I have always loved to entertain. I mean, who doesn’t enjoy a good dinner party with good food, great company and even better conversation and wine. Most of you already know that I have a real passion for cooking, and the food preparation is absolutely one of the facets which I love about having friends or family over for dinner, but it is not the only aspect which I enjoy. I really love setting the scene for an enjoyable evening. I like to spoil my guests and therefore will generally put a lot of effort into the table setting and "atmosphere" too. I probably go a little overboard sometimes, but the whole point (to my mind anyway) is to create an unforgettable evening. Life's most precious and memorable moments are ones which we experience in the company of wholesome people and that normally happens around a table of some sort.
That was where the ”Hive Dinner Party” post inspiration actually came from, which I featured in issue 10 of The Weekly Feel free to check it out and join in. - The prompt was as follows:
Alright, so - this one is just for fun! Sh!ts and giggles as it were... You are host to a dinner party which invites a minimum of three Hive members. Create the scene of the evening, tell us who you are inviting and because this is "for fun" and nobody is actually in a kitchen doing the work - each Hive member will get a specific plate of food... prepared "just for them" Give us your guest list and tell us what you would prepare as a main for each Hive member and why.
So, with that said – let’s get the dinner party started! This was actually a lot harder than I thought it would be… choosing the people to “invite” to my virtual dinner party – and in reality it would definitely be a LOT bigger – but in the interest of not creating a post which never ends I have scaled it down somewhat. I also really hope that I have selected appropriate meals for each of my guests, haha! All of the below featured meals were actually prepared and photographed by myself at some point over the last few years - but I would like to add that if any of you decide to join in on this blog post prompt... you do NOT need to have your own photos of the meals which you select for each of your guests. You are MORE than welcome to make use of stock photography, just be sure to properly credit the relevant sources.
MY HIVE DINNER PARTY
@BRITTANDJOSIE
@DSWIGLE
@GALENKP
@ZORD189
@EUGELYS
@DENMARKGUY
@JERRYTSUSEER
@WWWIEBE
@JOANSTEWART
@NOTACINEPHILE
@LIZZIESWORLD AKA MOM
Right, so much for keeping the numbers down haha – oh well, adding myself to that list above – I reckon twelve people is the perfect amount of individuality and character to eliminate the chance of any awkward silences, lol – not that there would be with any of this bunch – we could probably all talk the hind leg off a donkey.
No dinner party of mine would be complete without our resident blonde bombshell and a VERY dear friend of mine! On the menu for you Britt... is DEFINITELY not anything vegan, haha! For you, I have prepared a pork rump steak with stewed apple, garlic buttered sweet potato, roasted carrots and asparagus, served with brown onion gravy and rice balls. This will naturally be accompanied by far too much really good red wine!
Wine partner number two haha! - Don't worry Denise, I have more than just wine on the menu for you, lol. I know well that you are a very carb conscious eater... so that was top priority when selecting your meal for the evening. For you honey, I have prepared melt in your mouth, garlic buttered pork tenderloin, served with sweet potato mash, blanched bok choi and gravy.
I suppose we cannot just have a bunch of giggling, wining women at the table... so here's to our first gent. Considering the amount of commentary we have exchanged involving food, I certainly hope that I have made a satisfactory choice for you... if not, well - feel free to make yourself at home in the kitchen and sort yourself out with a cheese toastie, haha! On the menu for you galenkp is something simple (sorry no low carb for you this time) Persian Style Roast Lamb with Boulangére Potatoes & Green Bean, Pomegranate & Feta Salad.
There really wasn't much internal deliberation about what to serve you Zord, because we all know well that you will have some pork with your pork and then some more pork on the side, hahaha!!! So, that is precisely what I have given you... on the menu for you my friend and long time right hand man is a French Style pork stew, made with pork loin cuts, shaved ham, cabbage, carrots and topped with freshly chopped cilantro and micro herbs.
No such thing as too many wineys at a dinner party of mine, so very happy to have you join the party Eugelys... and something tells me you are a woman who would be more than happy with a plate of delicious comfort food - so, to accompany the wine I have the prepared the following for you sweetie... A creamy prawn and garlic Fusilli with diced bell peppers and topped with grated parmesan.
I know from previous conversation in commentary that you enjoy pretty much the same thing over on your side of the world called "frikkadeller" - except these ones are made from 100% authentic South African Boerewors meat which is literally squeezed and rolled from a pack of boerewors. On the menu for you is a Boerewors meatball stirfry, served on a bed of flavoured cous cous and topped with crumbled feta cheese and cilantro.
A man that I know loves a hearty steak and I have been privy to plenty of his own cooking skills through his photos shared on social media. Thrilled to have you join my table Jerry and I hope I have made a good choice for you! On the menu for you, is a Rustic and rare beef fillet sandwich, filled with cauli mash, topped with roughly diced avocado and served with roasted carrot rounds and baby plum tomatoes.
This table would simply not be complete without you and your humour Victor. I reckon that "fussy" is probably not your thing, but creative is... so I could probably get away with serving you just about anything... we all know how much you love your coffee... but I am afraid there is no coffee on the menu this time around only wine... haha! As for your food... you get a serving of Beef Stroganoff served with blanched baby marrow zoodles and a micro herb salad.
It would simply be WRONG to have this dinner party without at least one other South African present! Joan, I know you are always up for a good time so having your presence would be an absolute pleasure and a complete no-brainer! Every good dinner table needs a slice of wisdom and insight! For you Joan, I have prepared a Rustic style beef and bacon meatloaf, served with a garlic and parsley sweet potato mash!
What would a dinner party be without at least one gentle intellectual! We have not known one another for quite as long as some the above rabble-rousers, but you hopped into our discord server, quietly found yourself a comfy seat and have entertained us all with your intellect and wit ever since. I struggled to decide what to serve you Notacinephile... but here it is! On the menu for you, is a Butternut and coriander chicken curry, served with plain basmati rice, fresh cherry tomatoes and topped with diced avo and feta cheese.
The last seat at the table has been reserved for my mom @lizziesworld who left us on June 20th 2020. Should she still be here, there is no question that she would have been at the table, laughing and chatting away with everyone else... not only because that is just who she was, but also because my mom was my best friend and she was ALWAYS welcome to join in whatever I was doing! Mom, our tastes have always been very parallel - simple, comfort foods would do the trick! Your love for well, ANYTHING Italian is what made the decision for your menu selection, which is MY take on "bolognaise" - except served with Egg Linguine, because I know you loved it!
So, there you have it - and WHAT a dinner party it would be! This was a LOT more difficult than I thought it was going to be... my post prompt suggestion said a minimum of three people, but choosing three people here on Hive is practically impossible for me to do!!!! There are so many others that I would LOVE to have added to this dinner table - but I think I have pushed it just about as far as I could with the above guest list, haha!!! How wonderful it would be to ACTUALLY experience this in real life! - Except I would NOT be making all those individual mains...lol - I may love you all, but not that much haha! This has REALLY been a fun post to put together. Perhaps one day, a "version" of this will become a reality! Until then... dessert!
Dessert for EVERYONE!
❤❤❤
Until next time...
Much Love from Cape Town, South Africa xxx
Jaynielea
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