I’ve been chosen to host an America’s Test Kitchen “Food & Friends” dinner party, cooking from the Provencal Bistro Menu of their upcoming Menu Cookbook. The last couple of days I’ve been busy with preparation and now the big day has finally arrived! You are welcome to follow along my progress by the twitter hashtag #ATKDinner.
My effort so far involves cooking some of the dishes in advance but mainly my biggest task is to make sure my house is clean and welcoming to friends. As much as I love the lived-in look of books piled high on the coffee table and opened mail on the counter, I don’t want to leave my guests searching for a spot to set down their drinks! The clean up is mostly done and I even got a new bookcase for the family room to house all my new cookbooks. My collection has long ago exceeded the capacity of the study upstairs!
As for my style of setting tables, all I can say is that for someone who doesn’t own a dishwasher, I sure don’t shy away from dirtying tons of little dishes! What you see on the table is only a small fraction of what I’ll be washing tonight. I do love the pale moss green and chocolate brown colour scheme. You see that in both the napkins and the alternating Bosc and Bartlett pears used in the place-setting. The pears are not just decorative but nor are they favours. I’ll collect them for the salad course and cheese course later in the evening.
The main centre of activity will be the breakfast area where the larger dining table is located. The more formal dining room serves as the drinks station with all the glasses and drinks and garnishes set out. The coffee and tea set up are also there along with all the fixings for the cheese course. Now you see what I mean about many dishes to wash? Heh.
I’m very excited about the party and the post will be published next week at America’s Test Kitchen Feed. In the mean time, wish me all the luck that the cooking will go smoothly and everyone to have a wonderful evening at my home!
