• Shop well in advance to be sure to get all the menu items you need.salade image by reynald lassire from Fotolia.com
  
  Planning a menu in advance saves both time and money. It also makes cooking less stressful because it provides a sort of road map for the steps that need to be completed to serve the meal. When broken down into small stages, menu planning becomes simple, and what was once a daunting task soon becomes doable.
  
  

Decide What to Eat

• Consider who you are cooking for. Do they have dietary preferences or requirements? Don't be afraid to check with guests beforehand if you're not sure what their likes and dislikes are. Once you know what you can and can't serve, one of the main menu planning doubts, will your guests like it, is removed.
  
  

Put Color on the Plate

• Paint a picture with a colorful dish.Colorful Bruschetta image by William Berry from Fotolia.com
  
  The appearance of a meal goes a long way to creating anticipation and appetite. Avoid insipid, washed out colors when the meal is served by considering beforehand how the foods will look together on the plate. While planning a menu, choose foods that offer contrasts in color as well as foods that taste good together. Vegetables offer a wide array of different colors with greens, oranges, whites and even purple. Choose ingredients for your menu that are as fresh as possible, and make your cooking job easier by keeping it simple.
  
  

Serve What Is Familiar

• Keep it simple.roast beef image by les sanders from Fotolia.com
  
  It's not wise to experiment on the night of a dinner party. All kinds of things can go wrong, from miscalculated cooking times and temperatures to clashing tastes and textures. If you want to serve something new, have a trial run and cook the dish at least once before the important occasion.
  
  

Keep the Best Until Last

• Traditional dishes are always popular.sweet apple-pie image by Maria Brzostowska from Fotolia.com
  
  Dessert is the last thing your guests will taste, so make sure it's a taste to remember. That's not to say it needs to be something exotic or complicated, just something you've thought about and chosen to complement the previous dishes. Seasonal fruits go down well, especially when made into a pie or crumble.
  
  

Choosing Wine

• Match the wine to the food.red wine pouring down from a wine bottle image by mashe from Fotolia.com
  
  One way to choose which wine to serve with a dish is to go for a wine that complements, or is similar in taste to, the dish in question. For instance, foods served with a sweet-tasting sauce could be served with a sweet wine, and rich meaty meals could be served with a robust wine of equal richness.