Dinner Party Serving Styles

Valley&CoTable

My first dinner party was a feast of pasta, garlic bread and wine in a tiny London flat that hardly had space for a kitchen table, let alone 4 adults trying to enjoy a dignified evening. My husband cooked (because frankly, that was not really my thing when we were first married) and I served [...]

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5 Post Christmas Party Ideas

holidaylights16

Looking for reasons to keep the party going?  Or simply just trying to catch up with friends that you missed over the holiday season? Here are 5 reasons to open your door and play hostess in January. Hair of the Dog Brunch:  So many parties so little time over the New Year, by adding a [...]

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Overcoming Dinner Party Disasters

kitchen fire

After days of planning, hours of cooking and moments spent rearranging the floral display while you anxiously await your guests to arrive, the last thing on your mind is the wine reduction sauce simmering away on the stove top until the door bell rings and you notice for the first time that the house no [...]

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Holiday Salt Dough Ornaments

IMG_3403

My fondest Christmas memory is sitting around our kitchen table watching my mother turn dough into works of art, she effortless hand crafted a jointed Santa Clause, an ornate rocking horse and many other keep sake ornaments while I fiddled around with gingerbread cookie cutters wondering why I did not inherit her creative gene.  While [...]

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The Kitchen Tree

kitchentree

There is something special about arriving home on a cold day in December and being greeted by mistletoe, garlands, glistening lights and the smell of pine wafting over you as you pass through the halls. Decorating for the holidays was a full day event when we lived in London, we would pile into the car, [...]

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