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"  People stop by the Good Housekeeping Test Kitchen to ask us for entertaining advice all of the time but recently someone asked me whom I turn to when I need cooking or hosting inspiration. The truth: I&amp;#039;m an entertaining-tip-junkie. I couldn&amp;#039;t choose one divine source of hostess-wisdom among my favorite editors, bloggers, magazines, etc. if I tried. One person I&amp;#039;ve always looked up to, though, is Susan Spungen. She is a brilliant cook, food stylist, recipe developer, editor, author and culinary trailblazer in many ways. This month her new book, What&amp;#039;s A Hostess To Do? 313 Ideas and Inspiration For Effortless Entertaining, hit shelves and obviously I&amp;#039;m obsessed! It reminds me of the vintage hostess/homekeeping handbooks I inherited from my great aunts (you know, the ones girls received as wedding presents in the 1950&amp;#039;s) but with a refreshing modern perspective and sensibility. My copy is already a mess from excessive dog-earing and note-taking. As the weather warms up and friends are coming over more often for casual Sunday dinner or cocktails on the porch, Susan has some fabulous nuggets of entertaining wisdom to keep in mind. I pulled some of my favorites for the book, plus asked Susan to share some of her spring-specific tips. Here what you need to know...  1. Serve An Elegant No-Cook Hors D&amp;#039;Oeuvre  Have a little something for guests to nosh on while you&amp;#039;re preparing the main event; it keeps them content and out of your hair for a bit. &amp;quot;One of the easiest things to set out is a chunk of really fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and some nice crisp fennel wedges with extra-virgin olive oil for dipping,&amp;quot; Susan says.  2. Or Class Up An Old Standby: Crudites!  Tip #94: Choose your veggies wisely, and make the tiny bit of effort to peel and cut carrots, rather than buy a bag of &amp;quot;baby&amp;quot; ones. By doing so, you&amp;#039;ve already classed up this old standby considerably. Browse the vegetable aisle for crunchy produce that appeals to you and makes for a variety of colors and flavors. When it comes to presentation, experiment a little, making sure each spear or slice is accessible (you don&amp;#039;t want to encourage more hands touching the food than is necessary). Try standing vegetables upright in glasses or glass jars, or offering a few different compatible dips.  3. Keep Cocktails Simple  &amp;quot;I love Lillet Blanc as an aperitif,&amp;quot; says Susan. Pick up a bottle of the French aperitif wine at your local liquor store\u2014all you have to do is chill it and pour it, no mixing or shaking involved! Serve cold Lillet Blanc in small wine glasses, plain or over ice. 4. Spread Out The Snacks Tip #46: People tend to hang around the snack table, chatting and noshing, Even if you have one main buffet set up with food, place little dishes with nuts or any not-too-messy finger food around the room or rooms where you want your guests to linger.  5. Make The First Cut Tip #95: When serving a whole cheese on a platter, make the first cut. Guests are often too timid to be the first, and the cheese may go uneaten. This is a good rule of thumb for salami, too, or anything whole that&amp;#039;s meant for self-service and not display.  6. Try A Quick Non-Floral Centerpiece DIY flower arrangements\u2014even casual ones!\u2014can be expensive and time consuming, so try a non-floral centerpiece instead. &amp;quot;I like to use a compote, bowl, or platter filled with the first fruit of the season,&amp;quot; says Susan, &amp;quot;try a bowl of apricots or cherries; guests can eat them for dessert, too!&amp;quot;  7. Keep Sides Simple But Interesting Tip #182: Sides can be incredibly simple and straightforward and still complement the star player perfectly. Aim for providing contrasting flavors and textures, and color as well. Think of something cooling to counter something hot (fluffy jasmine rice with a spicy shrimp stir-fry) or something crunchy alongside something comfortingly soft ( a green bean vinaigrette with a braised brisket). Also, for your own sake, plan to make only one labor-intensive dish (if any!), and balance that one with easy side-dish preparations to play the supporting role.  8. Choose The Right Plate Color Tip #158: Solid White or cream-colored platters go well with everything and flatter any food. Greens are also flattering, especially for vegetables. Blue is a tricky color for food, and you don&amp;#039;t often see deep or bright solid blue serving platters, through a white and blue patter can be pretty for dessert.  9. Take Five Minutes Tip #29: Schedule a small break in the action about an hour before your guests are due so you can change your clothes and perhaps wash the flour out of your hair. Chances are you&amp;#039;ll be busy up to the last minute, but if you schedule a break, you can make sure you&amp;#039;re not wearing your cooking sweats when guests arrive. It&amp;#039;s okay to still be calmly fiddling in the kitchen at party time, but you want to be fresh and ready to greet guests.  10. Planning for Plan B Tip #272: Be prepared to either bring the party indoors or reschedule if the weather doesn&amp;#039;t cooperate. If the whole point of having the party is to be outside provide a rain date right from the start. That way, guests can pencil in the second date as well. Just make sure to keep people informed if forecasts are iffy as the day approaches. If you&amp;#039;re going to move your party indoors, make sure your indoor space is large (and clean) enough to accommodate your crowd, and that you&amp;#039;ve thought about alternatives to your outdoor set up: how to arrange the bar, the food, and the seating indoors. As rattling and disappointing as this change of plan may seem, remember it&amp;#039;s really the people that make the party, and everyone will have a good time regardless of the weather. [Excerpted from &amp;quot;What&amp;#039;s a Hostess To Do?&amp;quot; by Susan Spungen (Artisan Books). Copyright 2013. Illustrations by Sun Young Park.] "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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