C-e-l-e-b-r-a-t-e!

Celebrate is one of my favorite words because it's what I like to do...for any and all occasions! Saturday was no exception. I headed 3+ hours away to the little town of Carrollton in Isle of Wight County on the Virginia Peninsula.

The trip brought back many memories of when we lived in some of the cities I passed by. Down I-64--Charlottesville, Richmond, Williamsburg, Newport News, Hampton...we had homes in all those places through the years.

Anyway, back to talking about celebrating. I arrived at the surprise location--my friend's daughter's home. I have to show you a picture of the table. It was exquisite! You would have thought this was a wedding feast! Colors were a rich brown and light blue.

As you can see, the view was amazing--that's water outside the large windows--being the Peninsula, it isn't unusual to have water everywhere!

And the hubbub in the kitchen with all the daughters and cousins preparing the luncheon was unbelievable! So much scurrying around making sure everything was in place and just right.

All the guests chatted and watched the preparations while we waited for the guest of honor to arrive. And, yes, she was very surprised! The plan worked!

Here we are gathered around the table with such an array of food in front of us.

First, we were served fruited water (with grapefruit and orange) and tea choices of English Breakfast, Earl Grey, Peach, and Raspberry. I don't usually drink hot tea, but my raspberry tea was delicious, especially after stirring it with a fancy sugar stick.     

First course: Zucchini Vichyssoise with Black Pepper and Asiago Scones

Whoa! Vichi what? This country girl was participating in some big city doings for sure! And it was sooo delicious!  Can you spot my name tag in front of my place setting? It's in a small silver teapot holder. Sweet.

Second course: Grilled Asparagus with Poached Egg, Parmigiano, and Lemon Zest  (Sorry, I failed to get a picture of the salad course for some reason.) Again, a wonderful display and dish for the second course!

Next, the amazing main course, followed by a list of all the delicious foods our individual tiers held.

Main course, bottom tier, starting left and counter-clockwise:

Grilled Turkey, Brie, and Apple Butter Sandwich with Arugula very good!; Smoked Salmon Blini, Creme and Dill; Apricot Tea Biscuit with Ham; Lemon Basil Chicken Salad Tart; Parmesan, Rosemary, and Walnut Shortbread; Goat Cheese and Watercress Cinnamon Raisin Bread Sandwich (I had never tasted goat cheese or watercress, yet this was one of my favorites!); and lastly, Antipasto Sausage Skewers.

Dessert Top Tier: Cream Puff, Raspberry White Chocolate Scone, Raspberry Walnut Cookie, Almond Pound Cake with Lemon Curd, Strawberry filled with Creme, Hazelnut Crumpet, Miniature Cheesecake, and Flourless Chocolate Cake.

Some of the dessert listings may not be exactly accurate. I was scribbling so fast trying to write down everything as each course was called out, and my writing is hard to decipher. But I think you get the gist of what we consumed for our delicious luncheon. We were well satisfied for sure!

A big thank-you to everyone who participated to make the 50th birthday celebration for my special friend and all of us attending a rousing success. Well done!

~Deb

Comments

[Susan]

Wow! Just . . . wow! LOL Amazingly beautiful luncheon. I'm glad you got to go!

[Bet]

I love that picture from above! It captures the setting and all of you very well.

[Tammy]

The party looks like it was in a private party room .The food selection is like what a cater does. I am sure you had a fun time.

[Victoria]

What a fancy feast. It looks like everyone had a great time.

Victoria

[Connie W]

How absolutely lovely it all is!

[Islandsparrow]

Very fancy!! What a lovely setting and meal. Those girls could go into catering!

[Abigail]

Wow, what an amazing menu! It looked so pretty too! Thanks for sharing the pictures with us. :-)