Au Revoir

 

Our neighbors are moving only across town but I'm still fairly devastated. In all the years I've lived in New York, I've never been so close to folks down the hall where we have each other over to our respective apartments for dinner constantly, rap on our doors just to say hi (or return borrowed plates and glasses!) or go out to dinner together and eat, eat, eat! Needless to say it was requisite to give them a proper send-off so I composed a dinner reflecting both of their backgrounds. G is from Mexico City (with a touch of French) and S is British. My thoughts simmered as I wondered how to combine the two influences while setting the table a day in advance. Don't you love the Cherry Brandy rose bouquet?

I began to assemble a simple relish tray in my mind composed of sausages, pickles and bleu cheese we had on hand to get things started. Baby helped me roll up these adorable napkin nests from Perfect Table Settings by Denise Vivaldo. Naturally we placed carved wooden birds on them.


Pork Pies from the British import shop Myers of Keswick in the heart of the West Village were a must as the anchor for dinner, both standard and pungent Stilton-stuffed varieties.

 

Goya Spanish yellow saffron rice was a wonderful side. I added in sliced chorizo sauteed in Bonne Maman apricot preserves (I thought of it as a nod to classic British apricot and lamb pie).

Heinz baked beans in tomato sauce was out of the can and also from Myers of Keswick.

Noting G's French heritage, I also made Green Beans Almondine!

Plated!

S & G also brought over a sizable Pandoro via Pasticceria Perbellini Ernesto in Bovolone, Italy--sort of a spongy bread-like cake with essences of rum, orange and vanilla. It was perfect to go with our Haagen-Dazs dulce de leche ice cream and British Curly Wurly candy bars!

Farewell, dear friends. Although you will not be across the hall from Baby and me, you will always be in our hearts--and we'll see you back here soon and now, across town!



Tonight's Menu
Appetizers
Relish Tray
D'Artagnan Venison and Pork Sausages
Saltines
Pepperoni
Sour Dill Pickles
Point Reyes Cheese

Entree and Sides
Pork Pies
Green Beans Almondine
Spanish Rice with Apricot Chorizo
Dulce de Leche Ice Cream and Curly Wurly Candy Bars
Pandoro

Sountrack: Fun personal party mix with Blondie, The B-52's, Hugo Montenegro, R.E.M. and Henry Mancini!

Play Reading - Blithe Spirit

This month our group of indomitable players embarked upon Blithe Spirit, by The Master himself, Noel Coward. The brilliantly wicked "improbable comedy" surrounds the supernatural and a stolid British gentleman who can't seem to stop arguing with (or indeed get rid of) two of his dead wives.

Before we got to the curiousness afoot, we toasted with frozen shots of my own creation, the Blithe Spirit. Baby flooded the punch bowl with dry ice to set a vaporous, otherworldly mood, evoking an emanation perhaps, or any sort of protoplasm. I adjusted my cocktail recipe, though--as we didn't have coconut-flavored Malibu rum, I used what dark rum we did have and switched it up with Zico coconut water poured into the mix along with Simply Limeade instead of Rose's lime juice. Add a judicious amount of orange juice and do throw in fresh mint leaves too.

As our evening of theatrics continued, Fresh Direct played its own part. I began to lay out the spread, with a few battery-powered votives scattered about...




 A view of the table from the perspective of a mischievous fern!

 

Martini glasses and a host of pearls spilling out of them seemed appropriate to decorate a veddy British table. Pearls do lend to one a fair amount of courage, don't you find?

 

An upturned mirror was the best I could do for a summoning crystal ball.



Funnily enough, at least a few mysterious events did occur, such as the sudden, murky rain storm that poured down and thrashed about, forcing us to close the windows--and the ice-filled wine bucket that gurgled inexplicably while we read over certain lines!

Tonight's Menu
Mousse Truffee-chicken and turkey livers in duck fat and truffles with Carr's water crackers.

 

Cucumber Sandwiches--I didn't make my usual Benedictine sandwiches with cucumber and cream cheese. Fresh Direct had tzatziki with cucumbers and yogurt already made, so I used that. I did still cut off the crusts of the white bread though.

 

Potato Salad--thanks again Fresh Direct!



Watercress Salad with Wild Mushrooms--I tossed it all with the ready-to-go Delouis fils shallot vinaigrette.



Chimichurri Marinated Flank Steak--it arrived from Fresh Direct ready to cook. All I had to do was put it in the oven heated to 350 degrees until the meat thermometer reached an internal 135 degrees and I let it sit out of the oven so it could further climb to about 145 degrees for pink, medium rare perfection. We ate it at room temperature, suited for summer.

 

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie with Haagen-Dazs Vanilla Ice Cream--a homemade delight, courtesy of our dear friend. 

Chocolate Mousse Cake--well, what to say, but thanks again Fresh Direct! What an evening of high spirits!

 Such gorgeous white roses!