Anniversary Dinner

My parents celebrated their 45th Wedding Anniversary this weekend. For such a momentous occasion, I decided to have a little a dinner party for them and invite our family friends Linda and Alan. I have a history of going all out - the first time I ever made dinner for my parents it was a Standing Rib Roast. One year for Mother's Day, I made Lamb Chops and last December I tackled Julia Child's Boeuf Bourguignon. All of these were met with great acclaim. Though multiple dinner preparations were interrupted by the dulcet tones of the smoke detector. Apartment kitchens are not designed for un gourmand much less trois. (I may have see Julie and Julia too many times.) And truthfully, the boeuf was so time consuming (though unequivocally worth it) that I never even had time to shower. So my parents arrive all dressed up and I have my hair in a knot, am wearing pj pants and my Furman sweatshirt. Then this past Mother's Day, I got distracted with the smoke detector and burned what would have been lovely mashed potatoes.

Therefore, the pressure was on to put a fantastic meal on the table and do it with grace, style and sans disaster. And I have to say - that happened. On the downside, I have but one photo of the process.

The pan with the whisk holds the contents of what will be frosting for a German Chocolate Cake. I highly recommend Egglands Best Eggs.
The cutting board has 4 ounces of chopped white chocolate that would make one of the top 3 cake frostings I have ever had.

So the menu:

Bleu Camembert Torte with Crackers

Green Salad with Lemon Olive Oil Dressing

Osso Buco with Tomatoes, Olives and Gremolata

Risotto Milanese

Asparagus Wrapped in Phyllo

Foccacia

German Chocolate Cake

White Chocolate and Lemon Wedding Cake

The appetizer you might find in a little cookbook I know of that is debuting in the spring. The salad was Jamie Oliver's obtained at FoodNetwork.com. The osso buco is from Gourmet, the risotto is James Beard's classic, the wedding cake from Bon Appetit and I found all the recipes on Epicurious. The asparagus can be found in Cooking in High Cotton from the JL of Monroe, Louisiana. The German Chocolate Cake frosting is Trisha Yearwood's - she makes it for Garth!

All in all, I have to say it made for fine eatin'! We had lots of fun with great music in the background. My 1965 playlist included:

I Can't Get No Satisfaction ~ The Rolling Stones

I Can't Help Myself ~ The Four Tops

Wooly Bully ~ Sam The Sham & The Pharoahs

My Girl ~ The Temptations

You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' ~ The Righteous Brothers

Downtown ~ Petula Clark

Crying In The Chapel ~ Elvis Presley

You Were On My Mind ~ We Five

I Got You Babe ~ Sonny & Cher

Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me ~ Mel Carter

Shotgun ~ Junior Walker & The All Stars

Help Me, Rhonda ~ The Beach Boys

Stop! In The Name Of Love ~ The Supremes

Unchained Melody ~ The Righteous Brothers

What's New Pussycat ~ Tom Jones

The Game Of Love ~ Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders

California Girls ~ The Beach Boys

Shake ~ Sam Cooke

What The World Needs Now Is Love ~ Jackie DeShannon

I Got You (I Feel Good) ~ James Brown

Do You Believe In Magic? ~ The Lovin' Spoonful

How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You ~ Marvin Gaye

Can you believe that all those great songs were hits in 1965? And that was just the tip of the iceberg. There were many "they don't make songs like that anymore" comments.

A very successful dinner to celebrate a very successful marriage!

The Cat Who Loved Shoes Too Much

It started innocently enough.

Just a place to rest.

Accessories were included too.

There might be any number of things I might want in here. Best to claim it now. I can always return it.

Wait, where are these going? Are there shoes in this box?

What? I am trying to decide which ones match better.

I don't know what you're talking about. I don't see a Furman flip flop anywhere.

Back off Cinderella, this isn't yours. See it fits my right paw perfectly.