Dinner Party: Did she survive?!
The answer is yes. In fact, I should have titled this post OH.MY.GOD.I CAN’T BELIEVE I PULLED THAT OFF!!!!! (actually I’m so stunned/amazed/thrilled that there should be about a thousand more exclamation marks there)
Everything actually went very smoothly although I pretty much worked the entire day. I started early - about 9 o’clock- doing the table setting and didn’t finish putting away the last items until midnight. I had planned to lay the table on Saturday night but Jon’s overnight dealie left me hesitant to set the table- I didn’t know for sure that we wouldn’t need to eat in there for breakfast. Setting the table took a lot longer than you might think - about two hours. I wanted to get everything just perfect. I also decided to make my own centerpiece because I wanted something very simple that didn’t take up a lot of room.
One thing I can say absolutely is DON’T attempt this without a list/schedule. If I hadn’t had the schedule I’m positive I would have forgotten many things and it would have been a huge cluster. As it was, there were a few things I forgot to add to the list but luckily remembered as I was going along. Like - getting dressed.
I had asked everyone to dress nicely. I mean, if I’m going to all this trouble they could at least show up in something other than a t-shirt and shorts, right? I had planned to wear that black and white dress that I wore to American Girl Place, but I didn’t want to cook in it all afternoon. I did manage to squeeze out a few minutes to get changed but I would have liked a little more leisure doing it.
I was a little nervous about preparing so much of the food ahead of time but it actually held very well. The mashed potatoes, in particular, were still very creamy and yummy. At holiday dinners, it always seems like a race to get the potatoes ready at the last minute. So I’m definitely going to remember that they can be made ahead and kept warm in the oven!
Other things I forgot or would do differently? You can’t make tomato roses out of tomato skins that you roasted the night before to make the soup. Also, if you forget to buy kitchen string to tie up the beef tenderloin, you can use shoestrings to do the job. Just make sure they are new! Another thing? Don’t put the croûtons in the salad until the last minute. They weren’t as crunchy and yummy as they could have been.
There was a little grumbling during the first few courses. The male dinner guests wanted additional servings of the appetizers and soup (which was particularly yummy). I explained to them that if they had seconds they wouldn’t be able to make it through the dinner. They were skeptical but convinced by the time the last few courses were being served. The dinner lasted for 2-1/2 hours (yes - that’s not a typo!). Everyone rolled away from the table completely satisfied.
I forgot to put the lemon roses on the fish dish. I used them on the chicken dish which was a mistake. Not enough color. I should have used my backup garnish of sprigs of fresh thyme but I didn’t want to throw out the lemon roses without using them. They were so pretty.
I wouldn’t do this again next week but it was a lot of fun. Everyone enjoyed the food and I think they also enjoyed the fancy-schmancyness of it all. And let it be known both far and wide that Vicki absolutely did stay and help with the dishes and kitchen cleanup!
Plans for the fancy dinner party on Sunday evening are progressing nicely. The menu has been finalized to the delight of some and the not-so-much-delight of others. My son is somewhat disgusted at the fact that you don’t just get to take a pass on the stuff you’re not real fond of and that you don’t get to have seconds and thirds of the stuff you really like.
