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"  The multitasking hostess in her natural habitat, a temple to good taste and tasteful goodies. Actress Amy Sedaris is a cult favorite. On Comedy Central&amp;#039;s Strangers with Candy, she found the existential absurdity in clowning for the camera, but she&amp;#039;s an accomplished writer, too (she even shares an Obie Award with her brother David for one of a series of plays they co-wrote about their eccentric family). Her best-selling I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence (Warner Books) is a quirky look at latter-day partygiving among the unstarched set in Greenwich Village, where this alumna of Chicago&amp;#039;s Second City lives with a rabbit named Dusty and her imaginary boyfriend, Ricky (or his ghost). As the holidays drew near, it seemed natural to check in with Sedaris for tips on entertaining.  1  --&amp;amp;gt;   --&amp;amp;gt;      Left to right: Is Sedaris&amp;#039;s I Like You a cookbook or a humor book\u2014or both? Either way, it hit the New York Times best-seller list; Sedaris voiced the animated role of Cinderella in Shrek the Third.  Photo: Shrek the Third\u2122 &amp;amp;amp; \u00A9 2007: Courtesy Dreamworks Animation   10 Questions What is it that you especially like about entertaining?  I like the planning. I like that 15 minutes before people arrive. I like obsessing about every detail. I like pointing out to every guest how I went out of my way for them. I like showing them my three tip jars. I The multitasking hostess in her natural habitat, a temple to good taste and tasteful goodies. Michael Inguli even love cleaning up afterwards. I don&amp;#039;t like theme parties. I go all out for the holidays, but that&amp;#039;s really it.  What makes a good guest?  People who also entertain make great guests. A good guest shows up on time. A good guest doesn&amp;#039;t show up with cheap booze or something that is going to take the hostess out of circulation when guests arrive. A good guest doesn&amp;#039;t overdo it\u2014he/she knows better than to crash on your couch, especially when people are on it. Good guests bring party enhancers\u2014they don&amp;#039;t leave with them. A good guest does not bring uninvited escorts, especially not cops, or priests. Speaking of which, what makes a good party couch?  One that doesn&amp;#039;t tip when an overweight person sits on it. I personally like a couch with arms that can hold a round plate. How do you decide? Buffet or sit-down meal? Porcelain or plastic? Chopsticks or knife and fork? Matching chairs or not?  Never chopsticks. I have had both buffets and sit-downs. I&amp;#039;ve rented large tables, and I&amp;#039;ve served food in bowls so people can eat off their laps. I wouldn&amp;#039;t serve chili or soup if it was a stand-up party, only because that stuff usually ends up on my floor and I have a rabbit to think about. And the only things in my apartment that match are my matches. Is there a no-fail dinner menu? One that&amp;#039;s a winner every time?  Porterhouse steak. You can even sell the bone at the end of the night and make some money back. Spanakopita is a sure hit, especially for the vegetarians. How do you cater to guests who have specific food allergies or dietary restrictions?  If they end up eating something that they were allergic to, I take a snapshot and mail it to them in December and say &amp;quot;Hope your holidays are swell.&amp;quot; I keep prescription allergy medicine in my house. Hopefully I knew beforehand that they had allergies. Generally speaking, I don&amp;#039;t make peanut sauce or serve crab claws, just in case. What effect does color have on one&amp;#039;s appetite?  Actually, I choose my menu based on color a lot of times. I love a colorful plate of food, but not necessarily a colorful plate. If I&amp;#039;m serving on Fiestaware, I might not put as much thought into the menu as I would if I were serving dinner on Russel Wright white plates, for example. Are there topics of conversation that guests should avoid at the dinner table?  I know there are rules about this, but I usually invite the kind of people who will talk about anything, which I encourage. You&amp;#039;re famous for your homemade cupcakes. What is it you particularly like about them?  I like the time that is involved with each individual cupcake. I can also eat as many as I want before the guests arrive without ruining the whole thing\u2014like a cake. I like vanilla. I do chocolate on request only. Would you prefer to live in (a) a glass-walled Richard Meier building, (b) an Air Stream trailer or (c) a yurt?  A genie bottle.  2  "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.elledecor.com/life-culture/entertaining/tips/a1264/ten-questions-amy-sedaris-44880/>