Saturday Evening Dinner Party

my dining room doesn't look like this one,

but I do love this one, don't you?

my dining room is bigger and has one entire wall of glass overlooking our back 

garden and pool, and there is a huge canvas on one wall, mostly in shades of blues,

depicting Notre Dame Cathedral as seen from the Seine.

this piece of art has been the focal point for over 20 years,

and the room was decorated to accommodate the piece.

but now, it looks dated to me even though I love the furniture, the chairs need

to be recovered because we need a new look, and the Persian rug on the

floor needs to move to a new place so the room can have a lighter feeling to it.

do you ever think this way?

suddenly, a room just doesn't suit you any longer?

I really love this image above. the serenity and, of course, the monochromatic scheme.

this is my favorite look now, everything shades of the same color.

but, back to the dinner party...

there will be 8 of us, and this is the kick-off to the holiday season.

between now and New Year's Eve there will be dinners, cocktails, events going on non-stop.

our home is like a soft contemporary with high ceilings and walls of glass, with large rooms,

so it's very easy for us to entertain as there is plenty of room for sitting comfortably.

in creating my menu I have tried to be festive and also kind of simple.

mostly because I will actually be doing all the prep and cooking.

for cocktails I'm thinking a big salmon board,

I have one of the commercial ones made of marble with pewter fish head & tail

which always makes a beautiful presentation.

then a beef tenderloin for the main course,

with a potato & onion terrine,

saute fresh asparagus, done so they are still slightly crispy,

and my hallmark salad of mixed greens,

feta cheese crumbles, sliced almonds & mandarin oranges,

with a blue cheese dressing.

and, ahhhhh, dessert....

unless it's a birthday or anniversary calling for a cake, 

I mostly do a tray of

petit fours

chocolate covered strawberries

small custard cups

& a beautiful tray of white cheeses and fresh fruit

I don't choose any of the drinks or wines, so cannot say what will happen

with this for next Saturday.

hopefully, I'll find something to wear, I saw the most beautiful

Eskandar navy outfit, a sparsely sequined bateau-necked tunic top with

very slim fitting navy pants which would allow me to wear some really

big wonderful jewelry.

Bon Appetit, Ya'll