Dinner Party Delight

PST Dinner Parties combine some of my all-time favourite things in one evening. I love hosting people, I love cooking, I love my Prayer Support Team, I love eating ... it's brilliant really! :)

Saturday night was the latest of our quarterly get-togethers and it had an extra degree of difficulty ... the mission was to tick off as many recipes from my "40 things to do before I'm 40" challenge cook book!

So the table was set ...

 

Tomato and Caper Bruschetta was served for hors d'oeuvres (but I was busy getting the other courses ready so I didn't take a photo) - recipe #1.

For entree - Roast pumpkin & chickpea soup with toasted ciabatta - recipe #2 and Pasta with Simmered Veal - recipe #3.

The main dishes were Fish Roasted in Capers and Lemon Butter, Roasted Balsamic Tomatoes and Spinach Polenta - recipes #4 & 5 and Gremolata Seared Chicken with Salted Roast Potatoes, Garlic Roast Asparagus and Balsamic Roasted Red Onions (unsuccessful - needed longer in the oven!) - recipes #5, 7 & 8.

 

 

Desserts were Vanilla and Coconut Baked Apples - recipe #9 and Cinnamon Pear Pies - recipe #10.

Each of the guests got a Caramel Filled Biscuit - recipe #11 as their take-home treat! :)

It was successful by all measurements - ticking off my recipe list, a good meal, great company ... an enjoyable night all round!

Indoor Breakfast Picnic

My quarterly 'dinner party' for my fabulous PST (Prayer Support Team) was forced to move to the breakfast time slot last month. There's a lot more pressure on a 'daylight' dinner party ... the ambience created by soft candle light also covers a multitude of sins! :)

I went with an indoor picnic theme. Simple and fresh.

The lilies were fresh from my enormous bushes in my backyard - which totally makes me sound like a real gardener!! I love that! :)
(Note to non-gardeners - lilies cannot be killed - trust me, they never die - get on it!!)

 The cutlery and napkin pouches are made with simple brown lunch bags, paper doilies and Ikea's version of washi tape (red with white spots).

 The savoury course consisted of baked breakfast bowls (ham, mushrooms, caramelised onions, capsicum, corn and eggs in a hollowed out bread roll that I baked to get it crispy and solid) - the bacon 'flowers' were a happy accident - trying to work out how to put 24 pieces of bacon in the oven to grill!! :) - the hashbrown balls were baked in muffin tins.

Breakfast quesadillas were inspired by this post and were delicious - slices of bread spread with cream cheese, rolled up and then dipped in melted butter and cinnamon sugar then baked in the oven -  poached pears and peaches.

I love hosting this amazing group of people! They are the most grateful 'customers' and always great company. I'm already planning our next menu and 'theme'.