What is the next event you are planning?

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Robo410 said:
Jan 6 we will host an open house at our new house. (we will be in Dec 22)
It will be the first big test of the new wolf dual fuel 36" range!

What are you going to be serving? I am so envious of you and your range!
 
Claire said:
Chopstix, I'm jealous! I've always loved beef tongue, I assume ox tongue is similar.

Claire, I think they're the same. Ox tongue is just a fancier name. :)

Good luck on your Christmas party this year! Sounds like a great family tradition. Especially when it cuts across religions and nationalities!
 
I will make a jillion real Swedish meatballs (grama's recipe from the old country, full of game and allspice, softened with a mix of old bread and mushy root veggies...so incredibly yummy...what makes them sweet savory? the deer, the spice and the mushed up carrots and parsnips!)

A ham from Harringtons (Vermont corn cob smoked, again really fine stuff)

A sausage, blackeye pea, rice, and veggie caserole.

cheeses, charcuterie, breads, sweets

wine, beer, top shelf liquors for sipping neat

coffee, tea, sweets (holiday cookies etc)

I know I'm crazy to do this so soon after moving but heck, a house is for living!
 
Yes, the WWII party went SO well, as a matter of fact, that they're thinking of making Galena their next reunion destination. They make no bones about the reception we had here at the house being the big attraction. As life moves on, the actual WWII vets are getting smaller and smaller in numbers, and the people necessary to get them here are more and more. At one point, my friend (it was her father's unit) was apalled that her dad called and asked to come and look things over. Hubby just told her, "That's what we do in the military. Recon." A neighbor, who had been invited but couldn't come, actually came over to help bring a wheelchair-bound guy to the house (built in 1854, on the side of a hill, it is NOT handicapped accessible). There were three widows of vets, a half-dozen vets, and each vet had at least one person travelling with them because they are all too old to travel by themselves. Do NOT get a picture of stale, moldy old guys. It was a blast.
 
Do any of you have those moments before a party when you wonder if you are sane or not, that you'd actually invite 60 people to your home? I'm past it now. For me it is that couple of days before the party. I live in an old house, which requires LOTS of cleaning before it is acceptable. I sit there at o'dark-thirty in the morning, and wonder why I set this all in motion. Now it is the wee hours of the day of the party. It finally got "warm" enough that I spent yesterday morning getting the front of the house semi-decorated (we're getting to that age where we don't do much, since it is an old house, natural garland, wreaths, and red velvet bows and a fake candle in every window is enough). I need to do a bit of a mop-up on the floors, and it occurs to me that my ash tray needs to be emptied and cleaned (my smoking friends do smoke outside). The chili is in the fridge, all I need to do is warm it and assemble any other food. I have a freind who goes into a tizzy when she even has a few people over for dinner. She says I'm the most relaxed hostess she knows. She is bringing her BIL, who is terrified of dogs. I'm now down to one very old, very skittish, afraid of her shadow, JR terrier. He's been here before and he was afraid of her mother. This does not concern me much, I'm more afraid that some of my single-digit friends (there should be a half dozen of them) will be less than gentle in handling her, and she may bite if they aren't good to her. She's never bitten any one, mind you, but children, especially male of a certain age, seem to like to torture animals. Luckily most of my friends understand the problem and will try to protect my geriatric puppy. So all I really need to do today is shower, clean my bathroom, and maybe mop a floor. I am astonished, too, that my party is so popular that a couple of friends who have literally been on their death beds this year are planning on being here. I'm excited and looking forward to it!

Life is good .... but only if you want it to be.
 
I made a light dinner last night for four people. We knew beforehand that our two guests, both wine enthusiasts from Singapore, were bringing two excellent wines. On my menu:

Thinly sliced French baguette
Hummus with olives
Tomato, Mozzarella, Basil with Balsamic Vinaigrette
Beef Carpaccio and arugula
Cold meat and cheese platter with grapes
New Zealand green-lip mussels in white wine garlic cream sauce
Panna Cotta for dessert

The wines were a 1994 Grand Cru Classe St. Emilllion Merlot and a 1994 Wynn's John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon.

It was a superb evening. The Camembert went so incredibly well with the John Riddoch. The table looked so pretty. Here are the pictures.
 

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What a scrumptious meal, Chopstix! Bet your guests especially the two Singaporeans enjoyed themselves very much! Wish I were there too!!
 
Michele and Boufa, thanks! It was a perfect evening. We savoured the food and the wine while listening to Dvorak, Mozart, Puccini, Bach... We couldn't have asked for more. Btw, that's a slice of me on the upper right corner of the right photo, raising my glass ...:-p
 
OK, I've now decided that the theme for everything I do this year will be fifties and sixties. Mostly because my husband turns 60 in March, and I'm definitely doing a theme party for him and asking guests to participate. But our turn for brunch will come up at about that time and I'm thinking of a luau theme. Because we did live in Hawaii off-and-on for ten years, some of it will be real (i.e., fried rice for breakfast, spam). But I'm going to add the fifites kitsch to it with plastic leis and such.
 
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