BRINGING BACK THE DINNER PARTY WITH LUSCIOUS DISHES, DÉCOR AND DRINKS
From the category archives:
A good friend had a little birthday shindig at her apartment this weekend, and she put out quite a spread.
I love this! Such tasty and homemade food (including my Dill, Sour Cream and Onion Vegetable Dip) and drinks (she had three homemade specialty cocktails to choose from) made the party feel special in a way it wouldn’t have with store-bought platters. We’re bringing back the homemade dinner party!
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A lovely friend of mine got a mini cupcake maker. What’s that you say? What is this genius that makes tiny cupcakes without an oven? Behold:
Isn’t it the cutest thing ever? She made us seriously, I kid you not, the tastiest most gorgeous little cupcakes I have ever had. Magnolia Bakery, eat your heart out. Mini cupcakes win.
We paired them with ice cream and toppings, and slathered as much icing as we wanted on each one.
With pink champagne and trashy reality television – it was a great night.
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The table covering was just a runner of blue paper, over which I placed ribbon-wrapped candlesticks and a paper-wrapped vase filled with yellow and white flowers.
The candlesticks I wrapped with the cutest yellow and white polka dotted ribbon. Using a lot of double-stick tape, I started at the top and wound it around until the bottom was covered and looked billowy and lovely. SO easy. Just make sure you have a lot of ribbon – I must have used 5 yards per candlestick.
I wrapped the vase with this thick Japanese-style paper that I found, and I think it ended up working really nicely with the polka dot candlesticks. You wrap a vase just like you would a present, and just cut the top corners so you can fold them down with tape and make a clean top edge.
Tomorrow: the brunch menu!
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To present the easter egg placecards, I wanted nests. I used classic easter basket “grass” filling and my sister invented a napkin fold that held it perfectly.
The napkin went on the plate, the “grass” went right on top, and the egg nested in the middle. Really, a quite simple presentation (once the eggs are dyed!). Easter-y, but not too much.
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This was the final brunch table! I kind of loved it, I’ll admit it. Easter-y without being cheesy. I was dying easter eggs at 1am the night before, but you know how you have to suffer for fashion? Sometimes you have suffer for pretty tables too :)
I was inspired by Martha Stewart Living’s April issue to put sticky vinyl letters on eggs and then dye them. Unfortunately, my letters didn’t stick very well and the dye got under a few of them.
But no matter…I wrote in the rest of the names with a gold pen and hoped the fuzzy letters made for extra charm.
Tomorrow: napkin nests for the egg placecards!
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My placecards. I’ll be posting how-tos and more over the next few days…stay tuned.
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For dinner, I paired Ina Garten’s Parmesan-Roasted Broccoli with her Sole Meuniere. Yes, I know you’re not supposed to put cheese with fish and I. Don’t. Care. I love parmesan in any situation, and the pine nuts and lemon on the broccoli matched perfectly with the lemon flavor on the sole.
It was a gorgeous meal, and honestly, so simple that I often make it for myself when I feel like putting a little extra effort into my dinner and making something special.
Sole Meuniere (adapated from Ina Garten)
Combine the flour, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon Vege Sal, and 1 teaspoon pepper in a large shallow plate. Pat the sole fillets dry with paper towels.
Heat 3 tablespoons of butter in a large saute pan over medium heat until it starts to brown. Dredge 2 sole fillets in the seasoned flour on both sides and place them in the hot butter. Lower the heat to medium-low and cook for 2 minutes. Turn carefully with a large spatula and cook for 2 minutes on the other side. While the second side cooks, add 1 teaspoon of lemon zest and 3 tablespoons of lemon juice to the pan (be careful that you don’t add much more than 3 tablespoons, or it will be too lemony). Plate the fish and pour any remaining sauce over them. Sprinkle with the parsley and serve immediately.
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