Shower Her With Love - Wedding Shower Buffet

Such a wonderful time when friends and relatives

can gather together to

 shower someone with love

 in preparation for their upcoming wedding.

I love to prepare a beautiful tablescape for a buffet on my 

kitchen counter.

We are throwing a shower for my niece Danielle

and her fiance Justin.

Her mother, Kim, found these wonderful 

paper parasols on-line and hand painted

and decorated them with glitter and

jewels and they are the inspiration 

for our tablescape today.

Of course we need lovely flowers, and

White roses and lilies are the

flowers of choice for this bridal shower.

Everything is underpinned with

 jeweled tulle 

that I used at my oldest daughter's

wedding 9 years ago.

The tulle anchors everything and gives

such a lovely softness.

Two love birds nestle under glass.

They are surrounded by roses and lilies.

A perfect white rose, is there anything

more exquisite?

This is all about sparkle and shine.

There is also plenty of bling.

A wedding gives a girl a chance

to be a princess, so I threw in 

some crowned mercury glass bottles.

The fun initials were done by her 

mother also.  They were decoupaged

and bejeweled.

So many pretty things to

enchant the eye.

Pure white is always beautiful for

a happy celebration like this.

Pure white candles with a double

row of diamonds.

Plates start out the buffet and bubble

glasses and silverware

 are at the opposite end of the buffet.

Food will be placed in front of the

display and nestled in the tulle.

I love this little crown stoppered

bottle nestled in the tulle.

I just love the custom touches her mother

 made to the paper parasols.  These are 

definitely the stars of the tablescape.

The good silverplate perfectly

complements this elegant tablescape.

One final look  down the buffet line.

What a perfect way to celebrate the

joining of two lives.

I know Danielle felt showered with love.

I will be posting this with

Tablescapes Thursday

Wow Us Wednesday

Feathered Nest Friday

Sources

White plates - Tai Pan

Goblets - Tai Pan

Mercury glass - Tai Pan

Crown Pitcher - Tai Pan

Cloche - Tai Pan

Cake Pedestals - Home Goods

Candles - Home Goods

Jeweled tulle - Hancock Fabric (they still have it)

Silverplate - Horchow

Crown stoppered bottle - Tuesday Morning

Fresh Peach Pie

Just the smell of peaches reminds me of the

transition from summer to fall.  

We always have to make a fresh peach

pie - oooohhhh - so luscious and juicy.

I made one whole pie and these two

little pies with my perfectly ripe peaches. 

Fresh Peach Pie Recipe

1 C. pureed ripe peaches

1 C. sugar

3 T. cornstarch

1 T. butter

1/2 C. cold water

1 tsp. vanilla

1-9 inch pie shell, baked and cooled

7-8  C. ripe peaches, peeled and sliced

(about 6 or 7 large peaches)

Mix the peaches, sugar, cornstarch, butter, and

water in a medium saucepan.  Bring to a boil,

reduce heat and heat until thickened, stirring 

constantly.  When thick, remove from heat

and add vanilla.  Stir in and then

 transfer sauce to a bowl to cool to room

temperature.  When cool, press through

a fine mesh sieve to remove lumps.

When sauce is cool, peel and slice peaches. 

Gently toss the peaches in the sauce.

Pour into cooked and cooled crust.

Refrigerate until serving time.  Serve

with sweetened whipped cream or

vanilla ice cream.

(If you are used to making your fresh

peach pie with peach Jello, try this one.

I made one of each and tasted them side 

by side and will never make the Jello

one again!)

I will be posting with

Foodie Friday

On The Menu Monday

Weekend Wrap Up

Masaman Chicken Curry - It's Thai Tonight

Masman Chicken Curry, a Thai dish is

another new dish that the girls suggested 

for Girl's Camp.  Pretty exotic camping fare!

This was my first venture with Thai food

(besides spring rolls and pad thai).

Since I had never had it, I had to test it out

before we served to to 24 at Girl's Camp.

My 17 year old son and my 20 year old daughter

walked in on the test dish and it was an 

instant favorite.  I was a little nervous about

serving this to girls between ages 12 and 18

but they all loved it too.

Hope you enjoy it.

You may have to find a specialty store

featuring Thai foods to get a few

of the ingredients, but it is worth

the search.

Masaman Chicken Curry Recipe

2 T. vegetable oil

3 T. masaman curry paste (Thai store)

3 T. red curry paste

2 - 19 oz. cans coconut milk (much better

if you don't use light)

1 3/4 C. water

6 T. soy sauce

7 T. sugar

4 T. tamarind liquid (Thai store)

1 lb. cubed, cooked chicken (or tofu)

1 C. cut up carrots

1 red bell pepper, chopped

2 C. red potatoes, cubed with skins on

1/2 C. cashews, chopped

Jasmine or brown rice to serve it over

In a large pan heat the oil and stir fry the

curry pastes for a couple of minutes to bring

out the flavor.  Add the coconut milk and 

heat for a couple of minutes to blend flavors.

