Anatomy of a Dinner Party: a day in the life of a hospitalityaholic
 

February, 2010

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Start Your Valentine’s Day Right

Friday, February 12th, 2010

Good Morning, Darlings!

I have quite the treat for you today. My guest blogger is none other than my perfect husband, Eric! Take it away, Honey!

My honey, your blogger for the day!

Good morning, and hello, everyone. I’m lucky enough that I get to eat what you read about here – or most of it, anyway. Patti is a wonderful cook and a joy to cook with, but I also like to cook for her. When it comes to what to cook, I like to keep my recipes simple, tasty, and if I may admit, pretty big — well, not too big. Good-sized. On weekends I love to cook breakfast, and every lady loves breakfast in bed, which is a lovely start to Valentine’s Day.

Surprise your favorite this Sunday with an easy and yummy breakfast of an omelette , hash browns, english muffin, and juice. It goes together quick and sticks to your ribs till dinner. All the info is below the fold.

Posted in breakfast, eggs, Guest, potatoes | 3 Responses »

Handcrafted Soap Basket Winner

Thursday, February 11th, 2010

Good Morning, Darlings!

We have a winner of the handcrafted soaps by Miss Becky. It is Sandy over at Sandy Ala Mode

Congrats to Miss Sandy! And for those of you who are interested in ordering soaps from Miss Becky, you may visit her Etsy shop here.

Miss Becky and Her Famous Soaps

And a very happy Thursday to you all! Are you all keeping warm and dry? I hope so.

xoxo, Patti

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I Guess It’s Mardi Gras Time?

Wednesday, February 10th, 2010

Good Morning, Darlings!

Well, of course I knew that Mardi Gras time was drawing nigh, but I hadn’t realized that it was starting last night.  What I did know was that I had some red beans and andouille sausage with cornbread set to serve for dinner. How fortuitous!  Since there is still plenty of partying going on in NOLA (isn’t there always?) I thought I would post the recipe I used last night. It’s from Martha, but surprisingly simple. Really. Truly.  I fudged a little and used Jiffy cornbread mix for my cornbread, but I’m pretty sure this is acceptable in most southern homes (at least I’m hoping….)

Not only is this an easy meal, it is very inexpensive and it is OMG good enough for company. I had to keep myself from eating two large helpings.  And though the recipe suggests soaking the beans over night, on the bag of beans it gave a great tip if you need those beans tonight.  Rinse and sort through your beans (making sure there are no rocks or un-beany things in there), put your beans in a pot with 8 cups of hot water (I just used hot tap water), bring to a boil for 2 minutes, take off the heat and cover for one hour. Voila! Your beans are ready for the recipe. Right after you rinse off all the cooking liquid.

Such a Yummy Dinner!

Get The Recipe After The Fold

Posted in Hospitalityaholic | 3 Responses »
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Tea For Two

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010

Good Morning, Darlings!

What’s nicer than two friends catching up? Two friends catching up over a pretty table set for tea.  That’s exactly what Miss Diane and I did this weekend.  In the morning I went to my favorite store (say it all together now…Super H!) and picked up some delectable pastries from their bakeshop.  I picked up a pecan tart and some Monjoo cookies.  Now, I’m not sure what a monjoo is, but these cookies were exquisite. They were like a cinnamon bun wrapped around a crumb cake filling. Mmmmmm.

Tea Brewing For Two Friends

More Tea Fun After The Fold

Posted in Hospitalityaholic | 6 Responses »

Darling Danny’s Birthday – A Night Out With The Boys

Monday, February 8th, 2010

Good Morning, Darlings!

On Saturday night, Eric and I were lucky to be invited to join our sweet Danny for his birthday dinner at The Highland Tap .  It’s a fun restaurant in a basement location of Virginia Highland here in Atlanta. It’s super cozy and a great place to meet our old friends as well as make new ones!

Underground Fun!

For Danny’s Birthday Party, Come On Over

Posted in Hospitalityaholic | 1 Response »
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Blog Aid Cookbook

Sunday, February 7th, 2010

Good Morning, Darlings!

And Happy Super Bowl Sunday to everyone.  Are you up and getting your game treats together?  I finally decided on a super easy menu:

Pulled Pork Sliders topped with Slaw
Mac N Cheese
Giant Cookies
Lotsa beer and cokes

Easy peasy.

