While in college, my friend Tara Gordon and I were the
chattiest of the chatty and spent hours sitting around speculating about our
futures, as girls do.  I vividly recall
Tara asking me, “What would your go-to entertaining meal be when you’re
married?”  I wasn’t sure what she
meant.  She clarified: “Well, mine would
be steak, a baked potato and sautéed spinach.” “Even though you don’t eat
meat?” I asked the vegetarian.  “That
wouldn’t bother me.  Everyone likes
steak.”  And while I do know a few
non-meat eaters, Tara was on to something. 
People love the classics.  In a
world filled with mason jars and artisanal, it’s easy to dismiss silver trays
and steak house favorites as old-fashioned. 
But I like to think that they are timeless.  Case in point, this throw back dinner party
menu received rave reviews.  Similarly,
as much as I love bitters, I really relinquished the cool factor and served
lemon drops, a classic ‘mom drink’.  But
guess what?  A lemon drop is delicious.  And there’s nothing uncool about an ice cream
sundae bar (scooping ice cream into glass bowls makes for a pretty
presentation).  The only thing that could
have made this a better party would’ve been having Tara on the guest list.