lauren and keith's engagement fiesta...

*featurette- nicole cari & jacob soboroff of los angeles
in the garden of their LA home, nic & jake hosted an engagement party in honor of their close friends', lauren & keith malloy.
              (fotos courtesy of lauren ross, photographer.)

"we wanted to create a little country in the city, because lauren + keith live at hollister ranch & a lot of their friends traveled down for the party."  -- nicole

self serve bar
with all the fixins

taco spread
nicole hired a taco lady to cater
the event. a perfect solution so the
hosts dont spend all nite in the kitchen.

 hand stamped cards attached to old milk jugs to designate different liquors at the bar

    

the future mr & mrs malloy

 use simple stamps to create a personal touch.
nicole used string and mini clothes pins to
make the welcome banner.

 

apple season...

my mother sent me this poem today. she has an old apple orchard in her garden and while we never manage to eat even a fraction of the apples, she uses the fruit and branches to decorate her september tables. with apple season just around the corner, start brainstorming table decorations you can make using apples or their branches.

fruit wreaths can be held together with
thin wire & toothpicks or take a very
thick needle and 'sew' them together
using thick string and wrap them
around until they form a wreath.

pile apples in a basket
of any kind: an old wooden
box or even just a bowl

breakfast LA style...

*featurette: lauren cerré of los angeles 

lauren, a producer for current tv, allows us a peek into her los feliz kitchen on a lazy saturday morning for a breakfast gathering. 

(fotos compliments of sister lee cerré,fellow blogger) 

lauren served LA's breakie enchiladas & a plum galette made by sister lee and her mother using yellow plums from their garden in san francisco 

scramble eggs in a pan. add some salsa verde &
cook on low. dip tortilla in the salsa & let soak
for 1 min. fill tortillas with eggs & shredded
 jack cheese. roll & place in baking dish. cover
 with salsa verde so its soaking in an inch of
the salsa. bake till warm & broil for the last
minute to get the cheese crisp. for sides add
pico de gallo, sour cream & green onions. 

     

bachelorette brunch...

for my big sister's bachelorette weekend, we rented a house in ojai valley and kicked off the weekend with a lovely brunch on the outside terrace...

sprinkle generic paper confetti on any table to create a fun, girly ambiance

bachelorette sophie esser of the napa valley made the ace 
hotel's ricotta hotcakes with orange syrup.
*recipe

morning punch:
oj, vodka, seltzer, lemon,
lime, strawberries,blueberries
and finely chopped fresh mint

another birthday garden luncheon...

sangria served in a silver punch bowl
is perfect for a day-time fest.
whip out the old silver or head to
the flea market and pick some up. 

the chandelier is made of
christmas ornaments & mesh
ribbon hung on the old
skeleton of a run-down chandelier.

colorful silly cupcakes with plastic figurines.

 here i served candied ginger and colorful chocolates with fresh fruit.

the point of the chandelier was to create an 'indoor' space outside. for this luncheon, i served tri-colored bell peppers stuffed with lemon & asparagus risotto , a garden salad and roasted chicken skewers.

garden parties...

a garden luncheon is an easy way to make a birthday party more festive. in honor of my birthday, i dragged tables and chairs out on to the lawn but the main focus of the setting was what i hung over head...

i strung together guatemalan ribbons through a wreath which hung overhead...

the ribbons were pinned into the lawn to create an enclosed, 'tent-like' feeling

 

and rice-paper lanterns strung on the clothes-line to create ambiance.

farm fresh. oh vermont.

dinner party on a hot tin roof

my family recently visited my home in brooklyn on a 90 degree summer day so eating inside was not an option. chris diligently schlepped our dining room table and 9 chairs up to the roof and despite the fact that our roof is slightly slanted, our party unfolded wonderfully from there.

old linen table cloths and napkins are always the way to go. the old, antique, tough linens are the best because you can bleach the hell out of them, unlike modern day linens which fall apart with bleach. i, ridiculously, send these linens home to california to be pressed on my mother's mangle(industrial iron)--god's gift to a housewife

plenty of ice to chill the wine. if you keep your eyes peeled at flea markets, garage sales and antique stores, its easy to find silver or silver plated serving dishes, punch bowls, champagne holders etc.

i made a spinach, pea, pesto, parmesan and pine nut salad to start. Ina Garten to the rescue per usual. Balthazar bakery bread as well.

i served my dear friend Christy's recommendation- fresh moules frites & home-made fries baked in the oven and mussels from my local fish market, fish tales. 8lbs/9 people= $30. a steal and a festive, interactive meal at that! 

for a refreshing desert my sister sophie made cointreau broiled peaches served with local blue marble butter pecan ice cream. simple and sweet. (just poke holes into the halved peaches with a fork and spoon over a bit of cointreau. broil for a few minutes until tender.)

to honor an engagement with soup...

  our friends' recent engagement was the perfect excuse to make a soup i had been eager to try out. in their honor, I served italian wedding soup & upon presentation of the soup to the guests, glasses were raised and a toast was made to the happy couple. this is my new favorite soup to make. i use ina gardener's recipe which is rather simple and exquisite. i also add more spinach and veggies than it calls for. why not? serve this with hot bread fresh out of the oven.

*ESSENTIAL: something every hostess should have is a tureen. the presentation of a soup in a terrine is somewhat regal and i wouldn't serve it any other way. i got my lion-head tureen at sur la table.

here's a shot of the meatballs fresh out of the oven. chris usually makes the meat balls and throws them in the oven while i prepare the rest of the soup. 

one guest that night, my friend christina karr, brought a baguette wrapped in brown paper and string. such a simple yet sweet presentation of a baguette.

a sweet easter table...

Ranculus arranged in an assortment of vases or anything that will hold water and support a long stem. get creative.

la duree macaroons from paris

featurette: sophie esser, napa valley