Last night hubby and I attended a progressive dinner we'd purchased at a fundraiser in Janaury. I'd heard about that type of dinner party before, where you go to different houses for different courses of a dinner, and was curious to see how it worked. Three families who lived in the neighborhood were the hosts. Of course, I forgot my camera. Sorry!
Nine of us started at the first house a little after six. Cocktails (Cosmopolitans, sangria, beer and wine) and appetizers were on the menu. My fave were the meatballs. So yummy! The table was decorated in pink with gerber daisies and a pretty piece of fabric artfully put under and around the dishes. She also set votive candles among the food. I decided to stick with the pink theme and had a Cosmo.
We walked to the next house where we'd be eating the main course. The dining room table was all set with lovely china and flickering votive candles. The salads were already on gold chargers. Each place setting had a glass of water with a lemon slice and a glass of champagne with a strawberry floating inside. The meal was delicious. This house served: beef dish with mushrooms and gravy, mashed potatoes and sauteed green beans. Red wine was also served.
As we made our way to the last house, I appreciated the exercise after all that tasty food! The temperature had dropped, but it wasn't too cold. At least it was dry. Not a rain cloud in sight.
At the final house, the dining room table was set with a lovely white damask table cloth that must have taken hours to iron, her grandmother's china and gold candlesticks. The traditionally set table was so lovely. Coffee was served along with a mouthwatering cheesecake with strawberries. A selection of chocolates (truffles, toffee, etc) was also brought out. A perfect way to cap off the evening.
All through the night, I kept thinking they'd set the bar high for those still putting on dinners (that would be hubby and I!) One of the host couples as well as one of the guest couples will be attending ours at the end of May. It's a Texas BBQ so won't be nearly as fancy, but still I felt the pressure building up after the wonderful food and good time last night! I also realized we should have had asked another couple to host us rather than doing it ourselves. That had never crossed my mind.
We mainly do family type dinners (pizza, steaks, think easy kid-friendly food) when we have people over. Which isn't often! What about you? Do you entertain much? If yes, what's your favorite thing to serve?
Saturday, April 26, 2008
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9 comments:
We don't entertain often. My hubby works 12 our shifts and is not much into entertaining. Although I do cook every day. I am kind of a country cook. Believe me nothing fancy.
We don't entertain much. I'm all for BBQ and "family-style" entertaining. Easy-peasy.
We don't entertain often, either. We're an eclectic cooking type. *G* We can both do very simple dishes or complicated. *G* Hubs Teryaki Cornish Hens come to mind. *G*
Glad to hear you had a good time! Have a fun Saturday!
Wow, Melissa - that sounds like a fabulous time. As to the dinner you're about to host - that sounds like a lot of fun! A time to relax and just have a good time.
I don't entertain much - I'm still a student, so time is lacking. When we do get together, it's almost always a potluck. I have to admit, I go for simpler things - huge pasta dishes, fried rice - stir fried vermicelli noodles - delicious and easy for me to make.
I'm down to usually doing one nice dinner during the Christmas holidays. I have someone who is a vegetarian so that limits me. I try to find appetizers without meat and now make a vegetarian lasagna (I used to make two kinds) along with a baked ham and vegetables and salad and rolls. I would like to make a potato dish but that's too many starches lol.
The progressive dinner sounds like fun!
Sounded like a great experience and tasty.
We don't entertain much and when we do it's usually extended family so we do easy stuff too.
In the winter, if it's DH's family I make beef/venison stew. In the summer, I BBQ with potato salad.
And, I always try to include a veggie alternative because I don't eat beef or pork (occasionally chicken or fish, but I prefer not) myself.
I don't entertain, but I do enjoy being the guest of those that do entertain.
Glad to hear I'm not alone in not entertaining a lot. I wish we entertained more, but it's hard to find the time. Plus it's a lot of work. Maybe if I was more organized but I usually have to spend much of my time not on the food but on the house cleaning!
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