Add the water and remaining ingredients

except cashews. 

Simmer for 30-40 minutes or until potatoes

and carrots are soft.  If desired you can add

a little cornstarch mixed in cold water at 

the end to thicken up the sauce.

Serve over rice with the cashews.

You may stir the cashews in, but some people

don't like nuts, so we added them on top.

I had never had Masaman Curry before.  It has a very

mild, complex flavor and everyone loved it, even

our youngest girls.  

I will be posting this with

On The Menu Monday

Foodie Friday

French Country Potato Salad - Best Potato Salad Ever

Are you trying to squeeze every last drop of summer

out like we are?

How many picnics and BBQs and pool parties

can we fit in before the weather turns on us?

This French Country Potato Salad is

my all-time favorite potato salad.

It goes so well with my tablescape and

post yesterday - French Country Dining.

Sometimes I refer to this as the "Everything but the

kitchen sink" potato salad as you will see when you

see the list of ingredients.

It is a variation from an old church cookbook

that my aunt in Wisconsin gave me 25 years

ago.  Don't you just love church cookbooks

with everyone's family favorite recipes in them?

Of course potatoes are the base...

But then we add cabbage - yes cabbage, carrots, pickles

green pepper, pimiento, onions, mayo,

and yummy dijon mustard.

It has such a healthy and refreshing crunch to it.

French Country Potato Salad Recipe

4 C. cooked diced potatoes (skins on)

1 1/2 C. roughly shredded cabbage

1/2 C. shredded carrots

1/2 C. chopped dill pickle

1/4 C. chopped onion

1/4 C. chopped green pepper

1 T. white vinegar

1 T. dijon mustard

3/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. black pepper

3/4 - 1 C. mayonaise

Mix everything together while potatoes

are still warm.  Stir and cover and

refrigerate until cool.

This recipe makes about 8 nice sized

servings.  I am taking it to a lady's luncheon.

So fun presented in half pint canning jars.

Keep enjoying summer as long as you can.

Posting this with

 FridaysFoodie

On the Menu Mondays

Weekend Wrapup Party

French Country Dining - La Caille and A French Country PIcnic

Enter the gates of La Caille with me,

the premier fine dining restaurant

in Salt Lake City.

(Don't you just love those turquoise gates?)

La Caille is set on 20 acres of wooded areas,

vineyards and manicured lawns

It is known for its stunning seasonal 

floral displays.

The buildings themselves are stunning too.

Swans and ducks swim in the ponds.

You have to spend some time just walking around

when you come here.

Look at this life size carriage

topiary.  

You can enjoy gorgeous outdoor

dining during the summer

Or come indoors.

 My favorite entertainment is the

free roaming peacocks out on 

the patio.

 This bold fellow walked right up to this

outdoor table and snatched a beak full

of butter - follow the arrow and

you can see the blob of butter.

It happened before the diners

even knew what was going on.

This beautiful guy walked right up to me,

I am directly in front of him and

just walked straight into the

restaurant.

They were certainly strutting 

their stuff this evening.

 The food is pricey so this is a special occasion restaurant,

but the presentation is always gorgeous.

This is the Lobster Bisque Soup.

Shrimp Cocktail

And a dessert sampler with

creme brulee, beignets with

cream dipping sauce and

a chocolate lava cake.

Don't ask me what happened to the main

dish pictures - I guess we ate them too

fast for photos.

This wonderful night inspired my table for this
week - a French Country Picnic.

We have always enjoyed simple picnics

with great food.  

Today's picnic features French blue.

Just grab a fabulous picnic basket 

and fill it with ready made items

and you are off.

Crusty bread and a little bubbly (non-alcoholic for me)

tucked into a pretty basket with a French blue linen.

I love to use glass plates and glasses to make

the simple food more elegant.

Even throw in some lovely blue hydrangeas.

These pretty blue and white plates are perfect

for serving a light picnic fare.

Wrap your flatware up in a pretty cloth napkin.

Fresh peaches and grapes, rotisserie chicken

and fancy cheeses are all you need.

See - no prep time needed, just fresh luscious food.

We received this fun basket as a wedding gift

32 years ago.  I love to give beautiful picnic

baskets for wedding gifts.

I love its leather latch.

The peaches this year are so amazing.

This beautiful bordered linen was from Williams Sonoma 

years ago.

 We end with chocolate eclairs topped
with a fresh pink rose.

Put together a fun French  picnic using
ready made foods and beautiful
accessories before the summer ends.

I had to give you one last peek at La Caille
to finish off my French Country Dining post.

It is fantastic at Christmas too 

(not that you want to be thinking about

Christmas yet - right?)

I will be posting with
Wayfaring Wednesday
Outdoor Wednesday
Tablescapes Thursday

Tablecloth - Williams Sonoma
Plates - Home Goods
Glasses - Cabo
Metal vase - Tai Pan
Flatware - Horchow
Napkins - Pier 1
Basket - wedding gift