LOOK WHO’S COMING TO DINNER – Writings of my dear friends

The other day I posted a blog about an imaginary dinner party.  This is all about fun and fantasy.  I’ve had sparkly, bubbly replies.  I share them with you.   I look forward to more dinner party tales from my dear blog readers.

Tin Man of TALES AND TRAVEL OF THE TIN MAN wrote …

Oh how very, very divine!!!!  I fell into your words and became so very involved with the dinner and the plans that it felt as if this were really happening.
I do believe that I would invite those that I miss most in my life:  My Mother, her Mother, My Oma (she would have to make the main course her famous Chicken and hard German Dumplings)  The of course, my Partner, the love of my life of 37 years would have to be there as there are times I felt my Mother and Grandmother loved him more than me!  Then, of course, Eleanor Roosevelt would have to come over to my home after she has rested up from your marvelous dinner, Thomas Jefferson would bring his famous bread pudding for dessert and a couple of bottles of wine from his vineyards at Monticello (well perhaps 8 bottles, he knows me well!)  Bette Davis would arrive……..late of course she always wants to make an entrance, much to the chagrin of Marlene Dietrich, who is always prompt due to her German nature.  Cher would seat herself between them and Bette would be so annoyed by all the feather plumes as she tried to light her cigarette.

We would begin the evening with some Veuve Cliquot that my dearest friend, Virginia, Princess of the Lotus Blossom, insisted on bringing along, her ever so charming husband following right behind with their fav champagne flutes in hand.

We would end the day, and begin the new one out on the deck, watching the sun rise, each of us reflecting on the marvelous conversation of the evening past, as we munched on piles of fresh figs filled with gorgonzola and wrapped in prosciutto and sipped on beautiful foaming cappuccinos.  Virginia would entertain us with her marvelous stories and President Jefferson would wonder what his tenure in office would have been like with her as his Vice President and how much more he could have accomplished.   Ahhhhhhh what a lovely evening, thanks for coming and bringing you wonderful husband, and of course the Veuve Ciquot!

Celi of THE KITCHENS GARDEN wrote …

Out here people do not invite each other to their houses to enjoy a meal. Ireally do not know why and if I invite them they either do not turn up or say they will get back with a date or whatever.. they love a cook out or beers on the verandah .. but not a dinner party. So the only dinner parties I have here are when people come to stay, usually from Nz (they know what cutlery is and do not look askance at my linen napkins)
AND I almost always cook a roast chicken stuffed with lemons and shallots.
We do start with nut crackers and home made fresh cheese and sometimes end with beautiful teacups of hot custard topped with tiny meringues. In the saucer is an even tinier tart apple sponge cake, as small as a chocolate. That is my favourite anyway. Last time my guests took baskets and picked their salads, and dug the potatoes and onions and beets after shopping in the freezer for lamb.
When I go home to NZ in December it will be dinner party after dinner party with me cooking. Already my children are putting in their requests. Before I leave to board the plane my last communication with them is always a grocery list!.. oops this has gotten too long.  C.

Ginny of POLLY’S PAPER wrote …

Well Virginia…after long and thoughtful consideration….I decided the menu would be easier to come up with then the guest list. When I grew up…we never had much…but we had enough. We had extended families under one roof…so meals had to stretch with rice or beans or veggies…so the comfort foods of my youth were always very simple..not gourmet. One of my favorite meals was rice with ground beef, spaghetti sauce and corn. I know it doesn’t sound like much…but we never had the option to be choosy with our food….if we were hungry…we ate what was put in front of us. My children now turn up their noses at that meal because they don’t understand doing without. Even before we became vegetarian I didn’t make that meal for my family…since I was the only one who would eat it… I haven’t had it in over 30 years. So I would choose comfort food from my youth. As to the guest list….I have to say I choose to live in a very small world…surrounded by those people with whom I interact with in daily life. It would never appeal to me to dine with a celebrity. I would like to sit at a table with myself 20 years younger and 20 years older…just to see where I’ve come from and where I’m going. I’d like to dine with my grown children to see the fine men they will become. I’d like to share a table with my Father…I’ve never met him….he died when I was a baby. I would like to share a meal with my Husband on our 75th wedding anniversary. Reveling in the stories of a life well lived and well shared. And last but not least I would truly enjoy the fellowship and a table shared with you my dear friend Virginia. And a toast with a lovely bottle of wine. What a wonderful memorable evening that would be : )

