Take the Party Outdoors
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We have thrown many parties over the years and many of our most successful have been when we moved the party outside. Evenings are nice even in the hottest of climates. Since our gardens
are in full bloom, we decided to serve the menu from different places throughout the garden. Serve yourself drinks were stationed in the kitchen as guests were routed on arrival through the
kitchen and out onto its adjacent patio where the first course was served. Other food stations were placed on the deck and in the garden with coffee and dessert served inside from the
dining room. This invariably makes the party livelier, as when guests move around, the conversation just naturally flows. In cold or cooler months, or if it's raining, you can adapt the
idea using different rooms in your house.
One of the benefits of this menu is that everything can be eaten from small cups, bowls, or plates with minimum eating utensils. Since the party is outdoors, this is a good time to take advantage of the lovely, bright patterns of paper goods and plastic that are available. Make sure the lawn areas have been mowed a day or two before the party so it has time to recover and start growing new grass. Have your flowerbeds and potted plants looking their best and move pots around to make room for traffic and to decorate your serving areas. Pots of fresh herbs also make attractive backdrops to your serving dishes. Provide appropriate cups, bowls, and plates at each serving station along with plenty of paper napkins. Have clean trash cans, freshly lined with a disposable bag, tucked discreetly nearby for easy trash disposal. Provide a do-it-yourself drinks station that has plenty of glasses and everything they will need to mix their drinks that you intend serving; no having to rummage in your cupboards or drawers for something you missed such as a cork screw or cocktail napkins. For this party we decided to offer bottled mineral water, iced tea, and white or red wine spritzers. If you have diabetes, be sure to ask your doctor about alcohol consumption .prior to the party so that it can be worked into your meal plan, if allowed. Even if you normally don't have bugs, plan ahead and use citronella candles, bug-deterrent torches, and other safe means to keep the pesky critters away. If you know that you already have a bug or mosquito problem, talk to your pest control services a couple of weeks ahead to get his recommendations of preventative measures. Our first station features a sipable cold soup that can be poured out of a beautiful clear pitcher into 8-ounce short plastic glasses. This allows the guest to eat while moving around to meet and get acquainted with the other guests. Our main course is crab claws to be dipped into a fresh salsa with just the right amount of fire, followed by a small bowl of savory lentil salad to eaten with small forks. We've eaten a version of this salad at Patria, a lovely Latin restaurant in New York City owned by Douglas Rodriguez. Dessert is a yummy snack cake that requires only a small plate and napkin. Preparation for this party is easy, clean-up is easy, and the eating is pure pleasure. Just be sure to have napkins ready at every food station.
(for the recipes, click on the individual recipe above) FTG |
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