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THE JOYS OF COOKING to please others are part of being a host and entertaining. There is something special about preparing a meal for guests, and having them enjoy it. It is like giving somebody a gift and sharing a memorable evening together all in one. Everyone likes to eat, but not everyone knows the satisfaction of cooking a meal for somebody else to enjoy. Also, cooking a high quality meal is often much cheaper than enjoying a meal at a nice restaurant, especially if you will be serving wine.

Want to cook a meal for friends or family, but don't know where to start? Think about some of your favorite restaurants, and the menu items you like the best. You probably can find the recipe or a copycat recipe on the internet for just about any national eatery. Some restaurants, like Buca di Beppo, even sell their own cookbooks with their own recipes. If you already know how to cook, you just need to buy the groceries and follow the directions.

If you don't know how to cook, don't give up. Cooking is a skill that everyone should learn. You can learn to cook over the course of a few weeks, and you'll have those skills forever. You can take lessons or learn from a friend who knows how to cook. If your friend won't accept a payment for the lessons, offer to buy the groceries. Start by learning a few basic skills, like how to hard boil an egg or how to make a grilled cheese sandwich. From there, you can learn more complex skills, like making tiramisu or ceviche.

Besides just cooking, I always enjoy the entire process of entertaining. I like getting my house cleaner than usual and stocking my fridge and pantry with a larger than normal selection of beverages and snacks. I don't consider myself to be an expert or especially skilled cook, so I usually don't try anything new the first time around. Some recipes you can cook up earlier in the day, like deviled eggs or salad.

There's no need to have a restaurant quality expectation about your meal. Preparing something simple is fine. If you are nervous about messing up a dish, I recommend doing a trial run of your meal the day before. If the meal turns out good, you can enjoy it for yourself. If you mess up, there's no need to stress. Likely, the lessons you learn will allow you to cook without disaster when you are cooking for your guests. If the recipe simply doesn't work, you will still have time to consider other recipes, or possibly even hire a caterer.

Learn more about this author, Caroline Atkins.
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