Theme: Girls ‘n Pearls
After cleaning my apartment one afternoon, I thought ‘why not have a few girls over for a fancy little dinner party?’ – So that’s exactly what I decided to do!
Complements of my absolute favorite invitation website, Paperless Post, I was able to create the perfect invitation to quickly send out to my girlfriends with “Girls ‘n Pearls” as the evening’s theme. Besides the fact that Audrey Hepburn is one of my style icons, any excuse to wear my Mikimotos is just fine by this Southern girl. It was such a wonderful evening that I decided to split this post into two parts: the first being a description of the dinner party itself, and the second consisting of how I prepared for the dinner party, recipes, and the sources for everything presented.
With a sea of pearls in the room (along the Live Edge Dining Tables and in the vases), a spectacular sunset winding down, and a hint of lemon and fresh salmon coming out of the oven, this evening of Girls ‘n Pearls is off to an exceptional start. Candles galore. Including my favorite candle scent of Diptyque Baies glistening in the background. If you didn’t already know this, everyone’s best features are revealed in candlelight (hint to all of you boys out there…!).
The doorbell rings and my first guests arrive. Various fashions enter my apartment. Classic, stylish, but not ubiquitous. Although, my perfect plan of being ready for the guests’ arrival is running a bit off schedule as I continue to make the side dishes in the kitchen. Thanks to the help of my dear friend, Ryan, we were able to pull of the last bit of work…sans stress. Bottles popping. Clatter in the kitchen continues and finally all seven girls have arrived!
Wines of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir flowing. Fresh Pierre Robert triple crème cheese from France purchased from Brooklyn’s Bedford Cheese Shop (I biked there the day before!) is showcased on the table with toasted raisin crisps. Nestled next to the cheese is a plate of crumbled Mast Brother’s Dark Chocolate Almond and Sea salt, also picked up during my time in Brooklyn. These two appetizers were a perfect combination for a light nibble before dinner.
Conversations begin to grow louder. The girls are quite comfortable and my apartment is slowly filling with laughter and fun friendship.
The oven timer rings and my girlfriends continue the chatting en route to the dining room table where the main course is presented: roasted salmon topped with a caper & red onion vinaigrette, peppery asparagus, and new potatoes finished with rosemary, thyme, garlic, and parmesan cheese. After everyone is served, I glance around to make sure everyone is happy. Their smiles are my signals of satisfaction.
Full tummies. Deep breaths. Remarkable table talk. Their plates are now cleared from everyone’s place settings. It is now time to prepare the desserts!
One of my favorite recipes, courtesy of Jean Georges Vongerichten, is warm rich dark chocolate molten cakes. They are best served with a big scoop of Vanilla Haagen-Dazs ice cream. In order to pull of this amazing dessert at a dinner party, I suggest making the recipe earlier that day. Easy-breezy! Then, it only takes 7-8 minutes to cook the cakes in a very hot oven, which allows for the perfect break between finishing the main course and having dessert. Luckily, my soufflé-like cakes turned out perfectly and were definitely a swoon-worthy finish to our meal!
At the end of the evening, the girls were anxious to peek inside the Tiffany blue party favor boxes sitting at the top of their place setting. Inside, they found their own “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”…. a Breakfast Fat Witch Bakery brownie from my favorite bakery in Chelsea Market. What a fun way to end this fun girls evening than to send them on their way with tomorrow’s breakfast in hand!
Pearls: they complement any outfit, elevate your classic image, and make you look like a proper lady!
Part II will consist of how I prepared for the dinner party including recipes and shops I purchased items featured. Hope this Girls ‘n Pearls dinner party inspires you to thrown your own!
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