Receta Valentine Tea for the Ladies...
It was so festive and so fun...and I do think all of the ladies enjoyed themselves! I was lucky enough to have expert help - thanks to Janice who came and helped me pull everything together and Megan who brought over the most wonderful dipped strawberries...I was a bit under the weather and really appreciated their help! I also had Christy Fletcher come and take pictures for you! You all know my photography skills are non-existent...I try but I'd be better off with a paint-by-numbers kit!
I've known Christy for a long time, since she was but a wee lass...now she is all grown up and married with two kids! Christy has been a photographer for a long time, shooting mostly weddings, and I think she'll continue to do that but she also wants to get into food photography...so she asked if she could come and shoot my next party...I tried not to blurt out, "Are you kidding me?!?! Someone with a REAL camera and a REAL eye wants to shoot my food?!?!" Godfrey! It was like the skies opened and the angels sang! So cute Christy came (wish I'd gotten a picture of her!) and she snapped away and made everything look as good as it tasted (Thank you Christy!!)...and really, with all the humility I can muster, I must say, it was dang good food!
The place was all tarted up - I've not ever believed that less was more...ha! More is more!! And the more, in all things, the merrier! I have to tell you about that LOVE mug...I found one in Ross and picked it up to see how much it was and it slipped out of my hands, fell to the floor and shattered into a zillion pieces. A clerk came running and told me not to worry about it, I felt terrible, even offered to pay but she assured me it happens all the time and I didn't have to pay. I left Ross and walked next door to Marshalls...where I found the exact same mug! So this time I gripped it tightly - all the way out the door! I LOVE my LOVE mug! Even Steven...that's who I am!
Along with the dipped strawberries, the ladies enjoyed finger sandwiches, Tomato Pasta soup, a green salad with fresh herbs and strawberry vinaigrette, fresh fruit and then we had dessert! (Links for the recipes below.)
Let me remind you, no one wants to be invited to this party, as you have to be over a certain age...so I always feel the need to do a little bit more to take the sting out of the invitation...and when I looked around the table at all of those beautiful faces and thought about the wonderful families they have raised and the incredible lives they have lived and the great examples they are, all I could think was I want to be like them! Getting older is not a bad thing when you've got amazing women blazing the trail for you!
Here are the links for some of the recipes:
Carrot and Ginger Sandwiches - This recipe comes from the Empress Hotel in Victoria, BC - it's excellent!
Egg Salad with Pickled Celery - Pickling the celery makes all the difference - and it's easy, too! This recipe is from Smitten Kitchen, so you know it's great!
Fresh Frozen Strawberry Pie in a Shot Glass - One of the easiest and lightest desserts ever.
To make the Cherry Brownies: (and I really hope you do as they are divine) Use your favorite brownie mix and add in one can (21 oz.) of cherry pie filling (drain off about half of the sauce) - mix brownies according to package directions, stir in cherry pie filling and bake as usual...fabulous!
To make the Strawberry Vinaigrette: 1/4 cup Balsamic vinegar, 1/2 cup good olive oil, 10 large, fresh strawberries, 3 green onions...put all in a blender - that's it - easy and super good.
I will post the rest of the recipes soon...time to go to the movies with the mister, he's all in a snit because he hasn't been to a movie in over a month!
The mister loves the movies because it's two hours where I can't talk...he's not fooling me!
Let me leave you with one last pic - I don't normally post pictures of people on here...but this was so cute of the boy that I couldn't resist...he's getting married soon, has already bought a house and is excited about moving out!
I'm very happy for him, and just a little afraid for me...he'll move out, the dog who is 13 will die and then it will just be me and the mister...cue the scary music!