Monday, July 18, 2011

ginkgo branches, drinks, and appetizers

 
 



all of josh's family came into town this weekend so there was 17 of us. 9 kids, 6 parents and 2 grandparents. they stayed in a hotel and we all met up together to go swimming, walking, exploring, shopping, sailing on a harbor boat tour and lots and lots of eating. we hosted everyone at our house friday night for a cocktail party before we walked into town for dinner. 

we had 2 tables. one for appetizers and one for drinks. for the drink table we served beer on ice in a galvinized tub, red and white wine and chilled vodka for martinis or vodka tonics with fresh lemon. lemonade and sparkling pomegranate-apple juice for the kiddies.

i purchased the fabric for the table cloth at ikea. josh cut some gingko tree branches and we put them in a large glass vase for the centerpiece and we received the white ceramic owls as christmas presents from west elm and we kept both of them so we could pair them together for entertaining. 

josh and i found this article by mark bittman from the new york times titled, "101 simple appetizers in 20 minutes or less" to jump start some ideas for appetizers. here's what we served:

1. shrimp cocktail:combined ketchup with  pepper, lemon juice, worcestershire, tabasco and horseradish and served with cooked shrimp. 

2. bay scallops: cooked in olive oil for just a couple of minutes and sprinkled with lemon juice and parsley and served hot.

3. cheese platter. 3 cheeses. saint andre. goat cheese. old amsterdam gouda. with green grapes and rosemary crispbread.

4. caprese skewers. a small ball of mozzarella. a small heirloom tomato and a bit of basil leaf. sprinkled with salt, pepper and drizzled with oil and balsamic vinegar.

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