We had a great morning and bought these very stylish cupcakes....
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| Cute And Colourful Cupcakes |
I also bought these gorgeous flowers.
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| Sunflowers |
Don't they brighten up my mantlepiece?
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| Happy Sunflowers |
Last night we had a dinner party for some extended family who were visiting from Sydney. The lack of any nearby restaurants means that I have had lots of practice cooking for all sorts of people on The Farm.
I have three rules for dinner parties.
1. Set the table beautifully and your guests feel special and are less likely to notice any muck ups food wise.
See.
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| Pretty Nanna Place Setting |
2. Don't cook anything tricky that involves you doing last minute culinary miracles in the kitchen. Otherwise everyone else is having a fantastic time and a glass of wine while you are having a nervous breakdown. Simple is best.
Last night I cooked marinated roast lamb and pre-prepared a roast vegetable salad and some other simple salads.
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| Roast Vegie Salad |
Pudding was my favourite almond cake which can be made the night before. I served it with tinned plums and double cream.
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| Almond Cake - Much Yummier Than It Looks... |
3. When all else fails give everyone a glass of wine.... Repeat rule number 3 as often as required.
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| Essential Ingredients |
So there you go - my simple rules for entertaining. They seem to revolve around alcohol and Nanna china, but that's OK.
I hope everyone has had a great weekend too.
11 comments:
AFW
What a fabulous dinner! I personally thought the food and the table setting were of an equally high standard.
I also share your priorities when entertaining, but with somewhat less success in the table setting stakes.
I love a dessert that looks homely but tastes like heaven.
SSG xxx
Sydney Shop Girl blog
Love this post! So cute. Your table looks lovely ... and that roast vege salad looks divine.
Such an unpretentious, down-to-earth Farmer's Wife you are! I'm sure your family were thrilled with dinner.
Looks fab!
Delicious food, alcohol and nanna china - how could you possibly top that for a great night?
TDM xx
Agree, simple is best. My staple is roast chicken, salad and baby potatoes... works in summer and winter... gxo
That meal looks fabulous, you are brilliant at whipping up dinner parties out of your pantry supplies. Great dinner planning tips too, I always over plan elaborate meals and miss half the fun, then get so overwhelmed it takes me a few months to contemplate doing it again. Simple is so much better.
You are so right, cook nothing complicated so you can enjoy guests' company pre-meal as well as during. I say it should all be oven in winter and salads in the summer. I also live in a country village/almost town with Queen Liz circa 1960 on the walls of the community hall. Always makes me giggle at the ironic juxtaposition of what is going underneath her portrait - Yoga, Zumba and even Bellydancing!
It all looks divine.
Have you already shared the Almond Cake recipe?
Aren't old halls wonderful. Ours has a fading picture of a young Queen Elizabeth also.
Thanks everyone for your comments re both dinner parties and photos of Queen Elizabeth II!
Fiona - the recipe was from my Belinda Jeffery's book, I will see if I can find it on the net and link in my next post.
The roast veg salad looks great too!
Yum roast veg salad looks divine!
Love love love everything about this post!! xx
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