The Tip Off

Dad may have just had surgery, but he’s pretty darn sharp.  Walking into the dining room last evening, he immediately said “Hey…what’s going on here…?”  …knowing perfectly well I was not cleaning out the china cupboard for fun…

Mom’s friend Della had come by at four to have a little glass cleaning party.  Well, it’s hardly work when there are three of us, and the chore was quickly completed while we caught up on everyone’s news and Della sampled some of the infused vodkas.  Doing this work a few days ahead of time is always the way to go, as I discovered that many of the boxes labeled wine glasses are in fact full of Champagne flutes.  So now I have to go to Sis’ house to find more glasses.  Each place setting will have a water, wine and Champagne glass; I love the guests who have already tipped me off that they will bring bubbly~ they know me!  I lit the new candles so that they would burn down just a little, and also started to wash and set out the serving pieces I will need.

Della was very nice to offer to bring ice for the party.  Under the dining table she saw the large copper vessels which we will use for seaux or ice buckets on the patio.  On top of the table are forty dishes each for starter, main course and dessert, all in white and gold with a few touches of pink and cobalt.  There will be a scullery station around the corner on the patio; these dishes will all get washed on Sunday, definitely not on Saturday night.  I hate it when guests jump up and want to start washing dishes.  It’s like a party-killer.  I would rather let the dishes sit until the following morning and savor the last of the party.  The weather is set to be hot again on Saturday, so it will be a balmy evening, perfect for dining alfresco.

With the tableware all cleaned, I moved on to the serving pieces in the wee hours of this morning.  Most of them are done now too~

As with the plates, I don’t wash the silver until the following day for a party of this size, I just let them sit in the kitchen.  And everyone knows, whatever you do, don’t soak my sterling flatware!

The next sentence out of Dad’s mouth after Mom announced happily “We’re having a party!” was “are your sisters coming?”  I know it sounds bad, but he’s sort of glad that I did not invite them.  It’s not a family party, after all.  I explained to him that Mom and I wanted a little treat for ourselves after worrying about him for so long.  Some people go shopping, well, our therapy is to throw a party.  And it is summer, and the weather is perfect for an evening party outside.  Dad agreed, and that was that.  There will be a few neighbors and friends there that will be glad to see him, but he said he will have a little bite and probably go to bed early.  Good thing he didn’t see all the napkins lined up on the sofa; then he would know that there are more than a few guests coming~

I also cleaned copper very early yesterday morning.  I LOVE my trio of faitout from Guy!!  One of these will be used for the pasta; probably the XL.  I am going to try to clean the kitchen up a little so that it doesn’t look like total chaos, but as is usually the case, there will be baskets of food and produce inside the kitchen and spilling outside onto the landing.

Other than a little assembly, there will just be the prime rib and chickens to cook in the ovens and pasta on the stove.  Tomorrow and Friday I will make the desserts, and there will be a lot of them.  I tried not to get too crazy on the menu; I will tell you more about it tomorrow.  I’m off to Encinitas soon for the market and to do the last of the shopping for ingredients.