Over the July 4th weekend, Joe and I had a last minute idea to throw a little party together for our friends and family. We had been wanting to do something like this for some time, but with the seven months of construction on our house followed by a vacation to Israel, it was next to impossible to host a party.
Joe and I live in a beautiful home built in the 1820's which calls for get-togethers with friends and family. Inspired by my trip to Israel, I decided to put together a mixed Mediterannean/American style menu for my guests; somewhat unconvential for the 4th of July, but I've never followed the rules in life anyway. We had deep fried cauliflower with herbed labneh, French Nicoise salad, Caprese salad, grilled vegetables, spinach dip, Italian hoagies and Polish kielbasa. Ok, so it was a Polish Mediterranean/American meal! I'm Polish, so I guess I couldn't ignore my roots. Joe made an infused cucumber-vodka cocktail and made sure to have a supply of alcohol to accommodate everyone's requests.
Home entertaining really is a lost art. I learned the importance of it from my mother who was always big on entertaining. You came to my house as a kid, you would leave well-fed! I'd go to other friends' homes for parties and left either hungry or unsatisfied. I'd get a frozen hamburger on a packaged hamburger bun with a cup of soda. Yum.
There is a go-out/take-out trend amongst us as a culture, causing many of us to be lazy, frankly, in the home-entertaining department. Many people avoid having parties, because of the work involved, and some who do, don't quite know how to do it well! And, truly, home entertaining is a fashion! From the right ambiance, to a beautiful spread, to the perfect décor, you can put your own stylish spin on things.
Here are five musts in putting on a fabulous party this summer season.
XO, Stay Chic!