Dinner Parties

I have learned a lot about entertaining from two women I highly respect My mom and her friend, Diane. I have learned that you should plan ahead- way ahead. YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN between now and the time the party should start. Both women, when they are throwing parties plan incredibly well and set up the rooms a week ahead of time. The following dinner party was my fourth time entertaining in "our home", my second dinner party.

On the Menu this evening:

hulled strawberries
purple grapes
Onion souffle dip
salsa
served with
toasted pumpernickel bread
wheat thins
corn chips

Citrus and rosemary roasted chicken
popovers
Mediterranean salad
roasted carrots
spinach pies made by my friend (a guest)

strawberry rhubarb pie/crumble
vanilla ice cream



I set the table a week before :)




close up



table setting


I love pie; well, I love HOT pie served with COLD ice cream.
So for dessert, I had planned a Strawberry Rhubarb pie/crumble.



I used store-bought pie crust, it tastes great! Rolled it out and put it in my Emile Henry pie plate.





gathered my rhubarb and strawberries




got rid of the stringy bits



This rhubarb was green, I looked it up and green rhubarb should not affect the taste of the rhubarb, it is just another type of rhubarb. I bed to differ. I think that it is a bit more potent than the red rhubarb I have am used to using/eating.



added some sugar to macerate!






next up, strawberries, GIANT strawberries





macerate those as well.




After about 10 minutes, add the rhubarb to the strawberries.



(without the rhubarb juice)





add to the pie crust



ingredients for the crumble part of the pie/crumble

ready to sprinkle



ready for the oven. or refrigerator. I made this Friday morning, then put it into the refrigerator until I was ready to bake it after dinner.


To go with my popovers, I served butter, raspberry jam, and strawberry jam.





To make the butter look beautiful, I used room temp butter and an icing tip, what else?



popovers




ingredients for the mediterranean salad




sliced then drizzled with evoo and balsamic vinegar then sprinkled with kosher salt, pepper, garlic, and goat cheese.



My sweet friend's spinach pies





The chicken...
My mom uses this recipe on one of our turkeys for Thanksgiving, it is my favorite- so I decided to try it on chicken and I LOVED IT!
Drizzled with evoo and a blend of lemon zest, rosemary, and kosher salt! If you get some under the skin, it makes it even better!




perfect temp!






perfect coloring!





The inside is stuffed with lemon wedges and rosemary sprigs






The spread






The pie is ready!

Dinner was a success and fun was had by all!