Eating on Jitneys

November 11, 2007 will forever have a special place in my heart. On November 12 I felt sadder than I have felt in at least a year, because November 11th was over. Last Sunday, Ellen and I completed the semi-impossible: a hitch-free elaborate dinner party for 12 people. Despite the fact that there was serious drama the day before (involving a hit-and-run) and a late start, literally nothing went wrong.

While I have had dinner parties before, they have been more centered around the party rather than the dinner. This one required…ok maybe not required but at least took a month of planning. The planning was so fun! Luckily we agree on just about everything (like having lavender and chocolate for dessert, ditching the idea of making terrines at the last minute, infusing vodka for some signature cocktails, etc) which made the process stress-free. We even got together and made some invitations using some polaroid transfers, paper, a printer, and a sewing machine. I know, right??

I have been hestitating to write about the dinner party because, well, it has become so special to me. So perfect. I’m not joking. I’m already looking up pretty matching cloth napkins on etsy that I might want to purchase for the next dinner party (with the theme of “Gourmet Mexican”).

This dinner party did not have a Mexican theme. This was a fancy French dinner. Here was the basic menu (picture me crying while I type this, because I might as well be):

to start
-French Cocktail with two kinds of personally infused vodkas (vanilla and raspberry)

-Amuse-bouche de mer: Scallop seared in butter, atop cucumber spread with beet horseradish
-Amuse-bouche de courgettes: Zucchini fritters with oil, lemon, and egg sauce
-Olives

upon seating

1. cream of cauliflower and brie soup
2. salad of green apples and arugala with parmesan-thyme crisp and toasted pumpkin seeds.

main course

1. a variety of miniature quiche
2. potato tower
3. brussel sprouts and bacon

cheese course


(only a taste of the 6 types of delicious cheeses, paired with Chicago Co-op honey and Conchord grapes)

dessert

1. lavender cookies

2. 2 kinds of truffles, dipped in cocoa and almond

coffee

We both agreed this was the most fun we had had in a long time. Unfortunately we couldn’t invite everyone we wanted, because this wasn’t a rager. It was a serious dinner party because we are serious about food.