Last week my sweet friend Stuart and I threw a party together at The Foundry Home Furnishings.

Stu and I put together an invitation list of some of Atlanta’s Tastemakers. Add the totally amazing cuisine of Avenue Catering Concepts, a gorgeously lit showroom with lots of places to perch and visit and voila! You have a perfect evening.

Let the photos do the talking!

Stuart and me - your hosts for the evening.

Three scrumptious food stations were set up among the coziest settees, couches and conversation areas for nibbling and making new friends.

There was the station with chef attended guacamole and luscious roasted shrimp in gazpacho. I didn’t even know I liked gazpacho until I tasted this.

Chef Victor's Southwestern Cuisine

Stunning Shrimp in Gazpacho Shooters

Chef Victor's Guacamole...Yum!

You know I love to hear about folks. Chef Victor worked for two years as a pastry chef at the White House. At my party – a presidential chef. Yes, I was blown away.

Guacamole Close Up - with edible flowers!

Our guests were first class, too.

Randall, Patrick and Me.

Randall and Patrick created the art festivals for which I am the sponsorship director. Our next festival is coming up on May 14 & 15, in Buckhead. Here’s our link. That’s what I do in real life, when I’m not here with you.

Chef Matt at the Italian station.

Chef Matt prepared beef tenderloin, wonderful mushroom ravioli, stuffed eggplant & pizza squares. It was all incredible. The eggplant alone made believers of the former haters of eggplant. The food was awesome.

That amazing stuffed eggplant. Nom Nom Nom....

The third food station was southern themed. Fried green tomato sliders mingled with lobster mac & cheese!!! Avenue Catering Concepts spoiled us so!!

Wait...did you say lobster mac & cheese? OMG.

And so we nibbled and we visited with our glam guests.

Patrick with lovely Kass

Enjoying a laugh with Tami and Tyler.

Tammie, as I’m sure you know, is with Talking With Tami, and Tyler is with J. Douglas.

There was also my friend, Veronica, of Veronica Unleashed.

Veronica and me. Check out the swanky pillows in the background!

The remarkable folks of Avenue Catering Concepts - Troy, Cheryl and owner, David.

How many parties do you attend that the owner of the catering company comes to make sure everything is perfect? Just one. That would be David of Avenue Catering Concepts.

And everything was perfect.

Walt, Editor for Design Is Magazine, and me.

I love that new friendships were forged.

Renee kept everyone's glass full. Signature cocktail - perfect margarita!

Audrey and Alicia kept everything running smoothly behind the scenes.

From left, David of Avenue, Audrey, Stuart, Abe of the Foundry, and Kass

Walt Scott, Kimberly Ward, Randall Fox

Darling Donna Lefont of Lefont Theatres, and Patrick Dennis.

Stuart with sweet Brooke of Reinspiration. More on her to come!

Paul and Barry visit with Maura of 365Atlanta

Adorable Bren Herera of Flamboyant Eats

I’m not sure where Bren puts all those delicious flans she serves up on her most popular blog. She’s no bigger than a thimble!

At the end of the evening, Randall and Patrick had donated 4 sets of gift cards to raffle among our guests. Two sets were tickets to the Georgia Aquarium and two sets were for Gigi’s Cupcakes, along with a beautifully framed poster from our upcoming Buckhead Spring Arts & Crafts Festival.

A million thanks to Stuart & Abe at The Foundry Home Furnishings for allowing me to co-host a party with them and a billion more thanks to Avenue Catering Concepts, who astounded every single guest with their supreme cuisine. The food was truly the centerpiece of the evening.

Watch for many more “Anatomy of A Dinner Party Presents” events in the future!

xoxo, Patti

Today blogging to Leslie Gore – It’s My Party (but no crying here…!)

You would call Eddie Ross a designer on Bravo’s Top Design, the former Senior Style Editor for Martha Stewart Living, Decorating Editor for House Beautiful, Contributing Editor to Woman’s Day and wildly popular blogger.

I am lucky enough to call him my friend.

When I learned that Eddie and his ultra fabulous beau, Jaithan, were going to be in town in July, they were so kind to set aside some time in their incredibly busy schedules to join us for dinner.

Okay, now that they have agreed to dinner – where do I go from here? This was not to be a wienie cookout with s’mores (though there is nothing wrong with that!), but needed to be warm, inviting and sophisticated – like the two of them.

Warm – check
Inviting – check
Sophisticated – let me work on that

The food is always important, but first you have to have the perfect mix of guests. This is key, my darlings, or else you will have a flop on your hands, no matter what fabulous food you are serving.

I wanted this to be a small, intimate dinner so my guest list was of the utmost importance. This was our group:

Eddie + Jaithan (of course!)

