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  |  Entertaining  |  Dinner parties  |  Lively dinner party ideas
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Lively dinner party ideas

by Olivia Lacey
continued from page 1
3.  Lighten the atmosphere by eating with your fingers. For a starter, try artichokes, boiled in water until the leaves pull away easily, or asparagus, lightly steamed then dipped in butter and salt. Or brush fresh sweetcorn with olive oil, roast in a hot oven until soft and serve wrapped in a napkin.

4.  Serve coffee and possibly pudding in a different room, to encourage everyone to stand up and move around. And keep an open mind - they might turn out to be slightly less dull than you feared.

5.  Set the evening alight with a burning cocktail. Place a sugar lump on a spoon, soak it with cognac, and hold it over a glass of hot coffee to warm up. Then set fire to the alcohol and slide it into the glass. Or put an inch of Baileys into a glass then pour a thin layer of cognac over the top. Hold the glass over a candle to warm up, set fire to the top and drink carefully, while still lit, through a straw.

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