It’s all in the details. For my recent Girls ‘n Pearls dinner party, I had a ball combing the city for flowers, the freshest ingredients and fun favors for my friends. Today’s post is about where I found each item, details about the stores, and conversations I had in the process!
A Rose by Harvest is a quaint store located in the heart of the flower district on 28th street between 6th and 7th in Chelsea. If you have never spent a Saturday morning walking around the area, smelling the flowers, and exploring the trinkets in each store then I highly suggest you do it. ASAP! It’s so calming and fun.
My favorite store in the area has been open for sixteen years, and began their success by selling all sorts of flowers out of trucks! While they still sell flowers out of trucks in Connecticut, NYC, Philadelphia, and New Jersey, it’s the roses that were the hot-selling item. So much that they decided to open a store to sell just roses. All of the roses inside are oh so fresh! Being cut in Ecuador 48 hours prior to landing in Astoria, messengered to the store the same day, this store has got their process down. Even Martha Stewart is a fan of Harvest. Fresh flowers are key for presentation, and I can always rely on these guys!
The Tiffany blue boxes at the table were actually not from Tiffany’s….sorry girls! I actually purchased them from my favorite stationary store, Paper Presentation, located on 18th between 5th and 6th. When you walk into this store you are overwhelmed with paper, color, and creative people ready to help you. I frequently pop into this place to get inspirational ideas for future parties…and to look at the paper of course!
Started seventeen years ago by a sister-brother combo, this family owned business is still in fact a family business. The owners are just lovely and so interesting to talk to. The sister, Sarah, who co-owns the store was conveniently there the day I went into purchase the boxes. Our conversation was so much fun, but the main point that I pulled away from talking with her (for yalls benefit!) were what are the most popular items, which are there envelopes and the pocket invitations! Sarah told me that she “loves the store so much, not only because everyone who works here is like family, but the people you meet and the ideas that you get from them.” I can’t wait for my next trip into this store…
Chelsea Market is a huge space filled of clothing stores, restaurants, wine and food shops…the list goes on and on! It’s a convenient walk from A Rose by Harvest and Paper Presentation (I’m already planning your next Saturday!), located on 9th Avenue (between 15th and 16th). My favorite first-stop when I walk into the Chelsea Market is Fat Witch Bakery. You can smell those famous brownies baking away before you enter the Market…yum! Freshly baked every day, Fat Witch Bakery is the perfect stop to pick up sweet treats for a host or a little pick me up for a friend! I decided that for the “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” boxes needed just that inside: breakfast. Luckily, Fat Witch has a breakfast brownie that is chock-full of a delicious combination of oatmeal, walnuts, and my favorite: chocolate.
Opened thirteen years ago by Patricia Helding, who is such a gem to talk with by the way, this store has been a hot spot for any dessert lovers. Patricia was just fabulous and told me that the Fat Witch Baby is hands down the most popular brownie, that the Caramel Fat Witch is her personal favorite due to it being so luscious that she can’t keep her mouth away from it, and that they are hoping to open more stores in the near future! The Breakfast brownie was the exact treat that I wanted to be placed inside the Tiffany box. It fit perfectly, and was just as good as it looks.
Now for my do-ahead menu. Here are the recipes of the food served that evening…enjoy!
Salmon with Roasted Asparagus and Lemon-Caper Sauce
(courtesy of Epicurious.com) – Makes 4 servings (I doubled it with 8 guests at the dinner table)
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons minced red onion
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
½ teaspoon grated lemon peel
1 ½ pound skinless salmon fillet (1 ¼ to 1 ½ inches thick)
1 pound asparagus, trimmed
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Preparation:
Whisk first 6 ingredients in small bowl to blend. Season sauce with salt and pepper. Preheat oven to 450F. Cut three ½-inch-deep slits crosswise in top of salmon (as if dividing into 4 equal pieces but do not cut through). Arrange asparagus in even layer on rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with oil and turn to coat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place salmon atop asparagus; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast until salmon is just opaque in center, about 20 minutes.
Transfer asparagus and salmon to platter. Spoon sauce over salmon. Cut into 4 pieces along slits and serve.
Anna’s Roasted Potatoes
2lbs. small red potatoes, cut in 6 little wedges
1 t. salt
-Cover with water and boil 10 minutes. Drain.
-In a saucepan, melt:
-1 stick butter
-1/2 t. salt
-1/2 t. pepper
-1/3 cup chopped herbs (mostly parsley and chives plus, 2 t. rosemary, 2 t. thyme)
-2 t. minced garlic
-Add potatoes and set aside.
When ready to serve, place the potatoes in a single layer on a cookie sheet or baking dish. Top with Parmesan cheese and broil for 5 minutes.
Molten Chocolate Cakes
(courtesy of Jean George Vongerichten)
Ingredients:
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped – only Valrhona or Scharfen-Berger*
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
¼ cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
2 teaspoons all purpose flour
Preparation:
-Generously spray four 4-ounce ramekins with Baker’s joy (or any spray oil/flour combo) or you can butter them and dust with flour or cocoa powder.
-Melt chocolate and butter over low heat or in microwave. Whisk until smooth.
-With an electric mixer, beat the sugar, eggs and egg yolk until thick and lighter in color. Then beat in the chocolate until smooth and then quickly add the flour.
-Divide batter among ramekins. (At this point, you may cover and refrigerate ramekins for up to a day. Let the cakes come to room temperature for 2 hours before baking. Make sure to preheat oven).
-When ready to bake, preheat oven to 450F. Bake cakes on a cookie sheet uncovered until edges are set but center still looks shiny and soft, about 7-8 minutes.
-Invert hot ramekins on plates and let rest for 10 seconds. Unmold by lifting one corner of the mold; the cake will fall out onto the plate if you have generously greased the ramekin enough. Serve immediately.
*I like to buy the Valrhona pellets or the Scharfen-Berger bar, so it’s easier to melt. Both are from Whole Foods. Other chocolates have too much oil and affect the texture of the cakes.
I hope my tips on where I bought the items presented at my Girls ‘n Pearls party will not only inspire you to recreate on your own, but to show you how much fun, creativity and organization really goes into the planning in order to have your guests wanting to say “bonjour!” and “hola!” sooner than later the next time you send them a Paperless Post invitation!
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