I picked the right weekend to be in sunny CA. My house, hubby and dog (not necessarily in that order) managed to stay safe and dry; my backyard fallen-tree-free. But many, many others in neighboring towns weren't so lucky. To all my NJ and VT friends, I hope the floods have receded from your basements and/or streets and that your power/internet is back on.
Back to happy weekend. Although we got this extended party started on Thursday with dinner at the local sushi bar, the real partying commenced with an ever-so-fancy afternoon tea at a veddy posh Beverly Hills hotel. A harpist gently played soft standards while we daintily sipped tea. Teensy-weensy open-face sandwiches, pastries and scones were served on tiered silver trays.
Tea was poured from silver teapots swaddled in heavyweight fabric. Our ever-so-attentive waiter hovered mere steps away to prevent the horror of an almost empty teacup. Beautiful people such as wepretended to be never risked breaking a nail boorishly serving ourselves. It's a little difficult to see in my usual out-of-focus photo, but there is a silver strainer over the teacup so that elegant customers such as ourselves will never accidentally ingest a stray tea leaf.
Despite their petite size, the assortment was so filling that I wasn't able to even nibble on the chocolate micro-desserts. The waiter offered to wrap up the leftovers (before we asked ... of course) so theFiance was able to join the festivities second-handedly later on. If it weren't for the $$$$$ (elegance is not cheap), I could quickly get used to all the pampering.
Sunday morning had me up early to assemble the food for the "real" party ... a picnic in a park so local that if it weren't for the massive quantities we were hauling we could have walked there. Which the guest of honor almost had to do since parking was non-existent. After unloading us and the provisions, she drove around all the lots to no avail, eventually driving back home to have TheFiance drop her off. What a guy! Sorry, ladies, he's engaged.
it is a bit late now, so I am just going to just post a list of the activities with a few links and fewer photos.
Yes, I know that the menu contains both meat and dairy items. I was dealing with 8 people with various dietary, allergy, medical and religious restrictions and had to do my best to accommodate everyone. Please do not try to be helpful by commenting with second-guess-type of suggestions for future soirees. Thank you.
A few items have been previously posted; those links are available immediately. The rest will be dribbled in over the next week or so. Please be patient! The wait will be worth it ... I promise!
Crudites with hummus
Cheddar-carrot tea sandwiches with pesto
Cupcake decorating
Double Chocolate brownies
Lemonade
Back to happy weekend. Although we got this extended party started on Thursday with dinner at the local sushi bar, the real partying commenced with an ever-so-fancy afternoon tea at a veddy posh Beverly Hills hotel. A harpist gently played soft standards while we daintily sipped tea. Teensy-weensy open-face sandwiches, pastries and scones were served on tiered silver trays.
Tea was poured from silver teapots swaddled in heavyweight fabric. Our ever-so-attentive waiter hovered mere steps away to prevent the horror of an almost empty teacup. Beautiful people such as we
Despite their petite size, the assortment was so filling that I wasn't able to even nibble on the chocolate micro-desserts. The waiter offered to wrap up the leftovers (before we asked ... of course) so theFiance was able to join the festivities second-handedly later on. If it weren't for the $$$$$ (elegance is not cheap), I could quickly get used to all the pampering.
Sunday morning had me up early to assemble the food for the "real" party ... a picnic in a park so local that if it weren't for the massive quantities we were hauling we could have walked there. Which the guest of honor almost had to do since parking was non-existent. After unloading us and the provisions, she drove around all the lots to no avail, eventually driving back home to have TheFiance drop her off. What a guy! Sorry, ladies, he's engaged.
it is a bit late now, so I am just going to just post a list of the activities with a few links and fewer photos.
Yes, I know that the menu contains both meat and dairy items. I was dealing with 8 people with various dietary, allergy, medical and religious restrictions and had to do my best to accommodate everyone. Please do not try to be helpful by commenting with second-guess-type of suggestions for future soirees. Thank you.
A few items have been previously posted; those links are available immediately. The rest will be dribbled in over the next week or so. Please be patient! The wait will be worth it ... I promise!
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| Lovely floral table decorations |
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| Caprese Skewers |
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| Tabouli |
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| Veggie Seviche (Black Bean Salsa) |
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| Turkey wraps with cranberry mayo |
Crudites with hummus
Cheddar-carrot tea sandwiches with pesto
Cupcake decorating
Double Chocolate brownies
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| Fruit salad with honey-lime dressing |
Lemonade
Those palm-tree picks look great in the caprese salad. And that tea party--looks so wonderful.
ReplyDeleteEverything was wonderful and delicious! Thank you for sharing your recipes and your cooking with us this past weekend! :-)
ReplyDelete