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

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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

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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

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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!

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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….

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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 »

Shane’s Birthday

Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010

Good Morning, Darlings!

This week is a flurry of parties – tonight is Lisa’s birthday bowling party, tomorrow night we attend Mike’s birthday pub party, Saturday night is our darling Danny’s birthday dinner and then Sunday is Super Bowl. Super Bowl is a special day for Eric and me as that’s how we met (thanks, Holly!) eleven years ago.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Saturday night was Shane’s birthday. Shane and Leila are our friends and neighbors and are just delightful. As I’m not feeling particularly chatty, I thought I would let the pictures tell the story today.

What was on the menu? Wine, of course!

Peek Into The Party After The Fold

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January Wrap Up

Saturday, January 30th, 2010

Good Morning, Darlings!

This week has been a flurry of cooking at our house. We adhered to our planned menu for the week and it was so much fun.  Last night was pork belly tacos and the night before was dim sum. Wednesday night was Chicken Pot Pie. And here are the pictures to prove it.

Making Martha's Pate Brisee (by hand) for the Chicken Pot Pie Crust

Making Martha's Pate Brisee for the Chicken Pot Pie Crust

More Food Fun After The Fold

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Risotto Mania!

Thursday, January 28th, 2010

Good Morning, Darlings!

I have challenged myself recently to only eat what we have in the house (no shopping til the weekend) so we can see what we really have and to stop waste. We saw how I revamped the fluff-deprived marshmallows into soft taffy as hostess gifts. Last night I thawed the leftover french onion soup we made last week, toasted up the last of the beautiful loaf Lisa bought me at Super H on our last visit together and topped it with mozzarella cheese. Not totally authentic, but it was what we had. And was it ever yummy. I also baked up some of our cookie dough from the weekend so we would have dessert. Tonight it will be chicken pot pie, with chicken mixture leftover from chicken and dumplings last week, topped with a lovely pate brisee from Martha, which will make dinner prep a snap. Thursday is dim sum night, with a ton of dim sum (frozen) that I picked up at Super H on the cheap. Rounding up the week will be pork belly tacos with pork belly found in the freezer (another Super H steal). Saturday is date night and I will tell you about that next week.

More Risotto Amore After The Fold

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