Party Planning 102: What really happened

As you all know, this past weekend was my husband's birthday. Last week's postings gave a general overview of the party planning process, regardless of the type and size of event. This week, I'll cover what actually happened for this particular party.

Several days before the event, I make 4 lists:

1. who is coming

2. menu

3. shopping list

4. a to-do list of party prep. This includes food to be made and specific house-cleaning tasks. The to-do list is broken down into tasks to be completed 2 days before, 1 day before, and the morning of the party.

Whenever possible, I make dishes ahead of time. Two days before this party, I started on the devilled eggs. The first night I hard boiled the eggs, and let them sit overnight in the fridge. This makes for easy de-shelling the next day.

The night before the event, I sliced open the hard boiled eggs with a ridged cutter, popped out the yolks and make the yellow mixture (what is that concoction called?). I beat the yolks with some Miracle Whip, Hellman's and spicy/sweet mustard. Then everything is covered and goes back into the fridge for another night. Yep, you read that right. I use both Hellman's and Miracle Whip. I'm all mavericky like that. That's how I roll, okay?

The day of the party, I piped the yolk mixture into the eggs with my Wilton Dessert Decorator Pro, sprinkled the eggs with paprika and set them out. It may seem silly to spend all that time on a dish that's devoured in 4.5 minutes once it hits the table, but gosh, the time I get to spend gazing adoringly at my creation is totally worth it. Devilled eggs have never looked so beautiful.

Of course, I've never seen Martha's devilled eggs, so until I do, I'm declaring mine to be the awesomest around. That's how I roll!