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

Dessert

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Here and There

Tuesday, November 7th, 2017

Good Morning Darlings!

Things have been hopping around here, so I thought I would post a few photos and give you an update.

 

Candy Experiment

Eric and I went to see Nathaniel Hawthorne and the Night Sweats on Halloween night, so we weren’t here for most of the candy-handing-out. I put a sign on our candy bowl and set it out. It worked pretty well. No one took the bowl!

Larry. Oh, Larry.

This is crazy Larry. No, he won’t make you a great deal on a new car, but he lives with us now. Larry loves long walks, chasing balls, driving Karen insane and sleeping on the bed. Get off the bed, Larry. We are learning to love Larry.

These ladies are electric!

This was a group of ladies I brought together that pretty much run this town. From the Arthur M. Blank Foundation to the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and beyond, these ladies taught me so much in one evening. Looking forward to plenty more dinners with women of substance like these five.

Cream Puffs!

Did you know that cream puffs are insanely easy to make? You can make tons in an afternoon and watch your friends gobble them all up. This is a before picture, but they turned out great. I topped them with chocolate ganache and filled them with…GASP…vanilla Jello pudding (I dumped all the jello into a piping bag and hid the evidence). Don’t judge. They were delicious. Here’s a recipe. Go make them right now.

I love my friends.

After I made the cream puffs, we had a lovely dinner party for 6 friends. I made a beef bourguinon and served it over Israeli cous cous with a crisp green salad and yeast rolls.

The photo above is my kitchen after the dinner party. Our wonderful friend Teague rolled up his sleeves and washed all the dishes. Our dishwasher is on the fritz. I could tell you why, but the story is too gruesome. If you live in a 100+ year old house, you can imagine.

Anyhoo. How’s your week coming along?

xoxo, Patti

 

More Lemony Goodness

Thursday, July 6th, 2017

Good Morning Darlings,

I can’t get enough of anything lemon this summer. I leave you with this today. Go, make it. Treat yourself and all your loved ones.

You need this tart. I need this tart.

Find the recipe here. 

xoxo, Patti

St. Simons Island-The Shocking Truth Part 1

Friday, May 19th, 2017

Good Morning Darlings,

After spending four days in St. Simons Island, I must confess. There are secrets there. Many secrets.

And I’m going to share them ALL with you! From the local gossip to how the other half lives, I won’t hold anything back.

Let’s start with the cuisine. What are they feeding folks to give them all that dreamy, swoony looks in their eyes? I went in to get the scoop just for you. Research, of course.

The first night there, I dressed for dinner and made my way to the Solarium. I’m pretty sure I saw Jay Gatsby lingering in the corner, drinking champagne. A well-heeled server offered me a Due West cocktail on a platter. It would be inhospitable not to accept. Research, remember. Our group was met by Chef James Flack and I then spied two gigantic displays of 20+ pound fish and an assortment of seafood on a table facing the Atlantic Ocean and its lulling waves. I was starting to feel relaxed. Too relaxed. Was I falling under a spell?

Chef Flack and his fish

A closer look at those fish

Wine glasses clinked and course after course of luscious seafood was brought to our table. Sparkling conversation ensued. I could see how a mere mortal might succumb to such delights. But not I! I was stronger than that.

You know I can’t resist a beautifully set table.

Luscious Crab Cakes

Grouper over grits

Perhaps just one more bite of the creme’ brulee before retreating to my king sized bed where the only sound was waves crashing on the beach.

The most amazing creme brulee.

No, not I….zzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

xoxo, Patti

Easter Re-runs!

Saturday, April 15th, 2017

Good Morning Darlings,

Still crushing on Easter – only 1 more day!

If you are looking for inspiration, here are a couple of my favorite blog post about my favorite spring day. Enjoy!

It’s a Swoozie’s Easter!

Easter With The Fam

Peeping Easter

I’ll leave you with a link to the lemon meringue pie I’ll be making on Sunday. The recipe is by my sweet friend, Brookie Lark, who created the Anatomy of A Dinner Party logo and makes everyone swoon with her famous blog, Cheeky Kitchen. I LOVE Brooke.

Isn’t this pie a beauty? Thanks Brookie!!

Happy Easter my Bunnies!

xoxo, Patti

Hocus Pocus – Yumtastic!

Tuesday, October 25th, 2016

Good Morning Darlings!

I love Halloween. Not only is the dressing up fun, but CANDY! And not only candy, but all kinds of adorable treats.

This past weekend we went to a Halloween Baby Shower for our friends Laura and Evan. That was a first. Tons of fun. Our fabulous friends, Paige and Alex dressed their 3 yr. old son, Lucien up as Michael Meyers. Which I thought was hilarious.

Here’s our photo together.

How awesome (and scary) is this little killer? I

How awesome (and scary) is this little killer? 

Are you looking for a new, easy, adorable recipe to feed your party guests? How about this Hocus Pocus inspired smores pop? The folks at Delish have got it going on.

I need these. Well, I don’t actually NEED them, but I sure would love to have one. 🙂

Love these!

Love these!

Let me know if you make them and how they turn out!

