Dinner Party Menu

Here's the menu from the sit-down dinner party we had recently:

First Course: Curried Squash Soup

Second Course: Smoked Salmon & Caviar

Intermezzo: Cantaloupe Sorbet

Main Course: Steak Diane with Roasted Vegetables

Fourth Course: Arranged Salad with Lime Vinegarette Dressing

Fifth Course: Cheese Plate with Parmesgiano Reggiano, Danish Blue, 1000 Day Gouda and Port Salut

Dessert Course: Four Layer Chocolate Torte with Cherry Lambic Sorbet

The dinner went exactly as I had hoped it would. We sat around the table for an hour and a half talking and eating. THAT was the whole point. Taking time out to spend with my friends. Great fun. We'll definitely do it again at some point.

But not before our CRUISE!

Dinner Party

Saturday husband & I are having a small dinner party. But rather than have a dinner where everyone gets a plate of food and the dinner lasts for 20 minutes, we're having dinner European style: in courses. That way the dinner can linger and we can enjoy each other's company and the food. We'll see how it goes. Having enough plates/bowls and silverware is tricky, but I think we have it all planned out.

After the dinner party, I'll post what the menu was. This being one of our parties, we tend to change things at the last minute. Should be fun, I'm looking forward to it.

We always enjoy ourselves doing this kind of thing.

More Party pics

The bottom picture is a friend of mine who was one of the bartenders. His initials. appropriately enough, are BS. The top picture is the dessert table. MMMmmmMMMMm... desSERT!!!

Party Pictures

The first picture is me with my four siblings - in age order, of course! And best of all, I'M the youngest one in the picture. I know! Who KNEW? From left to right that's PJ, SAE, MED and AJW. I was really happy that hey could all make it for the party. Three of them live in western PA so had to drive 3 hours. MED lives in Lancaster county PA and drove 8 HOURS! Are they the best, or what? Thanks a lot you old farts! LOL

The second picture is me being silly at my birthday party. Someone shoved the plastic tiera with the lavendar feathers on my head when I started opening presents. I forgot I had it on, so it stayed on the whole time I opened presents. There must be 20 pictures of me with that darn thing on my head! But my favorite is this one with the magic wand that goes WITH the tiera. And of course the tee shirt just "sets it off" as they say. I bought the tee shirt when husband and I went to see Avenue Q when the toured here this spring.

My 50th Birthday Party

Husband threw me a 50th birthday party last weekend. I really think it was the best party we've thrown yet. I had SUCH a good time and it seemed like everyone who came did too.

We had about 30 people or so - friends and family - some of whom came all the way from Lancaster county Pennsylvania. I was really touched (and no, not touched THAT way). There was a diner theme - because I LOVE diners. Any place where the waitresses call complete strangers "hon" is my kind of place. There was omelets made to order, meat loaf, open face turkey sandwiches and french toast as entrees (the party was a dinner time). The hors d'oerves were tiny chicken pot pies, tuna melts and crudite. We got 2 cakes from an incredible local bakery (Mozart's) one chocolate and one vanilla. I also made 2 pies - 1 apple and 1 cherry. Needless to say, no one left hungry on OUR account!

Oh I almost forgot - we also had some SPECIAL snacks: baked cheese curls, Reeses' peanut butter cups and Haribo Gummi Bears. Now these are specials because although I LOVE each of these treats, I NEVER keep them in the house. Mainly because I don't have any will power with these snacks. If any of these are in the house, I can't stop eating them. It's ugly. It's just easier not to buy them - except once in a very great while.

The party was loud and somewhat raucous - but not in that college frat party kind of way. It's was a party with a house full of people who liked to talk. I asked friends of mine to take pictures - knowing that I would forget. They took 198! So, over the next few weeks, I'm going to post some of these pictures. If there's a story behind the picture, I'll share it (assuming I know it.) Other times, there will just be a picture. And some of these picture are, um, ODD. But I like them because somehow they capture what the party was really like.