 

 

Pat of PATWOODBLOOGING wrote…

Can I come next time please? I’m always up for a dinner party. You are welcome back too.
And don’t forget coffee time. In the summer house of course. I’ll break out the biscuits. Sounds lovely, but I don’t eat dairy.

LOOK WHO’S COMING TO DINNER

Lingering over dinner with good friends produces some interesting conversation.  As the candles shortened and sputtered, the wine glasses refilled,  three of us  talked into the night.  I was spending time in Moon River in Muskoka, Ont. .   My hostess  -  a world traveler and  professional photographer.  The other guest at the table a gorgeous brunette  bank manager,  and lover of Mennonite food and Mennonite quilts.  It was she who asked me  ”if I was planning the perfect dinner menu what would  it be?”  I answered  ”I would start with the dessert first.  The last thing you eat you never forget.  Dessert would be a classic crème brûlée.

And so from dessert  I went to the first course -  Foie Gras (a generous amount).  The main course a perfectly roasted free range  chicken with tiny potatoes sautéed in butter. Next a salad of the greenest little butter lettuce leaves and a simple vinaigrette dressing.  No appetizers  just a bowl of cashews with flutes of Veuve Clicquot.

The brunette bank manager  asked me who I would invite to this perfect dinner.   “Eight is the perfect amount of guests at the table”,  I replied.

My first choice Eleanor Roosevelt.

Sitting beside her would be D.H. Lawrence. I believe Eleanor would discuss “Lady Chatterley’s Lover” or “Women in Love” with David Herbert.

I would have M.F.K.  Fischer sitting next to me.  We would talk about food and discuss How To Cook a Wolf.

Across the table would be Georgia O’Keeffe and Pablo Picasso.

Before the evening ended Pablo would fall in love with Georgia AND the glamorous photographer.

Beautiful, brunette bank manager, carried away by the moment, would offer to bankroll a chic little restaurant in the tiny town of Bali.  Would I be interested?

What a glorious evening.   We would finish with crème brûlée, and  snifters of Courvoisier L’Or.  The sunrise would glisten and glitter on the Moon River. The call of the loons would fade away.   The perfect dinner party would regretfully come to an end.

Now you plan your perfect dinner party.  Tell me who you would invite and what you would serve your guests.

SHARING MY BIRTHDAY CAKE

I would love to share a slice of my birthday cake with everyone who reads my post.  Since that is not possible I will share the recipe with you.  The cake is called BETE NOIRE (the black beast).  It is a flourless chocolate cake that is divinely decadent and addictive beyond belief.  BETE NOIRE was the signature desert of our restaurant ROXY’S BISTRO.  This is a serious adult chocolate cake. It makes an elegant presentation and if you follow the recipe exactly you will have chocolate lovers swooning at your feet.  The recipe is on my food blogMRS. BUTTERFINGERS.

TEN WONDERFUL THINGS TO DO WITH ROASTED GARLIC

 

I’ve harvested my garlic.  This was my first foray into planting garlic.  The only mistake I made was not planting enough.  In a few weeks it will be time to plant garlic again and this time there will be several rows.   It’s about the easiest thing to plant and grow.

Slow roasting whole heads of garlic with a drizzle of oil concentrates the flavors and adds a caramelized note that enhances garlic’s natural sweetness.  The flavor of the garlic becomes mellow and delicate.  The cloves soften and are easy to squeeze from their skins.   Store the garlic in an airtight container in the refrigerator.  The roasted garlic will keep for a week.

“The TEN WONDERFUL THINGS TO DO WITH ROASTED GARLIC  may be found on my food blog -  Mrs. Butterfingers.

