Thursday, August 4, 2011

My Birthday Party

I covered the coffee table with platters of food, including the (if I do say so myself) lovely arrangement of Sungold cherry tomatoes, bing cherries, and blackberries on the top left.



People always argue with me when I say that I'm cooking for my own birthday party. They say, "let someone else cook for you this time," like that would be a treat for me. It's a nice thought, but I love throwing parties and I love cooking for lots of people. And, being a bit of a control freak, I like doing all the planning myself.

My birthday was on July 27th, and I ate a wonderful meal at Truffles to celebrate that. On Saturday I had the party, which involved about 15 people, dinner, dessert, and drinks. (I did let Mitch do the music.) I also went to the Cardinals game at 3:00, so most of the cooking happened before the game.  

We had a great time, the food was a hit, and too much of it even got eaten. I was not focused on photography since I was actually enjoying the party, so these pictures are not all inclusive nor are they perfectly composed, but I'm thinking it was worth it. Missing from the photos are: pita bread with tzaziki (Greek cucumber and yogurt sauce), red pepper hazelnut dip, and roasted tomato and walnut dip. Maybe I will dig up some of those pictures and add them later.

Comment if you want any of these recipes and I will write a separate post about it!


Mini Ciabatta Sandwiches with Herbed Pork Tenderloin,  Baby Spinach, and Roasted Red Pepper and Hazelnut Spread 
Deviled Eggs with Smoked Salmon, Chives, and Smoked Paprika


Roasted Figs with Chevre, Bacon, Thyme, and Honey



Smoked Trout Toasts with Chives and Parsley


more of the roasted figs

Cucumber, Canteloupe, and Jalapeno Gazpacho with Jamon Serrano
Lemon Pots de Creme with a Blackberry; Dark Chocolate Jasmine Pots de Creme with a Raspberry


Watermelon Basil Daiquiri, and Cucumber Mint and Lime Vodkatini

2 comments:

  1. Happy belated birthday! Your B-Day bash looks terrific. I particularly like the roasted figs. I assume the whole recipe is in the name - figs roasted and covered with chevre, bacon, etc? Did you mash up the chevre with the honey and the thyme?

    Thanks.

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  2. That's about it! I cooked and crumbled the bacon, then combined that with chevre, whole fresh thyme leaves, a little honey, and some black pepper. Then push little indentations into the fig halves, pile them with the cheese, and roast them in a 450 degree oven for about 10 minutes.

    Thanks!

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