Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Tapas Party

It seems another week has passed and all I can plead is summer.  It has been an especially busy one, probably just like yours! I promised more details on the Tapas party and here they are.  Now in retrospect, I would never try this for 30 people again, at least not in a small cottage kitchen with limited space to prep and clean up.  We were running to get each course ready and we were blessed with 4 very capable volunteers.  Having said that, one of the great things about this kind of party is that almost all of the foods can be prepared ahead of time and just put on the plate.
 This first course consisted of grapes, almonds spiced with paprika and fresh rosemary, marinated olives and mushrooms, toasted whole grain baguettes and herbed olive oil for dipping the bread.  Super easy.  We served four courses and we tried to include different flavors,( sweet, savory, pickled), and different textures in each course.  Recipes were found on Pinterest and can be found by following the links in the description.

I didn't get a photo of the second course that night, once again, running! but I did find a photo on my phone from trying this out at my daughter's house to see how it all went together. They loved being our guinea pigs:) The second course consisted of an assortment of cheeses including manchego, brie and goat cheese with wild blueberries (Costco!), an assortment of cured meats including prosciutto, summer sausage and salami, assorted crackers, dried cherries drizzled with honey, sliced guava paste, and pickled beets.  I know that sounds like a lot, but each board served 4 people so there are only a few bites of each thing for per person. One of the reasons we felt the need to try it out was to see if these small bites would be enough. They were! You can, of course offer less choices, maybe just one or two different things with a little more in each serving.  It is a menu that can be anything you want it to be!
The third course was Pork empanadas with thyme, melon skewers, dilled green beans, and those little forks sticking up in the middle were dried figs stuffed with goat cheese and drizzled with lavender and thyme infused honey! Oh my goodness, so good.  The recipe I found actually called for fresh figs and I couldn't find them anywhere. Maybe they aren't in season this time of year? But the dried figs worked fine and were so delicious, we loved the infused honey too.

The final course was small servings of lemon cheesecake with lemon curd and white chocolate raspberry cheesecake with raspberry sauce and chocolate ganache...and a teeny scoop of raspberry sorbet.  No photo because by then we were all beat and surrounded by dishes.  I have my limits.  It was all served outside on a perfect, warm evening with candles and flowers on the tables and good friends laughing and trying new things.  The best thing about this type of party is the slow way it is served, one course at a time, which leaves plenty of time for conversation and relaxing around the table.

If you are interested in checking out the Tapas board and the pins I used for inspiration and recipes you can find it here.

We find summer to be the best time to entertain. With a very small house and a very large yard and garden, it's just easier to have as many people over as we want to.  How about you, do you prefer to entertain inside or out?

22 comments:

  1. Inside...controlled environment and controlled crowd. =D Thank you for all the details on this fun party. It does look like a lot of work and a lot of fun for those who attended.

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  2. Yummy!! We love figs all dolled up. :)

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    1. You are such a talented party thrower. I remember this beautifully written and photographed post. Glad you shared at TOHOT today.:)

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  3. Oh boy, I am hungry now! Looks like a fun time and your guests were blessed by you guys!

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  4. What a great idea and you really pulled it off. I love your honesty and that picture of your kitchen in the last post. lol

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  5. Looks divine! We like to entertain outdoors - we have to catch the beautiful summer months while we can. Your meal is perfect for outdoor parties! Thank you for sharing!

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  6. It all looks and sounds delicious! Can you share your dilly bean recipe sometime, when you have a chance pretty please, with sugar on it?
    Hugs,
    Penny

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  7. What a treat for your guests! It all sounds wonderful even though it was a lot of hard work.
    ~Adrienne~

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  8. I sure wish I was invited to your tapas party...the food looks wonderful that you made. Cooking is only hard work if you don't love cooking! I'd like you dilly bean recipe too!

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  9. Oh, my...what a marvelous meal this must have been....and LOTS of work and time involved.
    Every bit of it sound so so good.

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  10. Oh my goodness, I'm getting hungry just reading about your tapas goodies.
    I bet it was appreciated by all, Kathleen. I do understand why you were ready to drop!

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  11. Empanadas is a staple here are our house. Been Colombian by birth, I can make them filled with eggs and meat for breakfast - yum!

    Your tapas menu is just perfect for a summer meal ...

    blessings,

    mari

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  12. How fun this looks to have been! It looks wonderful!

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  13. Hi Kathy how is your summer going?

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  14. Oh how fun. You did such a lovely job with your party. Everything looked picture perfect. I'm glad I found your blog today. I really enjoyed the visit... :)

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  15. THANK YOU!! I was so inspired by your party and thought what a great idea it would be for an Indian Summer celebration with great fall fruit and cheeses and figs and cider!! Yay!

    Thanks for your very nice comments on my last post---I'll get around more soon! :)

    Jane x

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  16. Great post everything sounds wonderful and looks great. But maybe like you said on a smaller note which I agree. Id like to do this for my family Happy Aurumn with love Janice

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  17. Now this looks like something you would find at a star restaurant.
    Your guests were very lucky. Amazing.

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  18. This looks like a yummy and fun party! WOW! Thanks for sharing. Hugs and blessings, Cindy (Visiting from Thoughts of Home Party)

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  19. This is a great idea for a party and it looks like you guys did a beautiful job! The menu sounds amazing.

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  20. I saw your post on TOHOT and decided to check it out. Looks like a great party :)

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Thank you for taking the time to say hello :)