Offbeat Parties

Okay, last one: Now that your calendar for April is completely booked, let’s look at May. The Black and White Ball is back on May 22nd! Rent a tux, find a gown and do whatever you can to be there. The party isn’t cheap, but it is a) for a good cause, b) accompanied by…

Margaret’s 30th birthday party was a smash hit! A couple pretty simple ideas came together for a really fun day with the whole family: Supplies: Disposable coveralls bought for a steal on Amazon. Sharpies to decorate the backs with mud & dirt themed nicknames. Everything is more fun in coveralls. Guests: 14 of Margaret’s friends…

Rob and I are hosting a dinner party tonight for a visiting friend from Japan. I tossed around ideas for classic “American” dishes (roast turkey, meatloaf, banana splits) and eventually settled on a menu that makes the most of California’s summer produce and relaxed spirit. Cocktails California white wine Pistachios in shell Dinner Pan-fried artichokes…

Amazing weekend! Rob and I spent our break enjoying the very warm weather and spending time with friends. On Friday, we met Matt at the gym after work. After about an hour of climbing, we jumped in his car for dinner in his north beach neighborhood. Unfortunately, there was some sort of movie crew blocking…

I’m officially a grown-up now that I’ve mastered roasting a chicken. Despite my procrastination and utter lack of attention to the recipe, the two chickens I made for Saturday’s dinner party came out just right. Not to brag – literally, I have no idea what I might have done right – they were the best…

Mmm…the food for this party was tasty and easy. The perfect combination for my tiny kitchen with only about a foot of counter space. We started with very simple appetizers to go along with our margaritas: salted pepitas (pumpkin seeds), almond and jalapeno stuffed olives and blue potato chips from Trader Joe’s. You can’t go…

Friday’s party is getting closer and I have a pretty good menu worked out in my mind. The theme is “architectural nuevo San Diego” aka: fancy mexican food. Starters: Pepitas and other little snacks, maybe some fruit with chili powder Tres Equis beer, pomegranate margaritas on the rocks Salad: Stacked salad of julienned jicama, apples,…

Last night was a lot of fun! Eight of us gathered to have dinner and toast the new President. I dressed up in my best “American” outfit – denim dress, red cowboy boots and silver and turquoise jewelry. We shared a magnum of good champagne (turns out that you can saber a magnum just like…

We’re having some friends over on Tuesday to celebrate the Obama inauguration (I still can’t quite believe it!). We’ll be decorating the house with red, white and blue and serving dinner. Here’s what I’ve got in mind so far. Food: Depending on how many people RSVP, I’ll either do a casual buffet: baked potatoes, Obama’s…

We’re officially on for hosting a holiday breakfast party the weekend before Christmas. Time to start thinking about menus! Gourmet Magazine has had two amazing holiday breakfast menus in this year’s issue and last year’s. Last year’s was a southern brunch with a modern twist. The recipes missing from that link are mostly online here.…