:00 empty dishwasher 8:30 Prepare casserole 9:00 ...... 3:30 casserole in the oven 4:30 casserole out of the oven Don't be rushed at the last minute. Leave at least 2 hours before your guests arrive take a bath, and get yourself ready, have a glass of wine in the tub. Most important be relaxed and enjoy yourself. Your guest will remember you more than your food. Oh and don't forget music! Best tip....when you think you know sorta what you want to do then post your menu here, even if it;s a rough cut, we'll help with additiong deletions, tips....and recipes. Entertaining can be very easy if you are well prepared and relaxed.

Shanghaimom, Mgoblue85 is right that the VitaMix is far more than a blender. It's hard to describe an appliance that does so much so well, kinda hard to believe something is still so well-made and well-supported in this day and age, but it's true. Those of us who've been using them for years attest to that. If you belong to Costco, the best advice I can give you is to take one home and try it! Like any new multi-purpose appliance, you won't get it perfect the first time you try making something, but keep it for a few weeks or months while you learn, and if you don't care for it, Costco will take it back! The thing is SO powerful that the friction of the spinning blades is what cooks the soups, there is no heating element involved. That power is also what creates such silky, silky soups. Your split-pea, pumpkin, or carrot-ginger soups will be so much better you will be convinced in your own kitchen. Also,, since it combines things so finely, you are able to add all kinds of nutritious things to your recipes, but you don't taste them separately. I know that sounds confusing, but a good example is a fruit smoothie. When I make these, in addition to the fruits of choice, I can use juice, yogurt, kefir, milk, or other fluid, and then add the extras such as a handful of baby spinach, a few leaves of kale, or raw veggies like carrots or tomatoes. It's amazing how much you can load veggies into a fruit smoothie and no one can tell. That's great for getting veggies into folks who aren't so crazy about them. When you do soups, you can add (and hide) tofu for protein balance, or cooked chicken, shrimp etc. If you don't wall it all smooth, but having texture, all you do is save out some ingredients and add them the last few seconds. Desserts are great, too. You can literally make ice cream in about 45 seconds! or Sorbets, Sherbets of all flavors. I strive to have as nearly a no-food-waste kitchen as possible, and the VitaMix also helps with that. As I mentioned earlier in the thread, I don't throw out apple cores, skins, and seeds any longer. All the Vitamin C loaded strawberry leaves go right into my smoothies. No orphan veggies, cheese bits, tofu leftovers, even coffee gets frozen and it's all used. One thing you would learn quickly is that it doesn't matter how "ugly" appearing something is, something you wouldn't serve as is, but can be great tasting in a VitaMix concoction.

I am right there with you Kat. I am very much a purist when it comes to snack foods. Actually many foods. I can't stand seasoned chips,crackers or popcorn. I also don't like things glopped together. Yes I will eat cake and ice cream but on separate plates. I don't like my food swimming in things. I am a dipper whether it is salad dressing,most gravy or pancake syrup. Even though I am purist I am an adventurous diner. I love ethnic foods, organ meats and seafood. Just don't prepare in a slimey, mush-like or a creamy, goopy, wet casserole concoction. When you start adding things like chocolate chips to muffins they are no longer muffins. Those are cupcakes. There are only two kinds of bagels...plain and egg. If they haven't been boiled they are NOT bagels. They are donut shaped rolls. Sprinkling of seeds can be tolerable. There is no such thing as a whole wheat English Muffin. Vegetable are delicious. they don't need fake cheese sauce or be covered in grease. If you need to put sauce on a steak it's time to learn to choose or serve a better cut of meat. If you eat steak without pink ... you don't like red meat. Leave that nice ribeye for someone who appreciates it. Put ketchup on it and I want to kill you. Mayo is EVIL. Rant over. Thank you.

The only blended drinks I like are Vodka Gimlets and some other frozen cocktails. I believe the best way to both lose or gain weight is to eat real food. Indulge a bit. Have a real milkshake. Have a slice of pie. Why drink fruit and vegetable concoctions when so much freshness is available right now to eat?