The beatroot writes about Prince Charles’ McDonald’s comment and the Polish First Lady’s views on the planned Rospuda bypass.

We've been talking this month about tips and recipes for throwing a dessert party for a crowd.

Let's say you have the challenging parts out of the way: planning, shopping and cooking. All you have left to do is set up your beautiful bite-sized pastries and let people enjoy. Here is where you want to show off your desserts to the best possible advantage and let people enjoy your party to the fullest.

We've learned a few things the hard way that we try to remember now when throwing a party for a lot of people...

These things are mostly common sense, but it always helps to keep them in mind!

• Serve at different heights - Use stacked plates or servers to give some height to platters, with higher things at the back of the table and lower ones at the front. This adds visual interest and helps with traffic flow.

• Go in order - Never put silverware, if you're using it, at the beginning of the line or buffet. It's one more thing for people to hold as they navigate through the food selection. Always put it at the end, on a separate table if possible.

• Multiples of everything - Fan out several piles of cocktail napkins or small plates; you want more than one pile so guests don't have to wait behind someone else to just reach in and snag a plate or napkin.

• Keep platters filled - Nothing's worse than a picked over tray, half-empty. Use smaller platters or serving trays, and have several of them ready in the kitchen. Even though they empty faster you can yank one when half-empty and replace it right away.

• Waste disposal - Huge oversight at many parties! We've stood, awkwardly, with a little plate in hand for far too long, trying to spot a trash can. Put at least one trash can under your serving table, or to the right side. Try to think like a guest and predict when and where they will end up with an empty plate or glass, and put a trash can or bin for glasses there.

• Choose color carefully - If you're serving saucy things, avoid white tablecloths. But dark tablecloths show crumbs and smeared icing even more, so judge according to what you're serving.

Any others?

Straus Family Creamery makes a luscious Plain Whole Milk Yogurt that’s divine with berries or mixed up into a tangy raita, and a perfect replacement for buttermilk in your favorite biscuit recipe.

But there’s more to Straus than just the flavor. The dairy is family owned and they were inspired to go organic in the 1960s after reading Rachel Carson’s definitive environmental tome Silent Spring.

While most other yogurt companies cook their product in plastic, Straus uses stainless steel. They’re also innovators when it comes to managing their methane gas emissions; they’ve figured out a way to “trap” the gases emitted from their cows’ manure into their very own "methane digester" and convert them into electricity. With this new system, they’re generating up to 600,000 kWH per year.

To learn more about Straus Family products visit their website. Available at Trader Joes and Whole Foods.

• Williams-Sonoma is clearing out their Valentine's stuff, including this set of three Heart Ice Cream Sandwich Molds which, frankly, look fun to us any time of the year. They're $7.99, down from $14.00. They also have a Krups Ice Cream Maker for nearly half-price, and a lot of marked-down fall and winter table linens.

• Sur La Table tends to have rather small price discounts in their sale area, but their Professional HD Hard-Anodized Nonstick 8-Piece Cookware Set is down to $149.95 from $249.95 - not a bad deal.

• Crate & Barrel's Outlet has a lovely Copper Casserole for $47.95 and sales on that gorgeous Tierra Negra cookware we've been coveting.

Got a good online sale tip? Let us know - faith (at) apartmenttherapy (dot) com

Arugula, as we said yesterday, plays well with sweet fruits and vegetables, like this roasted butternut squash. The squash's sweetness is played up with a little winter spice - nutmeg and allspice - and paired up with fresh arugula and some toasted walnuts for crunch.

We love warm winter salads with slightly wilted greens and this one hits the spot. Toss the squash and greens together while the squash is still warm from the oven and drizzle the dressing over - it's warm and fresh at the same time.

We must admit, however, that the dressing is not absolutely necessary for this salad. It's still pretty good with just a little extra salt and pepper thrown on. But it does make it sweeter and a little more complete.

Warm Butternut Squash and Arugula Salad
serves 4

1 butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Fresh black pepper
Kosher salt
2 small bunches arugula, washed and torn
1 cup walnuts, toasted

Dressing
1/4 cup apple cider
1/8 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper

Heat the oven to 400ºF. Toss the cubed squash with the oil, spices, salt and pepper. Spread thin on a large cookie sheet and roast for about 15 minutes, or until browned at the edges.

Let squash cool for five minutes then toss with the arugula and walnuts. Whisk the dressing ingredients together and drizzle over to taste.

Bahraini blogger Bahraini Rants takes us into a culinary tour of the world of sandwiches, after proclaiming that they are the world’s greatest invention.

We remember watching our mother roll out pie dough on one of these plastic Tupperware Pastry Sheets ($17.49, Amazon.com). They're printed with circles to help you roll out dough to the right size and shape. They are also helpful when baking any sort of bread; with a little flour this is a great surface for kneading, and it makes cleanup that much easier.

Vintage Tupperware pastry sheets are still to be found, and we've heard rumors that the old versions are superior. Here's a 1965 pastry sheet for sale on eBay for $4.99, and a child-sized 1979 version for $3.99.

There's enough hot topics in this week's New York Times' Dining Section to last for a couple of episodes of The View:

Has Whole Foods lost their way? Is Paula Dean the Queen of Southern Cooking? What long-lost food do you long for . . . and will you make yet another Bittman bread recipe? Discuss.

From Phobia to Fame: A Southern Cook’s Memoir: TV chef Paula Dean suffered from agoraphobia for two decades. She's making the PR rounds now to launch her new book. Julia Moskin gives a rounded view of Paula Dean, showing Dean's developed palate and her semi-homemade stylings.

With recipes for: Spicy-Sweet Ham Salad and Georgia Cracker Salad.

The Ultimate Cruelty: Abandoned by Ravioli: What happens when a favorite food is no longer available where you live? Some resort to buying it online and shipping it, others try to make it at home. Do you have a story of a food that's abandoned you? With recipes for

PLUS...

• Bread, Quick and Savory: After rocking the world with no-knead bread, Bittman is back to bread again. This time it's Quick Whole Wheat and Molasses Bread.

• Is Whole Foods Straying From Its Roots?: Whole Foods is facing increasing competition from Wegmans and Trader Joes, two of our favorites. The article says some consumers see Whole PaycheckFoods as a special place for an occasional shop, not a regular grocery stop.