And for those of you with absolutely no interest in the game, you can go to the mall and have it all to yourself – how cool is that? Or you could shop online – that’s always good.

What to buy? Why, the Blog Aid Cookbook, of course!

Touting the best of today’s  food bloggers, Julie Van Rosendaal has put together this incredibly beautiful book with recipes from folks like Helen from Tartelette and my sweet friend (and creator of my awesome blog banner), Brooke from Tongue-N-Cheeky. This is a high-end publication and 100% of the proceeds go directly to the Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders.

You were going to make that donation to the relief efforts, wouldn’t it be divine to get something totally fabulous as a bonus?

Trust me, this cookbook will become a classic. And your inner good Samaritan will be so pleased. And your inner bargain shopper will be thrilled to be getting some lagniappe – you know, “something extra,” as they say down in New Orleans.

There are two versions – $25 for the paperback version and $50 for the hardcover. It may be ordered by clicking here.

Go on…take a moment to make a difference in our world and get this good-doing cookbook. It will make your day brighter.

xoxo, Patti

Posted in Hospitalityaholic | Comments Off on Blog Aid Cookbook
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Mike Has A Birthday!

Saturday, February 6th, 2010

Good Morning, Darlings!

Thursday night was my buddy Tami’s birthday party for her sweetie, Mike. It was so much fun!  Lots of cool new people to meet and you have got to check out the birthday cake!

It's Nacho Party - It's MIKE'S Party! Har Har Har....ahem.

You Have Got to See This Birthday Cake!

Posted in Hospitalityaholic | 2 Responses »
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Super Bowl, Super Party

Friday, February 5th, 2010

Good Morning, Darlings!

I imagine many of you will be throwing parties this weekend for what is, for the most part, a national holiday – Super Bowl Sunday.

The commercials are the draw for me. But the game can be fun to watch, too. What’s the key thing for the day, though? Let’s say it together, shall we?  The FOOD, of course!

Your crew has already tried the wings, the take out pizza, the onion dip out of a container.  How about switching it up a bit this year? I am going to give you some recipes that will make you look like the star I know you are – and easy! Because no one wants to be stuck in the kitchen when the party is in the living room, right?

How about these beauties?

Super Bowls!

To Learn How To Make These….

Posted in Hospitalityaholic | 2 Responses »
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Handcrafted Giveaway Day With Miss Becky

Thursday, February 4th, 2010

Good Morning, Darlings!

I know you are always looking for those special hostess gifts or a little luxury for yourself(!) It is tough to be continually creative. Once, in a pinch, I realized I had forgotten to pick up a hostess gift as we were headed for the party, so we swung into a drugstore and I gave the hostess some Sponge Bob Squarepants bubble bath. Thank God she considered it to be fun and quirky. Now that I am a little more experienced, I like to keep a stash of goodies to take to a party hostess.

Today, I have the perfect hostess gift for you. No, really, I have a gift for you! My sweet friend and neighbor, Miss Becky, has been making these remarkable, handcrafted soaps. And she is so delightful, I bet you will feel happy when you suds up. Good karma + good soap! Becky and her husband, Mr. Tim, have made a serious mark on our neighborhood by just being there for all the kids. They have a non-profit called the Beltline Bike Shop, that supplies bikes to our neighborhood kids after they have completed a certain amount of clean up in the neighborhood. They tutor, they have crafts days, they made sure the entire neighborhood had Halloween makeup and costumes. Becky and Tim are pretty much our resident saints.

But, let’s talk about this fab soap!

How Cute Would It Be To Take a Themed Gift To A Tea Party?

Soapy Goodness After The Fold

Posted in Hospitalityaholic | 11 Responses »
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She Bowls

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010

Good Morning, Darlings!

Last night was bowling for Miss Lisa’s birthday. Golly, I can barely remember the last time I bowled…can you?  It was a ton of fun and the place was packed (on a Tuesday night!)  We were at Midtown Bowl , our local bowlery (I am pretty sure that is not a word, but it is now!)  They have a really extensive menu and everything is made fresh. Lisa really liked the beer list (she is a beer expert – no, not because she drinks it, but a real live expert. She even has her own beer newspaper. Check it out here.)

Midtown Bowl - Our Destination

Click Here To See More Bowling Fun

Posted in Hospitalityaholic | 2 Responses »

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