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

Chioke

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July 4th Weekend-Part Two

Wednesday, July 7th, 2010

Good Morning, Darlings!

On day one, after spending the afternoon on the Crush Pad with Doug, Sharon and Chef Dairen, we drove home to Atlanta where Eric had made dinner reservations at Abbatoir. It was a splendid affair, although no pictures. A couple needs to have some private time, after all.

But on Sunday, we made our favorite baked potato salad and headed over to Jay and Valerie’s house for their fabulous fried chicken, and Curtis’ world famous pulled pork and lots of other goodies. And of course, I brought my camera!

She's A Grand Old Flag, She's A High Flying Flag....

Join Me Inside For Some Tasty Treats!

Cold Is The New Cool

Tuesday, June 8th, 2010

Good Morning, Darlings!

The official start of summer is just days away, but Old Sol seems antsy to bring it on. It is positively steamy here in Atlanta and what better way to beat the heat than ice cream? Now I know that might coincide with your bikini-ready plans, but you need to give yourself a tiny break here and there, yes?

There are so many fantastic ice cream purveyors here in our city – just turn around and you bump into one!

If Only We Could All Look So Sweet Gobbling Ice Cream

More Frozen Goodness Inside

Fun Find Friday – St-Germain

Friday, May 21st, 2010

Good Morning, Darlings!

This week has been a flurry of parties and with the weekend approaching there seems to be no end in sight. Two dinners with Jeff at our house, Shameeka’s fabulous reception at the Mansion on Peachtree, dinner with my Love at WASABi after the reception, tapas at Clint’s followed by dinner at Carrie and Steven’s loft (more on that next week), tonight a dinner party at the home of neighbor and pastry chef Dave and his wife, Sue, tomorrow the exciting Blogger’s Brunch at The Four Season’s Park 75, then a graduation celebration with my favorite former boss and his precious family and on to Leila’s birthday party on Saturday night.

Whew. Sometimes, a girl is in need of a swanky cocktail just to slow down and reflect a bit.

Is that girl (or guy) you? Do you need a break, my Sweetie? Have I got the cocktail for you. Made with St-Germain.

Photo by: Jamie Boudreau www.vesselseattle.com

Join Me For A Friday Cocktail?

A Night At The Drive-In

Monday, May 10th, 2010

Good Morning, Darlings!

Who else saw Iron Man 2 this weekend? Show of hands? Me, me!! A group of our besties got together and caravaned to the drive-in to enjoy the late spring weather and have a little cookout (any reason for a cookout with our friends!) We joined our friends and neighbors, Jay & Val, Chioke & Taruan and Jay’s sister, Heather, and had a blast.

Jay and Val had obviously done this before and brought a portable grill, all the turkey brats and potato salad. I brought cole slaw, chips & spinach dip, Italian sausages and a lobster tail. We all parked next to each other (that was a feat – it was packed!) and got to grilling. Val also made sangria and the fun began.

Chef Jay Firing Up The Grill

More Drive-In Antics Inside

Eric Makes Paella

Tuesday, May 4th, 2010

Good Morning, Darlings!

This past Saturday, my angel of a husband tackled making paella for 7 of us. Armed with a recipe given to us by our dear Chioke (who coaxed it out of a chef in Barcelona!), Eric took to the kitchen like a man on a mission. And it was a mission – feed 7 hungry friends.

First up, get the oil in the pan hot:

Caution - Super Hot Oil!

For A Mini Vacay In Barcelona, Come On In

Taruan’s Birthday – Don’t Call It A Party

Wednesday, April 21st, 2010

Good Morning, Darlings!

This past Friday was my sweet Taruan’s birthday date of birth celebration day. Called a “get together” by his partner, Chioke. Tomato, tomahto – I call it a party. And it was such fun!

Chioke always has something surprising and fun at his parties get togethers and this time was no different. Take a look at the outside of their house as we walked up.

Nope, That Doesn't Scream "Party". Not One Bit.

More Unparty Photos Inside

A Sweet Night With My Boys

Monday, March 22nd, 2010

Good Morning, Darlings!

