A Guest's Offering

Tomorrow is Oscar night, and every year that means a party at my friend Jill's house complete with ballots and prizes for those that guess the most correct winners. While I contemplate which character I am going to dress as this year, I am also thinking about what dish I want to bring with me. I have found that when deciding what to bring to a party, the key questions to consider are 1) Is it something I want to eat? 2) Can it sit around for a while and still be appealing? 3) Is it something that is fairly likeable? and 4) Is it easy to make? Since my dish is the only one I can control, I should make sure it is something I will be happy eating it. With a long night ahead and a libation-enhanced appetite, my dish also has to be tasty after sitting out for a while. Cold foods are great for this purpose, because they don't congeal or need to be reheated. While my own appetite is a consideration, I also want others to want my dish. It feels good when people look at the plate of food you have set on the table and say, "Yum. Who made that?" as they take a big spoonful. Lastly, because hosting is hard work, being a guest should be easy. There's no need to overdo it. This is your hosts time to shine, so be glad to bow out gracefully this round, and enjoy every minute of it.