I AM the party - Challenge #3 Luxury Dinner

First and foremost I want to sincerely thank everyone who voted for me, Challenge #2 is now a fading memory and Challenges #'s 3 -4 - 5 are looming on the horizon and I am more than energized to take them on. We are now on to Challenge #3, Luxury Dinner Party, welcome to my party. PARTAY LuXURIaMo - is what this challenge should have been called, an ancient holiday that you have to remember - kind of good time. Why - because as I was going around collecting the ingredients for this challenge I began to realize the importance of it all. Lavish dinner parties dont simply fall from the sky they need prep time and not only that they need table cloths.

Simple, casual and elegant was my goal for this dinner party. If I were to tell you how to do this yourself so to make it as easy and painless as possible then the very first step is to write your menu. If you want to make your dinner party even more painless for yourself just have me do it for you. Seriously though, having the menu in place causes everything else to fall right in line. I tweaked my menu a bit here and there so it is a little different than the one I posted a couple days ago but its basic foundation stayed the same.

Once you have your menu you need to be extra certain that you have ironed out all the kinks and while you are at it be sure to iron the napkins and the table cloth. If there is an item on your menu that you think might give you trouble then you need to make sure you have tested it in advance to insure an easy evening.

I made one of everything the day before to get a feel for the timing and the presentation. I knew how I wanted it to look but I had to see it to make sure, no room for surprises when you want to sit and enjoy time with your guests.

It is always nice to have friends over to share in the good times, it is even more fun when it is simple, casual and elegant, formalities without the formalities.

The appetizers were light enough to be light but flavorful enough to wake things up a bit.

Cooking with color will always make your guests happy and excited, when it looks good you can guarantee that it is going to taste good, lets not forget that we also eat with our eyes.

My dinner party was a hit. I had invited guests that were not familiar with my food, sure they had seen it on my blog but they had not had a chance to taste it and to put it simply - I have new fans. A candlelight dinner with good food, good wine and good friends is a luxury I would repeat over and over again.

Can I tell you, how much the menu was loved by me and my guests, they were all looking over it as each course was presented - everyone was involved, it was too cute listening to them describe the nuances of each dish as they compared it to my menu. I could not have expected a better experience. Along with all the other holidays we have in this world I think I am going to make PARTAY LuXURIaMo an annual event.

Dessert anyone?

Voting begins at 6:00 AM Pacific October 4 and goes until 6:00 PM Pacific October 7 - remember we are working together on this.

Voting is open please vote HERE