carol, i'm amazed that you're taking on the catering yourself. we just had an openhouse with approximately the same number of guests and with all the other planning it involved i think catering it myself would've sent me over the top.

something to consider is making a timeline, which i like to do when planning for a party; it really helps to break the recipes down by days, hours. for example, truffles are relatively simple to make although not everyone realizes it and it can be made well in advance. brownies are another simple dessert that most people love. i have a good recipe, if you're interested in dessert recipes.