I love to bake but ultimately I love to cook to entertain. Whether it's brunch, a dinner party, a cookout or cocktails and appetizers I love to have friends over to eat. My trick is choosing dishes that can be made in advance and/or require little effort so I don't have a mess in the kitchen and, more importantly, I can enjoy the party myself. My sister and I have taken over handling the annual Thanksgiving dinner. I go to her house Wednesday evening and we cook all night. I finally crash, she stays up late, then I get up early to put on the turkey. We finish everything that morning and have an early afternoon meal. I do cake decorating and I've had several nice looking birthday cakes and a couple of wedding cakes.