Gingham in Venice

Is it really the end of August? Where did the summer go? For me, it was spent making parties. So many that I forgot to blog about them! Now it's catch up time and this gingham-heavy birthday party was one of my favorites. Our creative friend Shepherd wanted to throw his wife a surprise party with the following inspirations: gingham, picnic, Alabama, and catching fireflies in jars. We went nuts. Amy, who is historically afraid to dabble in color, reluctantly embraced all things red & white--with amazing results. She planted daisies in galvanized bins and mason jars, tied mini tabasco bottles to place cards and made use of a picture of the birthday girl in a grade school photo wearing gingham (how lucky is that?). This table really does scream fun and instantly put guests in a cheerful mood. We started with cocktails and appetizers inside where Amy and I may have eaten more corn nuts than the rest of the guests combined. My friend Deirdre, who lives in the South, swears by pimiento cheese, so it made its way onto cucumber rounds with a green olive garnish. Outside, the menu was classic bbq comfort foods. Many people have asked me for recipes (which I rarely use and need to learn how to write) so I've linked to two of my favorites below: the espresso baby back ribs and Martha Stewart's mac and cheese. Both are heavenly. This post reminds me where the summer went: eating good food, in pretty places with good people.

The Menu

drinks

jalapeno lime margaritas

watermelon mint margaritas

cherry kool-aid, tequila optional

snacking

corn nuts sampler

ruffles with creme fraiche & chives

pimiento cheese spread on cucumber rounds

paprika dusted deviled eggs

to start

heirloom tomatoes, watermelon, mint, basil, mozzarella & burrata salad

dinner

baby back ribs with espresso bbq sauce

grilled shrimp skewers

sharp white cheddar mac & cheese

tangy bacon wrapped green beans

buttermilk coleslaw

jalapeno cornbread

dessert

individual roasted s'mores

for home

red & white candy treat cups

Roaring 20s Party: A Progressive Affair

I have fantasized about doing a progressive dinner for a long time, and this one was worth the wait. Three houses. 1920s themed. The first house was all about the Speakeasy and prohibition cocktails. We progressed to a candlelit, Great Gatsby-inspired sit down dinner with Cole Porter tunes playing in the background. And ended the evening, at the third house, staged as a jazz club for dancing and plenty of more sloe gin fizzes! When guests ordered their first drink, suspender-wearing bartenders pinned them as notorious 1920s personalities--Al Capone, Zelda Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, etc.--and they had to figure out who they were. (Parlor games & ice breakers get a lot of flack, but I love them)! It was very fun to research the popular foods & cocktails of the 20s and create a menu inspired by the times. Apparently, the caesar salad was invented in the 20s, and was all the rage, so we did a grilled chopped one. Decadent shrimp cocktails and grilled rib-eyes rounded out the menu for our Gatsby-esque dinner...with plenty of champagne, of course. And with all of that drinking, no one cares about a proper plated dessert, so a candy bar featuring all of the candies invented in the 1920s was perfect. Amy made the night all the more festive with black & white and luxurious touches. Each lady received a long strand of pearls and a deco-feathered headband, all handcrafted by show-off Amy. And the napkins each featured memorable quotes from the 20s; e.g. "Write drunk. Edit sober," Ernest Hemingway. Plus the guests dressed to impressed, pulling out all the stops, which absolutely made the night. Now I'm dying to do a party for each decade, though I'm not sure anything will be as festive as the 1920s: the era of the party.

The Menu

cocktails

sloe gin fizz

sloe gin, gin, lemon, egg white, simple syrup

the colony

gin, grapefruit, maraschino cherry

french 75

gin, champagne, orange, lemon

dirty martini

vodka, dirty sue premium olive juice, olive

whiskey sour,

bourbon, house sour

appetizers

'hotsy totsy' ham ball with club crackers

'cat's pajamas' cheese straws

'racketeer' radishes

'packing a piece' peanuts

'dive' devilled eggs

sit down

spicy oregon bay shrimp cocktail,

served up

grilled caesar salad with sourdough croutons

grilled peppered rib-eye steaks

ricotta pudding. wilted spinach with pancetta. currant-pinenut relish

dessert

1920s candy bar:

abba zabas, charm suckers, reece's peanut butter cups, baby ruths, charleston chews, gummy bears, jujyfruits & milk duds

Hot. Dog. Party.

Next time you get flustered with 'what should I make for company?', skip the drama and grill some hot dogs! They are delicious. And crowd pleasing. And surprisingly unexpected. Though I technically 'made' nothing but a dip (more on that in a sec), assembling the simplest sides with fresh ingredients made for an entertaining-worthy spread. Now, why don't you hear more about sour cream and onion dip for potato chips? Did I invent it? Into the Cuisinart I threw: one Walla Walla sweet onion, two cloves of garlic, a heap of dijon and a 16oz. carton of sour cream. Top with lots of cracked pepper and snipped chives. Serve exclusively with Ruffles potato chips. It's okay to not always be farmer's market inspired. Chips and dip, hot dogs and s'more are all American classics that I never want to become too fancy for!!

The Menu

ruffles potato chips with sour cream and onion dip

grilled hot dogs with traditional condiments

corn on the cob

buttermilk coleslaw

watermelon, mint & feta salad

grilled s'mores

strawberry shortcakes