Tag: hostess

Kids Parties

Little Madame’s Mermaid Party

by s.a.b1 Comment on Little Madame’s Mermaid Party

Though she was a Spring baby when she was born in Europe, our little girl’s birthday falls into the very end of Summer here in South Africa, but usually we are able to host the party outside in the patio and most children tend to end up in the swimming pool anyway… Last year, we hosted a Mermaid birthday for her, and it was one of the most fun parties I organised for my children, it was hard work but I felt I could really be quite creative with the decorations and entertainment ideas.

I started off by stocking on fabrics from one of my favourite stores in Johannesburg, Chamdor: I wanted to create a girlie underwater scene, with shimmery tulle and coral sequin details, and then found a gorgeous netting that looked fun to add interest to the tables. Then I moved on to Party Spot to find some basics. I bought some round paper lantern that got turned into floating jelly fish with the help of some ribbons, shower roses and my faithful glue gun. That’s also where I found the pretty plain vanilla lilac paper cups that also got glammed up with some netting left over from the shower roses and some glitter glue. I dug out the little treasure chest we had for Little Monsieur’s Pirate birthday a few years ago, and filled it with seashells, pearl strings, and jewels.

The sweets table was lovely and easy to put together, with a beautiful cake from Carmella’s On The Square, little shark jelly fish, rock candy, all colour coordinated… Always mindful of having healthy options, I added little seaweed looking strings of green grapes, small buckets of raspberries that reminded me of little sea anemonies. Carmella also made some sea-shell macaroons which were just darling. We had small balloons into mesh made to look like buoys, and a super cute seahorse guarding the sweets (he clearly wasn’t scary enough as the little ones had devoured a big chunk of the sweets before long).

The children button stools and tretle tables were hired from Kiddies Theme Parties, and the little seashell plates and napkins from Meri Meri. We had chinese takeaway boxes decorated with mesh, more glitter and seashells as favour boxes.

For activities we had a big sandpit with little buckets for the children to make castles (our neighbours had had a Builders party for their youngest just a few weeks prior and we were able to recycle the sand and buckets), a few trays with pearls for mermaid necklace making, and some with seashells for painting with glitter glue. We also had face painting with the wonderful Monique from Never Grow Up, she does beautiful face paints and kept the little ones entertained before the candle blowing.

I loved putting this super girlie theme together, and looking back to it I can’t wait for the lockdown restrictions to ease so we can get on with the plan I had for this year’s party and have all of Little Madame’s friends join us for a fun afternoon.

With love, S.

Food

Fig frangipane tartlets

by s.a.b4 Comments on Fig frangipane tartlets

Afternoon tea is a great tradition, when else can you sit around a table with your favourite people (ideally) and indulge in pastries, mini sandwiches and other treats, washed down with your preferred tea blend or, even better, a cup of tea and a few glasses of champagne?! I also adore scones but to date I’ve not managed to make a recipe that I really love as much as the ones I eat in restaurants… Of course one of the added bonuses of tea is you get to bake a treat beforehand, something I find highly therapeutic. I made these frangipane tartlets topped with fig recently, and they came out so delicious I am sharing this here for some of you to try out.

Frangipane is an almond cream, with a little hint of vanilla, that is used as a filling in tarts, and cakes such as the Galette des Rois, Bakewell tart, etc. I love it with pears, figs, and even berries on top. It is a very simple recipe with almond flour, sugar, butter, and eggs (see below for full list of ingredients for the tartlets)… yes , this is a dessert, so evidently it’s rich and sweet, what did you expect? Keto-friendly frangipane? Trust me though, the tartlet in itself is light and fluffy and totally worth the extra calories…

I use a shortcrust pastry as a base, and line the small tartlet molds with it before putting them in a pre-heated oven at 180°C to blind bake until they are just short of light gold. The perfect size for this is a 10-12cm diameter mold, anything bigger will be too much for a tea or even as a dessert, given the sweetness of these tartlets.

The recipe for the frangipane is super simple and you just need a whisk, electrical or otherwise. First you mix the sugar and butter together and cream the butter until smooth, before adding the almond flour to a sandy dough consistency. Scrape the inside of the vanilla pod with a sharp knife and add to the mix (alternatively use 1.5 tsp of vanilla extract), and add the eggs, continuously beating the mixture until everything is combined. Finally mix the flour in, and you should have a thick batter, something that can be piped or spooned into the pastry cases.

I put about two tablespoons of frangipane per tartlet (it does raise in the oven), then top up with thin slices of fig (the tartness and texture of the fig slices works well with the smooth almond filling), and back into the oven at 180°C for about 20 to 30 minutes. If you’re making a big tart count at least 45 minutes for baking.

You can dust some confectionery sugar on top, but I like the look of them raw. They look like little flowers, don’t you think? Let me know if you try them how they come out.

