Write It Down: Parties
Peter Hertzmann discusses good ways to plan meals for your guests that will amuse and entertain them, but won't leave you frantic in the weeds. Le Plan de repas also has a great Tinderbox idea:
I keep a simple list of everyone who comes to my house for a meal, when the meal was, and what was served. I feel that since I can prepare hundreds of different recipes, why should I serve the same dish twice to the same person? My guest list also provides a list a past meals served so I can easily serve the same menu to different guests, if that is what I wish to do.
Another great reason to write it down: you can keep track of what you've already cooked.