Beautiful Buffets

Think location, location, location when you set up your next party. Find three fabulous places in your home to serve each course. A perky salsa bar sits on a kitchen island; the main course is spread on a table near the fireplace; desserts stand on a sideboard in the dining room. The idea is to keep guests moving from one place to the next and re-energizing the conversation with each new destination.

Featured Buffet Recipes:

• Avocado-Feta Salsa
• Black Bean-and-Mango Salsa
• Golden Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes
• Herbed Roast Beef
• Roasted Asparagus
• Zucchini-Carrot Salsa

Setting Up

• Create a cascade of heights with the serving dishes and decorations. We layered two platters, with a napkin in between, to elevate the potatoes.
• Scatter tiny bouquets of ribbon-tied flowers and clear iridescent flower-arranging pebbles on the table.
• Identify recipes with place cards. These ceramic ones come with an erasable marker. Log on to a search engine, and enter “erasable ceramic place cards" to locate a style that suits you. Or buy inexpensive tiles at a home-improvement store, and use a dry-erase marker to add the recipe title.
• Check the position of votive candles by pretending to serve yourself--you don't want to chance a guest getting burned.

"Beautiful Buffets" is from the December 2005 issue of Southern Living.