As I look back to February and whip out all the fun nights we’ve shared with friends, I had almost forgotten this one.  After returning from NOLA, we invited our sweeties Taruan and Chioke for a sweet night.  And from the looks of the photos we took, you would think there was no dinner served….but I just cannot recall.   Although, here is evidence that I made some fresh tortilla chips.

Mmmm, Fresh Chips!

You all know how to do this, right?  Take a stack of small tortillas, cut them in half and half them again.  Fry in hot oil, scoop out and sprinkle with kosher salt. Devour.

Almost too easy – and so much better than store bought.

More Sweets After The Fold

Saturday Brunch

Tuesday, January 26th, 2010

Good Morning, Darlings!

This past Saturday I had promised to teach our darling Chioke how to make biscuits and sausage gravy. I thought this was the perfect opportunity to throw a little get together.

Now usually, sausage gravy and biscuits sounds like a down home kind of meal. But I decided to amp up the glamour.  There would be 7 of  us at brunch and I wanted a very special table setting. First stop, the State Farmer’s market to see the flower lady. The roses there start at $9.99 for 2 dozen and they are really beautiful.  She was having a “buy two and get one bunch free” deal that I could just not say no to. I ended up with 2 bunches of yellow roses and one bunch of a very, very, pale yellow roses.  So total roses – 6 dozen. Cost – $27.50. The “wow” effect on my friends – priceless.

More Brunch Fun After The Fold

Just Dance (Party)

Wednesday, January 13th, 2010

Good Morning, Darlings!

Listening to Lady GaGa while writing this post. Still reeling from her amazing concert on 12/28. So, when I saw an ad for a new Wii game, “Just Dance“, I knew this would make for a great party evening.

With the snow keeping the majority of our neighbors inside recently, I decided to make a few calls last Friday and invite a few buddies to come by, and, well, just dance.

More Dance Party After The Fold

This game is hilarious. Not only is it a blast to play, but even more fun to watch.  There were six of us gathered at our house around 9pm and the fun started.  Taruan, Chioke, Eric and I took to the living room floor and got moving. I believe we started with “Hot and Cold” by Katy Perry.  You just follow the dancer on the screen and do what they do. This sounds so much easier than it is.  But in no time, Taruan, The Dance King, was killing. He was trouncing all over everyone. He could not be beat. Val and Jay joined us a bit later and the party was in full swing.

Taruan, The Dance King
Taruan, The Dance King
Chioke Challenges Taruan
Chioke Challenges Taruan
Chioke and Karen Take A Break
Chioke and Karen Take A Break
Twix Break!
Twix Break!

All that dancing works up an appetite, so I pulled out the homemade twix bars I had made the night before and they were devoured. Time to mix a few adult beverages and back to the dance floor.

We didn’t stop until 2am, when I decided to whip up some biscuits and sausage gravy. Not everyone eats pork, so I put out some raspberry/jalapeno jelly and the beloved honey bear. Chioke had the grand idea to slather the biscuits first with the jelly and then the sausage gravy.  Across the table I asked him how he came up with the idea – “Greed,” was all Chioke said, with an evil little smile.

If you had tasted it, you would agree that a little greed can be a very good thing indeed.

There’s A White Elephant In The Room…

Monday, December 21st, 2009

Good Morning, Darlings!

Four more shopping days until Christmas! So exciting!

This weekend was a bundle of fun.  Friday night my darling and I spent the evening in, watching movies and cuddling up on the couch. Perfect time!  Saturday was Val and Jay’s White Elephant Party. You know about White Elephant parties, right?  Everyone brings an inexpensive gift and puts it under the tree.  Then a corresponding number goes into a hat for drawing later.  You all draw numbers (although Jay and Val did theirs a bit different – they put everyone’s name into a hat and then drew them for picking a gift), pick a gift, unwrap it and decide whether you want to keep it or trade for a gift that someone else has.  It was just a blast.  All our neighbors were there (I seriously love walking to and from these parties!), the food was great and the gifts hilarious.  Sorry, but some of them were fairly NSFW (not suitable for work viewing), but I did take plenty of photos.  Take a look:

More Zaniness After The Fold