
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, October 18, 1995                   TAG: 9510180022
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: ALMENA HUGHES FOOD EDITOR AND DONNA DEANE and BARBARA HANSEN LOS
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

GAME PLAN

If we all waited for a stress-free work week to do our entertaining, some of us would never give dinner parties. When you barely have an hour to yourself after coming home from work, it's almost impossible to imagine making the sort of elaborate meals that super-organized party planners recommend, the kind that require advance preparation throughout the week. And you certainly don't want something that's going to take hours and hours on the day of the party.

Yet, entertaining - especially during the holidays - is something that many of us have to do, and some of us even enjoy. Whether you fall into one or both of these categories, to paraphrase a popular saying: Where there's a game plan, there's a way.

The following menus can be prepared at an easy pace. You can make the Chinese-style short ribs the morning of the party, or even the night before, then come back to the rest of this Asian-inspired meal a couple of hours before your guests arrive.

The beef stew tastes all the better for having been prepared a day in advance. The pears poached in pineapple sauce with ginger can also be prepared ahead, then reheated just before serving because the butter in the sauce will congeal in the refrigerator overnight.

The broccoli salad looks freshest if prepared the day it is served, but it may be marinated overnight if necessary. That leaves only one last-minute job: the simple task of cooking the noodles.

The final strategy lies in the presentation. Beautiful, even edible, centerpieces can easily be created with ingredients as simple as fresh fruits and breads. Enhance them with candles, foliage, bows or other creative ornamentation.

Sharon Dlugosch's newly revised "Table Setting Guide" ($8.95, Brighton Publications) could inspire even a most unimaginative person to want to dress up a table. Dlugosch aptly adapts five basic settings to various party situations, plus covers the purchase and care of table wares and linens, and gives quick courses in manners, selecting wines and folding napkins. The unpretentious text will appeal to readers who like to get to the point quickly.

Recipes for:

ORANGE BARBECUED SHORT RIBS

SPICE BISCUITS

CHINESE ALMOND PUDDING

BEEF STEW WITH RED WINE

MARINATED BROCCOLI SALAD

GINGER PEARS

by CNB