Entertaining Made Easy

Debi Weinstein, owner of I've Gotta Get

Organized Inc., in Farmington Hills, shares her

top strategies for entertaining with ease:

• Keep a spreadsheet for grocery shopping

and organize it by sections of the store. "I

waste no time," says Debi, who shops at

the same market because she's familiar

with the layout.

• A few days prior to cooking for a crowd,

cut, chop, slice, grate and pummel all

ingredients, then put them in Ziploc bags

labeled with the name of the ingredient and

the recipe. "When I go to cook, I just dump

what I need into a bowl," Debi says.

• For Passover, Debi prepares the main

dishes and asks friends and family to bring

appetizers and desserts. "Lee's job has

always been to do the dishes," she says. "I

do the cooking; he does the cleaning. That

way, one person isn't doing everything."

Opposite page: A basket brims with stacks of matzah on the Passover seder table. This page: Among Debi and Dr. Lee Weinstein's (top left) seder participants are two of their three daughters,
Elana and Lila (top center), Lee's parents, Barbara and Seymore Weinstein of West Bloomfield (top right) and family friend Jackie Stassinopoulos of Novi (center). Above: Individual carrot
quiches (far left) and Sephardic charoset with almonds (far right) were among the menu's offerings. When Elana brought the seder plate (second from left) back from a visit to Israel, it

shattered en route; Debi repaired the piece, which now serves as a reminder that life is not perfect. Fingers are dipped in wine glasses during the naming of the Plagues (center); antique
teacups from Debi's grandmother hold saltwater for dipping parsley. Red-cabbage salad (second from right) is served on a china platter, also an heirloom from Debi's grandmother.

JN

plathlim •

APRIL 2008 •

B25