Revisiting the 5th of July...

Today I'm revisiting summer to tell you about a fancy dinner party I threw back in July. If you read my food blog, these photos might look familiar - but I couldn't geek out on the decor, etc. as much as I would have liked over there. Or at least, I didn't think I could.

I had really wanted to do it on the 4th, but too many people had conflicts, so the 5th it was. I still kind of like the ring of it. We poured champagne and did Blackberry Caipirinhas to start, and had some nibbles. Here's the menu:

Fancy Dinner and Cocktails in the Backyard
7.5.08

Blackberry Mint Caipirinhas
Roederer and Domaine Carneros Sparkling Wine
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Andante Picolo triple cream cheese
Fra'mani Salumetto
Bread and Cie Crostini
Pickled Cherries
White Bean Hummus
Local Olives
Fried Capers
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Ajoblanco
Gougeres
Vinho Verde
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Thyme and Honey Glazed Baby Back Ribs
Green Salad with Grilled Stonefruit and Pinenuts
Barefoot Contessa French Potato Salad
Tempranillo Rose and Cote du Rhone
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Banana Cream Pie

(You can read more about the food here and here.)

For the table settings, I raided Pottery Barn, Target and Crate and Barrel. (The tables, chairs and long tablecloths were rented.) The original plan was to go with white tablecloths and flax colored linens, but when I spotted the robin's egg blue placemats at Target, I couldn't pass them up. The runners are from Pottery Barn, and the wooden clothespins came from Ace Hardware. For the candles I used the white ones from the Mexican section of the grocery store, and I put hydrangeas and peonies in Mason jars for the flower arrangements.


God I love peonies.

I already had a dozen plates, wine glasses, champagne flutes etc. so it wasn't too much of a stretch to buy a few more (and make up for breakage, in some cases.) This is where it pays off to buy plain, versatile stuff - all of these things will be used again for the holidays and future dinner parties.

Here is a not-quite-exhaustive list of what came from where. (If you have any questions or want more specifics, feel free to send me an email.)

Crate and Barrel - White plates, wine glasses, champagne glasses, bamboo plate (on table), Zinc tray (on drink table) mini juice glasses (used to serve the Ajoblanco,) and dinner napkins. For dessert and appetizers I used little disposable Bambu plates.
Pottery Barn - Hotel silver drink bucket (a few years ago), linen runners, linen cocktail napkins.
Target - blue placemats, tea towel (in basket on table), water glasses. The petal shaped metal bowls are also from Target a million years ago.
Ikea - small stackable cocktail glasses that were dirt cheap.