Location: YORBA LINDA RESIDENCE
Months ago, the hostess and best friend of the birthday girl contacted me about hosting a party for her best friend, but she was unsure which direction she wanted to go with the 50 guests she would be inviting into her home. The trickiest part when throwing a party for a third person is figuring out what the uninvolved person would prefer.
After a little Q & A, the same words kept reoccurring: good wine, intimate, fine dining, Paris... We decided on a Parisian themed event, complete with a food and wine pairing of passed hors d'oeuvres.
It is fantastic when the host and hostess are willing to entrust you with all of the details of the event, not exactly knowing the outcome. On this occasion, I had an engineer as my host, so he willingly made my visions a reality. He spliced together strings of market lights to create a glow on the dance floor, I envisioned a a fountain in the pool, and he even lit an Eiffel Tower in the background to bring Paris to Yorba Linda. (I think I may just hire him!)
Luckily, I have had a few floral design courses in my past so I was able to create lovely centerpieces from my inventory, and save the host and hostess the expense of hiring a florist.
Upon arrival, guests were greeted with tray passed champagne, a display of fresh fruit, imported cheeses, baked brie en croute, dried bread, crackers and date rumaki. If you have never had Alicia's date rumaki, I would hire them just for that bacon wrapped pleasure!
Next up, the whites! A chardonnay and pinot grigio paired with beet & chive crostini, petite chicken picatta skewers, and spinach & feta empanadas with cilanto yogurt. The guests were raving and so eager for their next course of red pairings. The red wines included a blend, pinot noir, and petite sirah, but it was the food that brought out each flavor. The third course consisted of a gorgonzola stuffed mushrooms, roasted red pepper soup shooters and bleu beef tenderloin canapes with caramelized onions.
After the third course, I heard so many satisfied groans from full bellies, the dessert selection had to be spectacular to continue the indulgence: chocolate mouse shooters, red velvet and lemon pound petite cupcakes, cheesecake tarts with fresh berries, a beautiful butter cake with white chocolate shavings for the birthday girl and a coffee bar complete with chocolate whipped cream. Since this WAS a wine party, we had to offer a dessert wine. The Cocoa Vino was a huge success! If I hadn't been "on the clock" I would of had a little taste myself.
In keeping with the theme of the party and art being part of the French culture, we added a blank canvas as a keepsake for the birthday girl. The guests were invited to bring out their inner artist and paint their message...
This Parisian themed party has been my favorite of 2012, thus far. I have to thank the wonderful vendors I brought together to make this evening successful. Alicia's has never let me down and exceeded the host and hostesses expectations and Vendome Liquor completed our event with the selection of pairings. Vendome went above and beyond to accommodate the budget and quality desired which is a feat in itself.
~Au Revoir~