Eric and I (well, duh…)

Tami, my friend, food stylist and author of Running With Tweezers and her lively, fun friend Terri (you met her here)

Christy, CEO of Peas For Prosperity

Taruan, my beloved friend, who you have met here at the blog and was moving to NYC the very next day(!!) to go to Parsons School of Design

And at Eddie and Jaithan’s suggestion, the most delightful Kerry Howard (Eddie’s fellow designer from Top Design) and his bestie, Tyler

I invited Kerry and was beyond thrilled that he and Tyler agreed to join us. It was the icing on the cake.

Super Fab Guest List – Check

Now for the table and the food.

I set the table with my gorgeous gold embossed Moroccan-inspired glasses that I used as votive holders, gold chargers and a white milk glass bowl filled with green and yellow fruit as an homage to a centerpiece Eddie designed for Southern Living.

Table Set - Just Add Laughter!

If you notice, there are no plates on the table. Eric and I decided to plate the dinner for a little extra sophistication. A first for us, I believe.

Close Up of My Great Gold Flatware Sent to Me By My Sweet Friend, Allison

And I didn’t have 10 of any one gold charger, so I just mixed them up. It worked well.

And now, for the menu:

Endive Stuffed With Tabouli – Starter

Segura Vida Cava & Canton Ginger Liqueur or St. Germain – Welcome Cocktail

Grilled Lamb Chops

2006 Cynthiana, Three Sisters Vineyard

2006 Chardonnay, Three Sisters Vineyard

Tomatoes Stuffed With Corn, Bacon & Chiles

Oven Roasted Broccoli Florets

Onion Flatbread

With everything in place and the music picked by my darling husband (lots of upbeat tunes so no one would snooze…), we were ready to greet our friends. And away we go!

Endive Stuffed With Tabouli

A Bit of Canton Mixed With Bubbly Makes A Yummy Welcome Drink

First to arrive – Eddie  + Jaithan. With the sweetest hostess gift – salt and pepper cellars. Love them!

Crystal Salt & Pepper Cellars

Eddie and I Sample The Endive

I Get A Chance to Visit With Jaithan Before The Rest Arrive

I just love Eddie + Jaithan. I love how well they compliment each other. Eddie is ebullient, bubbly and fabulous. Jaithan is a modern day Cary Grant, debonair, well-spoken and fabulous. They are the best of the best. Just being in their company makes one feel better about life and all it has to offer.

Eric, Eddie, Jaithan and I got the last minute details in place before the rest of the guests arrived. Eric lit the grill for the lamb, Eddie styled the appetizers and he & Jaithan put together the welcome cocktails.

Eddie and Christy Enjoy A Beverage

Terri Samples A Little Nibble

Tyler and Kerry Join The Party

Upon seeing me, Kerry proclaimed that I looked like a big piece of pink bubble gum. I consider this a compliment. Pink! Bubble gum! What’s not to like?

Taruan Relaxes On His Last Night In Atlanta

I know I should have been nervous with all these interior designers in the house, but I wasn’t! Oh, the wonders of bubbly! lol

Tami and Eddie Get To Know Each Other

And then dinner was ready. Everyone, take your seats.

Three Sisters Wine Flowed...

It was exciting to showcase only Georgia wines at dinner. My friends Doug and Sharon really know what they are doing.

One Plated Dinner

Taruan Pours A Glass of Chardonnay For Christy

For dessert? Well, Jaithan recently celebrated a birthday and since it was so close, I wanted to celebrate with him. Eddie told me that Jaithan’s favorite cake is red velvet, so off I went to the city’s best baker – Cake Hag and placed my order. They make their red velvet cake with a red wine reduction – tres chic. Like Jaithan!

Happy Belated Birthday, Jaithan!

The cake truly was as smooth as velvet. And the icing was not the extra heavy cream cheese type. This was much lighter. No one felt weighed down after indulging in a slice. The cake was paired with Three Sisters Georgia Port, a gift to me from my friends Doug and Sharon. It was the perfect match. The three candles represent past, present and future.

We Were Able To Surprise Jaithan

Thumbs Up All Around, Maggie!

Kerry and Jaithan Give Their Seal of Approval

Scoring A Hug From Kerry and Jaithan

Time to Change Chairs At The Table

Kerry and Christy

Tami and Eddie

Jaithan and Christy

Kerry, Tami and Eddie

The Remains of a Very Happy Evening

It’s rare to have television stars, interior designers, food stylists and fab guys like my Eric all at one table. But we did this night. And it was the greatest time. Filled with hilarious repartee, amazing wines and fine food. Eric, Honey, thanks for manning the grill in the hellish heat and for being the photographer for the night. You make my life a living dream.

One last shot.

So Great Having Everyone Here!

Eddie + Jaithan arrived with gifts and when they left for the evening, left me with two even greater gifts – Kerry and Tyler’s friendship. Thank you to my wonderful friends – I can’t wait for you to return so we can do it all again.

xoxo, Patti

Today blogging to Dirty Dancing Soundtrack – Time of My Life