Rehearsal Dinner- Italian Style

My friend, Christy, is hosting a rehearsal dinner in September.  It is out of town, so the challenge is to create  simple, easy to transport, décor for the event!  She is having the dinner at an Italian restaurant and the menu sounds divine!  In addition to having the dinner at an Italian restaurant, Christy is Italian!  So a theme was born! Yesterday, we spent the day creating the invitations, menu and centerpieces.

First we designed the invitation.  Christy chose the words for the invitation and we typed  them on a red background.  We then had them printed on a 4 by 6 photo paper in lustre finish.
13 cents a copy- not bad!

We stamped and embossed the black envelopes with an Italian postmark in gold.

 

Finally, the invitation was glued on to a gold border with a black background! 

Now they are ready to address with a gold pen and go in the mail.

 

 

Next for the menu card.



Using the Italian flag as inspiration, we used each color stripe  to list  a different course.

And to keep the same feeling as the invitation, we again backed it with gold and black cardstock.

 

 

Placed on  a white starched napkin, it will look crisp and festive.

Next for the centerpieces. 

They had to be easily transported and quick to assemble on the night of the party.    So in keeping with our Italian theme, we decided to use wine bottles and create our own special label for the bride and groom.



 

I found hand dyed red and tan silk ribbon in my ribbon stash, along with a spool of gold vintage French thread. And I spotted a package of sealing wax with a crown stamp!

 

What to do with these we asked ourselves???

 



 

We created a wine label out of a copy of an old map of Italy and edged the borders in 18 kt. gold.

They were applied with a glue stick to the front and back of the bottle, so the bottle would look good from both sides.

Next the sealing wax was used to create little crown seals for the bottles.

 

 

 



 

 

The ribbons were tied on the neck of the bottle and the crown seal was applied with glue.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now- what flower is readily available in most parts of the country?  A red rose!

We knew that with a Costco nearby , that we could easily find lots of long stem red roses.

And a red rose was the perfect color for our Italian theme.

Imagine lots of these bottles down the center of a long table with votives placed in between.

It's a simple set up- water in the bottles, roses in the bottles,  then placed on the tables with votives.

Place the menu card on the white napkin and voila!  It's a set up that her friends can easily quickly do, while  she is at the wedding rehearsal!

 

 

 

 

Now- we only need to drink 18 more bottles of wine to get enough empty bottles to finish the project!

Now that's not a problem!!!

 

 

 

 

 

A Southern Style Dinner Party

The summer solstice is this weekend, so it was a reason to celebrate with friends!  Time to use fresh rhubarb, strawberries and peonies while they last! 

 

 Menu

 

Biscuit Bar

 with

 French Preserves, Caramelized Bacon, and Artisanal Cheeses

 

Sweet Tea Brined Pork Loin

Pimento Cheese Grits

French Green Beans with Molasses and Worcestershire

 

Summer Pavlova

Chocolate Pudding

 

Yes- two desserts!  It's a southern thing! And I had a lot of sweet lovin' friends around the table!

 

You really can't beat the taste combination of Callie's Buttermilk biscuits and the Barefoot Contessa's Caramelized bacon.  I invited friends over for dinner  night before last and decided to do a "biscuit" bar for appetizers.  Well, sorta---.  I should have doubled the number of biscuits and just called it dinner!  First of all, if you haven't tried Callie's biscuits-in the frozen section at Fresh Market-  you are in for a treat. The fluffy little bites from heaven can be filled with all sorts of delights.  Last night, we tasted the  renowned French confiture  chef Christine Ferber's black sour cherry compote in black pepper, Rare Birds Peach and Lavender preserves, a delicate brie cheese filled with apricots and almonds, strawberry rhubarb whipped butter  and  the Barefoot Contessa's caramelized bacon.  Divine! 

 

For the centerpiece of the biscuit bar, we just received these cute dressmaker forms at the shop.

They are perfect for many  displaying needs and they add a little height to the table. I love the feel with the preserves on it- very homey!  Just like biscuits!

 

A wonderful old footed basket that I found at Grayslake last month, filled with an over sized linen

towel from Williams Sonoma.  Perfect to keep the biscuits warm.

 A decadent strawberry preserves - all the way from the Alsace region of France.

Callie's sinfully good fluffy little biscuits. 

 

 

Ina's Caramelized Bacon -  coated in brown sugar, ground pecans, a bit of cayenne, black pepper- yum!  Baked in the oven- easy to prepare. The recipe is in her Foolproof book.

 

 

 

For dinner, I roasted  a pork loin that had been in a sweet tea brine for 24 hours.  My friend, Mariterese made grits with pimento cheese and we sauté French green beans in butter, molasses and worchesterhire. The pork recipe was disappointing, but the grits and dessert were a hit.   .I think the trick to the pork loin is cooking it less time, leaving the center pink.  I purchased the loin from Costco and they tie two loins together to get a large round roast.  I think it would have been better if I had separated them and inserted the thermometer  into the center of a singe loin and cooked to 135 degrees and then let it rest.   I had this pork at Merchant's restaurant in Nashville and it was the best pork loin that I have ever tasted.  So I will definitely try this recipe again.
Here's link to the recipes if you want to try it yourself-
http://www.traditionalhome.com/food-entertaining/recipes/sweet-tea-pork-loin


                        It's the end of peony season, so lot's of peonies on the table were placed on the table.

