Anatomy of a Dinner Party

Good Morning, Darlings!

Well, it’s finally here! It’s party day and we are supposed to get sleet today – uh oh!

The good news is: If everyone shows up, the party will be awesome.
The good news is: If no one shows up, we have a ton of great food and a case of champagne.

So – win win!

Yesterday found me drizzling potato chips with chocolate and making mounds of chicken salad, both dilled and curried. It took over 2 hours to make the chicken salad. But it will be tasty on its tiny rolls.

Last night Eric, Crystal and I worked on transforming the dining room. It is very, very pretty. But, sorry, no photos here until tomorrow. I can’t ruin all the surprises!

In the afternoon, a van drove up to the house with the most beautiful flower arrangement. They were from our bff, Vickie, who could not be here this time. This is tough for me because she has been here for every huge party we have given. So we took her gorgeous flowers and set them right in the middle of the table so at least in spirit she will be the guest of honor.

Clint called last night from his balcony in St. Thomas to say he wished he could be with us. Heck, I was wishing I could be in St. Thomas!

The dogs have been dropped off at camp. John and Danny will be here at noon to help set up. Whatever would I do without those two? They are the greatest friends any girl could ask for.

Art Director Tracy is feeling much better and went to party of her own last night. Crystal and I kept her company while she got ready and just enjoyed sitting in her huge closet with a glass of pinot noir. Nice!

Eric finally folded last night and we cracked open a bottle of bubbly. It was a nice evening before the party tonight.

But there is much to do, my darlings, so I must bid you adieu.

Until tomorrow and the party wrap up!

xoxo, Patti

Good Morning, Darlings!

Thursday was a flurry of activity. Lisa and I set out early for the grocery store and restaurant supply store for all the food and serviceware. After the grocery store, I was well under budget, but then I got to the restaurant supply store – a wonderful emporium (to the trade only) of mondo boxes of hors d’ouevres, pretty plastic plates and champagne glasses. Ahem….needless to say, I lost my mind in there and went $100 over budget. But it will make everything look so lovely! The grocery store was flat out of puff pasty, so we scrapped the idea of making olive straws and replaced them with a variety box of fancy hors d’ouevres that looked much better than just about anything else I could produce.

Wallet emptied, we returned home for the initial cooking. Lisa poached chicken breasts for the dilled chicken salad sliders while I fried umpteen batches of farfalle (bowtie pasta) that had been previously boiled by Lisa. It turned out well after we mastered the frying time. There are now three huge ziploc bags of crunchy farfalle in my pantry. One appetizer done, three more to conquer.

And the evening brought a delightful surprise – yes, Virginia, there is a Taruan! Yes, our handsome Space Planner was back from the Bahamas and ready to tell me where to put everything (for the party, of course!) It will all be fabulous, but the party is tomorrow and this is what my house looks like.

Tablescape Yet To Be Finished

Beau Coup Cokes Underneath All These Mixers

Party Updates After The Fold

Good Morning, Darlings,

Saturday night is our black tie Christmas party for 75+ guests. This week I will share all the highlights and headaches as they happen each day leading up to the event.

But first, something more fun than that. Last night, Morgan, the niece of my bff, Vickie, and her friend Joe stopped by for dinner on their way from Tennessee to Florida. It was so nice to have them here, along with Morgan’s dog Headphones (yes, that’s his name). I made mac and cheese with tomatoes & bacon, homemade bread, salad and hazelnut brownies (same brownie recipe from yesterday, but sub out the peppermint for hazelnut extract). It was a quick visit as they had to get back on the road to get home. After packing them up with the leftovers, I cleaned the kitchen and got a great night’s sleep in anticipation of this week.

Morgan, Headphones and Joe

Party Planning Begins Now

Happy Saturday, Darlings!

As today is the SEC Championship Game between my beloved Florida Gators and Alabama, I am feeling a bit antsy. I am ready for the game to start and the andouille sausage to go on the grill.  So forgive me if I seem a bit scattered.

Miss Tami from Running With Tweezers and I perched ourselves at the bar at Varasano’s Pizza yesterday for some cocktail testing.  Now, since Tami is blogging about this, I will not steal her thunder and I look forward to reading about all her suggestions.  But we did have some lovely beverages, these yellow beauties being the first.

Tami's Charming Friend, Tony

Read more about Varasano’s after the fold