Wednesday, October 10, 2012

A Dinner Party...

Last night at my house.....twelve women and one guy  (the chef) gathered in my home. A great time was had by all (if I do say so myself!) My decor theme was half-autumn and half-Halloween. (It's what I could do without having to buy much of anything new....lol)


I had three tables; this one is the dining room. The centerpiece consisted of orange "Miracle" roses, with home-grown ivy and corkscrew willow which I had painted copper. I bought orange lilies, too, but they refused to open in time for the party. You can't see it here, but the centerpiece was in a black metal cachepot with brass animal feet

A place setting close-up

The table in the living room had an Annalee Halloween wizard sitting atop a ceramic pumpkin.  The paper under the place setting is our menu. The chef, Toy Townsend, will come to your home and prepare a previously decided on menu, and you can help or just watch - or drink and talk. Some of our guests did all three. We had a "global" menu:  Crab rangoon with chili dipping sauce, canellini bean spread on garlic rubbed crostini, Asian cabbage slaw with sunflower seeds, spinach and cheese stuffed roulade with roasted pepper sauce and vegetable couscous, and for dessert, apple strudel with whipped cream.

Toy is a excellent chef and his forte is paring wine with each course. We had five different varieties of wine:  Gruner Veltliner, Italian Verdicchio, French Rose, Cotes du Rhone and Tawny port. I like all of them  (a little too much, I might add) and as usual after imbibing, I didn't sleep for long. I turned out my light at 1:45 am and woke up at 5:40 am. It's safe to say I will be dragging my buns at work today!   LOL

15 comments:

Star said...

Sounds like the dragging buns are well worth it. Fantastic tablescape !

Granny Annie said...

What was the appropriate dress for the evening? Formal, casual or costumes?

kenju said...

Annie, no costumes, and the dress ranged from casual to "church" dressy. I wore black linen cropped pants and a stretchy top in a black, camel and orange/red floral print. And Crocs - believe it or not - my black Mary Jane Crocs. I had already been on my feet for 3 days and I couldn't bear the thought of putting something else on my feet.

Celia said...

Gorgeous tables, such beautiful settings. The menu sounds to die for.

colleen said...

Very inviting and classy!

tiff said...

Sounds like fun!!

Nancy said...



Judy,

Your table settings and floral arrangements are gorgeous.

You should be very proud of yourself.

Pat said...

What a great idea. I'm sure it was great success.

OldLady Of The Hills said...

Beautiful Table Settings, Judy....LOVE those Orange Roses...! And the Menu sounded quite yummy. It had to be a great success!

Ginnie said...

wow, Judy, that was a gorgeous party. What a lucky bunch of women and I love the menu.

MaR said...

Beautiful, beautiful table settings !!

Grannymar said...

Sounds like a royal occasion! I love the idea of the Chef arriving and preparing the food in situ. The only problem now is, how do you follow up on such a wonderful party?

Joy Kennedy-Hughes said...

Beautiful job, Judy. Wish I had been there...The menu is "right up my alley" as they say down home.

Gilly said...

I loved the black and orange table setting - very sophisticated - and the flowers are gorgeous, even without the lilies!

And I love the idea of a chef coming in to cook everything!

Anonymous said...

beautiful table settings and well done for having the time to do them! I have a party planned for tomorrow but it will be minimalist table settings!

... and I love Gruner Veltliner too!