 

I found these pink glasses while antiquing last year and they are perfect vessels for the peonies.

 

Hand dyed French seam binding was used instead of napkin rings.

The candles were lit and it was time for dinner!

Dessert was a roasted rhubarb, French strawberry and blackberry pavlova and Gale Gand's chocolate pudding!

 



The roasted rhubarb and berry pavlova.

 

I prepared Gale Gand's recipe for the meringue and roasted the rhubarb the day before. Right before serving, the heavy cream was whipped  and piled   on the meringue .  Next the fruit was layered on top and then the fresh mint and pansies were added for garnish.

 

 

 

A very light summer dessert!

And with it- a not so light dessert! 

 

Gale Gand's Chocolate pudding!

 

The great thing about this little glass of chocolate decadence is the small amount of sugar in the recipe. For 8 desserts, the recipe only calls for 4 oz. of bittersweet chocolate and 1/2 cup of sugar!

Plus it can be made ahead of time!  It's a keeper!  Next time, a little whipped cream on top would be a nice addition.

 

My husband just asked me if we had any leftover Callie's biscuits !  Not a one, honey!

So I have promised him more for tonight's dinner. I think I'll work on that biscuit bar concept a bit more- what other savory fillings can I come up with???  Maybe tonight, Fried Chicken Tenders with a chicken  gravy for dipping???  Small sausage patties ?   Anyone have any other ideas? 

 

Summer Desserts with Chef Gale Gand

Back to our lovely Elawa Farm for a Summer Desserts Class  with the adorable Chef Gale Gand.

First of all, who wouldn't enjoy going to school on this beautiful farm????

 

 

But then you add the magical ingredient of the effervescent Chef Gand to the pot and you have a wonderful afternoon in the works!

 

 

 

 

On the menu for today, a Summer Pavlova with Roasted Rhubarb and Raspberries!!!!

 

 

 

A blueberry rice pudding- yum-

And the most delectable lemon curd that I have ever tasted!

 



 

 

Enjoyed simply by dipping ripe summer strawberries into this delightful confection.

How "summertime" is that?  And so simple too!

 

 

How many times in one's life do they get the opportunity to take a cooking class- up close and personal- with a James Beard Award Winner, a Food Network Star and successful restaurateur??????     Plus she is this down to earth, funny, and extremely  talented girl-  an absolutely delightful person!   And she's in our own backyard- teaching often at Elawa Farm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The summer pavlova was started by roasting rhubarb in the oven with Tahitian vanilla beans, sugar, cinnamon, red wine, and  cornstarch.

Chef Gale whips the egg whites to make the meringue and is showing us the perfect consistency.

 

 



This glossy confection of egg whites, red wine vinegar, vanilla, cornstarch, salt, cream of tartar and sugar is ready to be shaped into the lovely base for our dessert

The baked meringue base for the pavlova.

 

Next, the roasted rhubarb mixture was tossed with fresh raspberries for the fruit topping.

 



 

Layering the whipped cream on the meringue base.

 

Arranging the fruit and edible floral garnishes on the dessert.

And voila!  A beautiful summer dessert- sure to impress your dinner guests!

 

 

 

 

A light, yet decadent ending to a meal! 

 

Gale recently opened her newest restaurant venture in Chicago called Spritz Burger.

 

Spritz Burger, is a collaboration with The Hearty Boys, (Dan Smith and Steve McDonagh) who won Food Network’s reality competition “The Next Food Network Star”, season 1. The menu  features vintage seltzer cocktails, house-made sodas including Gand’s cinnamon-ginger-vanilla root beer, grass-fed burgers, and desserts by Gale. Spritz Burger serves dinner Tuesday through Saturday with a fabulous brunch on Sunday and is family friendly, fun, and modern. It opened this past spring and is located  in the LakeView neighborhood on the north side of Chicago.

I can't wait to try it!

 

Chef Gand is the author of  numerous cookbooks, including two of my favorites, "BRUNCH" and "JUST A BITE".   She has just recently published her newest book, "LUNCH!".   I browsed through it last night and I was inspired !   Simple, yet thoughtful recipes are given in this photo filled  gem of a book.  There are several that I can't wait to try- Fried Chicken and Waffle Sandwiches,  Mexican Chicken Salad, and the Chocolate Pudding in a Jar.

You can purchase her new book here.

https://squareup.com/market/gales-bread-and-butter-inc/gale-gand-s-lunch

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Peonies- Late but still Beautiful

Three weeks late for the party, the peonies have finally bloomed.  Their blooms are glorious this year,       I just couldn't resist buying a large bouquet from Elawa Farm to enjoy for the weekend.

 

I love the way they look in this old galvanized olive basket- such a contrasting effect.

 

Perfect for the screened in porch.

Huge flowers with countless petals.

 



 

 

 

 

A single blossom for the kitchen  table.

A small bouquet for the side porch breakfast  table.

 

 

 

A silver trophy full of white peonies for the dining room buffet.

 



 

And just a few more blooming in the garden.

Look at all the different shades of pink on this blossom.

 

 

Peonies are one of  the most beloved flowers. I wish their growing season was longer.

So enjoy them while we can!