MY BIRTHDAY BUDDHA

 

 

My  Buddha graces the entrance to our home.   His image tell all who enter this is a house filled with joy, open-heartedness  and compassion.

 

 

Buddha is a birthday  gift from my son and his wife.  I have been longing for my own Buddha for several years.  It had to be just the right Buddha – one with a calm face and a certain elegance.   Not too big, but big enough to make his presence known.  They chose wisely.

 

 

As our headlines are increasingly dominated by hatred and violence the Buddhist path inspires us to embrace the way of compassion and peace in our life, and to find a deeper satisfaction in every day.

 

FRENCH BIRTHDAY CARD

 

 

Who wouldn’t fall in love with this classic beauty.  I found this vintage French birthday card on THE GRAPHICS FAIRY.  It was perfect for my daughter-in-law.  She  adores interesting and different cards, and I wanted to create something extra special for her.

The theme of her birthday gift was French – an exquisite silk shawl from Paris and the French magazine CÔTÊ PARIS.  The card just had to be French.  For extra ool la la  I embellished it with  the purple and lavender ribbon flowers and the glittery Eiffel Tower and bird.

 

I HEAR LAKE WATER LAPPING – MAGIC MUSKOKA -

“I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore….”  (W.B.  Yeats)

 

 

 

“I hear it in the deep heart’s core.”

 

 

My so romantic friend shares her Muskoka home with me.

 

 

I sleep windows wide open.

And wake to the sound of a loon calling across the lake.

 

 

We dine by candle light;

Our music the quiet murmur of water .

 

 

And every morning we catch the sunlight and tranquility of the day.

 

 

And, spend the long summer hours reading, surrounded by water quiet and calm.

 

 

“I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore…..

I hear it in the deep heart’s core.

 

Magic Muskoka    Ontario.

HYACINTHS TO FEED YOUR SOUL

“If I had but two loaves of bread I would sell one of these and buy white Hyacinths to feed my soul.”  (Elbert Hubbarb 1856-1915)

 

 

THE HYACINTH

How did it manage to stay alive,

how did it struggle through the dark, damp light of day?

How did it live through the bitter season of the freezing snow?

How did it form the first green tip and how did it grow?

Nobody knows, but here it comes with petals to make its silent witness of spring.

as blue as the blue of a summer day

a deep and lovely shade.

The marvelous work of a perfect artist

Wonderfully made

But as I look on the perfection of the sky blue bloom I am haunted by this question, how in its frozen tomb did the bulb in cruel weather manage to survive.

How did it live in the long cold winter? How did it keep alive?

So many years ago that the lettering is starting to fade my Father sent me this poem.  When we lived in that other place, where winter was cruel and cold,  I would pot up hyacinth bulbs  and put the pots in the garden.  My Dad would dig them out of the frozen ground and I would bring them into the house to bloom.

I have hyacinths blooming around  my front door.  Their heady fragrance  perfumes the air.  Their colour necklaces the river stone.  Their magic weaves a spell and beckons all to enter.

This is a re-post of a blog I wrote in March, 2010.  My blogging friend Cecilia,  of  Thekitchensgarden.com  commented on my post this morning about lilies.   It reminded me of this poem my Father sent to me.

GILDING THE LILY

 

 

To gild refined gold, to paint the lily,

 

 

To throw a perfume on the violet,

 

 

To smooth the ice, or add another hue

 

 

Unto the rainbow, or with taper-light

 

 

To seek the beauteous eye of heaven

 

 

To garnish,

Is wasteful and ridiculous excess.

(William Shakespeare  King John, IV:2)

 

(Shakespeare and I visited the garden this morning for a ridiculous excess of lilies.  The house is heavy with their fragrance.   Saturday August 11th in this quiet corner of paradise.)

MOON RIVER – MUSKOKA

“Moon River,  wider than a mile

I’m crossing you in style some day.

Oh, dream maker, you heart breaker

Wherever you’re going, I’m going your way.”

(Andy Williams)

 

 

 

Oh, dream maker ….

 

 

You heart breaker …

Wherever you’re going, I’m going your way.

Moon River, Muskoka,   Ont.