With love, S.

Hosting Notes

Life is a party

by s.a.bLeave a Comment on Life is a party

One of the thing I miss the most during this pandemic lockdown is hosting… I love having friends over and my sole purpose in life when I have an upcoming party is to ensure people have a fabulous time. And usually, March and April are quite busy party months in our family, between holidays, birthdays, and champagne brunches just because… But, one has to do what one has to do, no big parties for a little while, until this pandemic slows down and we are all, hopefully, allowed back to our lives and our loved ones. Meanwhile, I am still able to share my favourite hostess tips, right?

We all know that throwing a wonderful party, or even just a lovely dinner, is mainly about the guests. Ensuring they are comfortable in your home, having a good time and all. As a Mediterranean, my first interpretation of this is: people need to be able to eat enough to be able to sustain a month-long desert crossing without any food or drink. I have toned this down a bit over the years, seeing as we were constantly left with a fridge full of leftovers, but the habit remains: if you come to our home for a meal, bring a serious appetite, in fact the best approach is to fast for one full day before, just to be sure. What else is important? Let’s see: will guests who are meeting for the first time get along, have I cooked these dishes for them before, do they eat everything or are they a little picky, are there guests who don’t drink, do I have my friends’ favourite drinks, do they like chocolatey desserts or fruity ones, so on and so forth…

Next, planning. The bigger the do the longer you need to plan ahead, especially if you do have an everyday job. Typically I will plan a meal, anything from four people to twenty-five, three to five days in advance (in Johannesburg you sometimes have to go around a few shops to find all the groceries you need, because the stock levels for special ingredients such as quails or tahini can vary, so I make a list on Monday and Hubby Dearest and I go on a hunting party during the week), a party for the children’s birthdays takes a good four weeks (and you have to make sure you send those invites on time to secure that one week-end afternoon you want!), and our end of year holiday drinks is something I start thinking about in October.

I usually choose one theme from the tableware to the food, and when we’re having big parties I go all out with branches of finbos hanging from the ceiling or mini potted lemon trees. I love Mediterranean and Eastern European inspired food, and spend a lot of time peering down books by my favourites, Yotam Ottolenghi and Ina Garten, although I have had a River Cafe book for over ten years that always yields the most delicious food. I know there is a rule book somewhere that says don’t try new recipes for a party, I say where’s the fun in life if you’re not a little adventurous, plus there is always the nearest pizza joint if it’s a real disaster. But again, make sure you plan, plan, and plan some more. If you can make anything ahead of time, do: pastry bases for quiches are super easy to make, you can store them in the fridge until next morning and bake them on the day, also you can freeze mini canapes for when you need them. Whatever happens, when you’re hosting, cook up a storm if you enjoy it, or order in if it’s your thing. Someone once tried to explain to me how important it was for a good hostess to have a great catering company on hand, so she doesn’t disturb her hosting with menial kitchen tasks, … I am still trying to understand what wrongful impression I gave this lady that she thought to share this meshuga advice with me as if I was ever going to follow it. I like to cook, the more the better, period.

On the day of the party, I spend a lot of time setting up the table, or the decor if it’s a bigger thing. I love flowers that match the theme, glasses that go together but are not from the same set, and nothing sings to me as much as a gorgeous table lay, which is quite funny considering my mother had the same passion when I was growing up, and I used to sneer at how much effort she put into her tables and dinners… Full circle, I guess. In South Africa I have found a few brands that I love buying tablecloths from, such as Samesyn, Isobel Sippel, and I now buy fabric by the bulk to have our local tailor make into tablecloths. I also enjoy visiting antique shops for delft plates and old crystal glasses, however I can’t wait to go to London and visit the shop of The Edition 94, its Insta feed is so incredibly dreamy.

So, food is ready, the house looks amazing, sparkling and fabulous but not intimidating (we do not own any white sofas or Spanish inquisition style heavy dining chairs… and our kids and their toys own half of the kitchen – family room), time to relax, have a glass of bubbly, put on some make-up, although if your coq-au-vin is almost ready it’s best to stay with an eye on it than go apply lippy, you can always fix your face during aperitif, but you won’t be able to fix a burnt sauce.

When people arrive, make sure everyone gets a glass of something they love; this is Hubby’s job at this point, although by now he has also helped clear out the multiple layers of mess I’ve created in the kitchen by making what he believes is a stupid number of recipes, and he is not too impressed that yet again I’ve cooked for twice as many people as we’ve invited. The guests are here, time to relax, have fun, chat around the kitchen island, let your friends help put the finishing touches to the food, and enjoy yourself. I know that, after this unique Black Mirror worthy first season of 2020, we will all be extra thankful for those times of togetherness, when we can hug our friends, feed them, and cheer to their health and success.

Love, S.