Wash the spinach and drain carefully. Add 5 sliced mushrooms. Put the salad in its serving container and cover with a damp towel. Put it back in the refrigerator.

Make sure beverages are refrigerated as needed and that you have enough ice.

Clean up your kitchen and do the dishes.

When guests are expected to arrive
Pour the maple syrup over the Brie and put it in the oven.

Get out the hors d’oeuvres and position them strategically so that people won’t clump too much.

Toss the grilled vegetable salad vegetables with garlic oil.

Prepare yourself or someone else to serve beverages. Look mellow, calm, cool, collected. Put your feet on a chair.

One hour before you plan to eat
Get the grill going. (If you have a gas grill, you don’t need to do this so early).

One half-hour before you plan to eat
Start grilling the vegetables. They’ll take a lot longer than you expect. They are done when they’re soft and browned, with picturesque grill-basket marks. You’ll need to turn them multiple times while they cook so that you don’t end up with a mixture of charred hulls and raw chunks.

Get the rice going.

Fifteen minutes before you plan to eat
Get the chicken and tofu on the grill. Don’t save the marinade from the chicken. You can, however, use the marinade from the tofu as a sort of glaze as you grill.

Assign someone to dress the spinach salad and set it on the table.

Toss the peas on top of the rice and continue to cook until the rice is done.

Just before you eat
Toss the grilled vegetables with their dressing (and, for bonus points, with olives and tomatoes).

Serve ‘em up!!!