Q: My birthday is coming up and I'd like to throw a party for my college friends. Trouble is, it's very easy for small gatherings in college to quickly become a larger group, so I'm thinking a buffet will be best. Do you have any springtime meal ideas that will feed a crowd?

Sent by Alice More

When a group of my friends came together last summer to plan a bridal shower for me, they knew two things: 1) I'm not one for cutesy, girly themes and 2) I love sandwiches. My favorite part of the chic, theme-free party they created was a build-your-own bánh mì bar, a Vietnamese-inspired twist on the usual sandwich platter. More

We've all been there. The Most Difficult Dinner Guest Ever is coming to dinner. The vegan, gluten-free, egg-free, nut-free, how-in-the-world-do-I-feed-them friend. Rise to the occasion — we have five delicious meals that will not only work but satisfy and delight in even the most ingredient-constrained circumstances! More

Need help organizing your recipes and planning a menu? These seven sites and smartphone apps will help you get organized: More

Or two days before, if you need to. All of these dishes are flexible and actually benefit from sitting around in the fridge for a bit. The lineup: tacos, slaw, sorbet. You can make them the day before the party or the morning of—either way, all you have to do to serve dinner is pull out some tortillas and pour one of these. More

Q: This year the in-laws assigned me the fruit dish to accompany ham and baked potatoes. Traditionally, their fruit dish would be some sort of canned fruit cocktail in Jell-O. I'd like to make a fresh fruit salad, but I want to flex my culinary muscles, not just my knife skills! Do you have any ideas to make a fruit salad more cheffy?

Sent by Carolyn More

Q: I'm hosting an Easter dinner this coming weekend with a Mexican theme. I'm working half of the day on the day of the dinner so I need some fresh ideas for Mexican food where a lot of the prep can be done ahead of time. Ideally, the entire menu would stick to the theme, from appetizers to dessert. Any suggestions?

Sent by Lynne More

When the weather starts getting just a smidge warmer, it's time to invite friends over. Time to gather outdoors; catch up on each other's lives; talk about family, kids, work, and summer plans. And many of us don't have dinner parties at home because it causes a large amount of stress and clouds the entire work week. You may decide you don't really enjoy hosting them after all. Guess what? It doesn't have to be that way. More

Q: For Easter this year, my boyfriend's mother asked if I would plan and prepare Easter dinner for 9 people (including 3 kids). I jumped at the opportunity because I love entertaining, but mostly I want to impress my potential future mother-in-law! The thing is that they are Filipino and tend to keep things simple. More

As a full-time editor for The Kitchn who also happens to live in New York, I'm able to work out of our parent site Apartment Therapy's main Soho office three days a week. Today, to celebrate the launch of the Small Cool Contest over on Apartment Therapy, the office organized a potluck—the first one we've ever had. How did I decide what to bring? Well, I went to The Kitchn naturally! More