BOO!

xoxo, Patti

 

Spookvegas

Thursday, October 13th, 2016

Good Morning Darlings!

It’s always fun to see what’s going on in other parts of the country. Especially for Halloween.

At the Bellagio and Aria in Las Vegas they are making this October deliciously scary. Take a look:

How can he be so skinny and be made of chocolate?

How can he be so skinny and be made of chocolate?

All chocolate! The pumpkins AND the zombie!

All chocolate! The pumpkins AND the zombie!

ARIA’s main showpiece is a 200-pound, six-foot-tall male zombie made out of chocolate and rolling fondant. Due to his bold, statuesque position near the shop, guests are encouraged to take goosebump-worthy selfies with him if they dare. Another sight to behold is the life-size skeleton perched in a chocolate electric chair. This design took the team more than 70 hours to complete, using approximately 130 pounds of white and dark chocolate.

From gory and gruesome body parts to whimsical cakes and pastries, the displays cater to every guest, no matter how they prefer to celebrate the holiday. Executive Pastry Chef Claude Escamilla and his talented team worked diligently for eight months to create more than 45 festive showpieces that place the undead at center stage.  With a year of planning, countless sketches and hundreds of ideas from skilled pastry artists, the final display showcases their hard work through a cake closely resembling human flesh, tombstones straight out of a horror movie and many more hair-raising pieces.

“I was very much inspired by my favorite TV program, “The Walking Dead,” said Escamilla. “When I was watching the show, I kept thinking about how I could take the characters and turn them into life-size creations for the holiday.”

So you KNOW I’m loving Chef Claude’s creations.

Shall we visit Las Vegas? Hmmm?

xoxo, Patti

Lemonlicious

Friday, March 25th, 2016

Good Morning Darlings!

I’ve been so busy lately, but I’ve missed you! And now it’s almost Easter.

Bestie Melanie is cooking dinner and I am contributing deviled eggs and lemon meringue cupcakes. Don’t these cupcakes sound divine? Take a look at how pretty they are!

LemonCupcakes

Now, that isn’t my finished product, but it did come from the lovely people at Nielsen-Massey, who were so kind to send me their gorgeous vanilla AND lemon extract so I could recreate this masterpiece at home.

And, it would not be kind of me to keep the recipe all to myself. Here you go – make these and look like a superstar this Sunday!

Lemon Cupcakes with Marshmallow Meringue(Makes 2 Dozen)

For the Cupcakes:
2½ cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1½ cups sugar
2 tablespoons lemon zest (3-4 large lemons)
2 teaspoons Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract
½ teaspoon Nielsen-Massey Pure Lemon Extract
3 large eggs
½ cup low-fat buttermilk

Directions
Preheat oven to 350?F. Place paper liners into two standard cupcake tins; set aside. In a medium bowl, add flour, baking powder and salt; whisk to blend and set aside.In a large mixing bowl, add butter, sugar, lemon zest, and vanilla and lemon extracts. With a handheld mixer, beat on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Reduce speed to low. Add dry ingredients one-half at a time, alternating with buttermilk; beat after each addition and scrape sides of bowl as needed. Do not overmix batter.Fill each liner with about ¼ cup batter and bake until done, about 18 minutes. Carefully place cupcakes in 2 (9 x 13) pans and cover with plastic wrap; set aside to cool. Make sure the wrap does not touch the cupcake tops; this method of cooling will make deliciously moist cupcakes.

For the Marshmallow Meringue:
4 egg whites
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
¼ cup sugar
1 cup marshmallow creme
½ teaspoon Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract
¼ teaspoon Nielsen-Massey Pure Lemon Extract

Directions
In a large bowl, add egg whites and cream of tartar. With a handheld mixer, beat on medium-high speed until foamy. Increase mixer speed to high and gradually add sugar until soft peaks form.Add marshmallow creme, vanilla and lemon extracts, and beat until combined. Using the back of a spoon, mound and creatively swirl meringue onto each cooled cupcake.Place cupcakes on a rimmed sheet pan. Use a handheld kitchen torch or place under a broiler and toast until golden brown. If using the broiler method, watch to ensure meringue does not over brown.

xoxo, Patti

Guest Post – A Twist on Blueberry Pie!

Saturday, June 14th, 2014

Good Morning Darlings,

I am so happy to hand the reins over today to my dear friend and business partner, Carrie. She is an incredible cook and can whip up a party in a moment’s notice. It’s truly fabulous to behold.

Southern Living Magazine is one of our favorites, so when they asked if I would pick something to try from their newest issue, I was just dying over the pie on the cover.  Carrie picked up the ball and ran with it…here’s her story. Enjoy!

Take it away, Carrie!

TV Stars and Healthy Eating

Thursday, June 12th, 2014

Good Morning Darlings,

I know Memorial Day has come and gone, but you know what? We still have an entire summer of cookouts ahead of us.

What does this have to do with anything?

Season’s Musings

Friday, December 21st, 2012

Good Morning Darlings!

Can you believe it’s almost Christmas? Holy cow!

We are hosting a tiny dessert and cocktail party late Christmas night. Seems like a good time. Everyone will be done with family celebrations and be ready to unwind.

What do the holidays hold for you?