April 17, 2011

Fete Fun. A Dinner Party At The Farmhouse.

Yesterday The Farmchildren and I went to a nearby fete in a tiny town. This town has a wheatbin, a shop, an old hall and four houses.  That's all.  The local community organises a couple of events each year to help maintain the old hall. (It is the sort of hall that still as a picture of a very young Queen Elizabeth II in the foyer... - I love it.)  Last year I went to an excellent Melbourne Cup Lunch there.

We had a great morning and bought these very stylish cupcakes....

Cute And Colourful Cupcakes

I also bought these gorgeous flowers.

Sunflowers

Don't they brighten up my mantlepiece?

Happy Sunflowers

Last night we had a dinner party for some extended family who were visiting from Sydney.  The lack of any nearby restaurants means that I have had lots of practice cooking for all sorts of people on The Farm.

I have three rules for dinner parties.

1.  Set the table beautifully and your guests feel special and are less likely to notice any muck ups food wise.

See.

Pretty Nanna Place Setting

2.  Don't cook anything tricky that involves you doing last minute culinary miracles in the kitchen.  Otherwise everyone else is having a fantastic time and a glass of wine while you are having a nervous breakdown. Simple is best.

Last night I cooked marinated roast lamb and pre-prepared a roast vegetable salad and some other simple salads.

Roast Vegie Salad

Pudding was my favourite almond cake which can be made the night before. I served it with tinned plums and double cream.

Almond Cake - Much Yummier Than It Looks...

3.  When all else fails give everyone a glass of wine.... Repeat rule number 3 as often as required.

Essential Ingredients

So there you go - my simple rules for entertaining. They seem to revolve around alcohol and Nanna china, but that's OK.

I hope everyone has had a great weekend too.

11 comments:

Sydney Shop Girl said...

AFW

What a fabulous dinner! I personally thought the food and the table setting were of an equally high standard.

I also share your priorities when entertaining, but with somewhat less success in the table setting stakes.

I love a dessert that looks homely but tastes like heaven.

SSG xxx

Sydney Shop Girl blog

Makeminemidcentury said...

Love this post! So cute. Your table looks lovely ... and that roast vege salad looks divine.

Such an unpretentious, down-to-earth Farmer's Wife you are! I'm sure your family were thrilled with dinner.

The Distressed Mother said...

Looks fab!

Delicious food, alcohol and nanna china - how could you possibly top that for a great night?

TDM xx

G said...

Agree, simple is best. My staple is roast chicken, salad and baby potatoes... works in summer and winter... gxo

Bungalowgirl said...

That meal looks fabulous, you are brilliant at whipping up dinner parties out of your pantry supplies. Great dinner planning tips too, I always over plan elaborate meals and miss half the fun, then get so overwhelmed it takes me a few months to contemplate doing it again. Simple is so much better.

Love in a B and B said...

You are so right, cook nothing complicated so you can enjoy guests' company pre-meal as well as during. I say it should all be oven in winter and salads in the summer. I also live in a country village/almost town with Queen Liz circa 1960 on the walls of the community hall. Always makes me giggle at the ironic juxtaposition of what is going underneath her portrait - Yoga, Zumba and even Bellydancing!

Fiona said...

It all looks divine.
Have you already shared the Almond Cake recipe?
Aren't old halls wonderful. Ours has a fading picture of a young Queen Elizabeth also.

A Farmer's Wife said...

Thanks everyone for your comments re both dinner parties and photos of Queen Elizabeth II!

Fiona - the recipe was from my Belinda Jeffery's book, I will see if I can find it on the net and link in my next post.

BookChook said...

The roast veg salad looks great too!

thatblogyoudo said...

Yum roast veg salad looks divine!

This Mid 30s Life said...

Love love love everything about this post!! xx