Friday, July 22, 2011

It's never too early to make lists!

We host one party every year.
One rather large, semi-formal sit down dinner party.
It is to celebrate Twelfth Night (or thirteenth night depending on how you count). We start our winter festivities with a quiet, contemplative Mother night and then starting on solstice we give gifts for twelve nights.
Twelfth night dinner started out small, really it did... I think the original guest list was about ten people. Not too many and I had enough china to set the table properly. As people move in and out of our lives the guest list has changed. Last year saw the biggest increase as forty-nine people were invited and thirty-two attended. It was a special year, we held the party on 1-1-11. Thirty people won't fit in my house, the year before had seventeen and it was a delicious crush. This year the preliminary list is twenty-three with an auxiliary list of another thirteen. Wyn wants it to be held at our home again (I think she is going to be over ruled). I only have five months left to plan! Logistics is key, if I have the menu, table favors, decorations, formal invites etc planned out I stress less (or at least I pretend to).
This years menu is looking like this:
Hummus
Assorted Cheeses
Dolmas
Crackers

Tandoori Chicken
Roasted Vegatables
Mashed Potatoes with Mushroom Gravy
Saag
Mixed Greens
Assorted Breads
Curried Pumpkin Soup
Mulligatawny Soup

Mayan Chocolate Truffles
Sugar Plums
Spiced Pear Cake
Kheer

Bear in mind that while I am normally hands off in the kitchen, I cook 85% of this myself. Once I have the menu down and know how far in advance things can be made, I can start to worry about other things, like table favors. I am not sure I can top last years nose warmers (a fashion trend in the making) but I shall try!