A little info about our Gourmet Group: We are 4 couples who enjoy cooking, entertaining, and most of all, each other’s company.
We take turns hosting in our homes. The hosts decide on the menu (theme) from appetizers to dessert for the evening. The hosts cook most of the meal, but give at least one course (along with all the recipes) to the other couples to prepare. We love trying new recipes and ideas. So most of the time the recipes are ones we haven’t cooked before, but they don’t have to be.
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Last week, we hosted our Gourmet Group for a Easter Eggs-Travaganza. Here’s a look at it.
DRESSED-UP BUNNIES
Before I got the party started, I “dressed up” my bunnies for the affair. I adorned them with pearls and rhinestones.
FOYER CHEST
Bunnies greeted our guests by the front door…
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MY TABLESCAPE
I love spring.
The smell of it, the spring bulbs popping up through the dormant ground and the flowers they bring, but especially the pretty pastel colors associated with spring, and Easter, of course, too
This was my jumping-off point for my tablescape…
I started with 2 cake stands and lots of grass in the center of the table
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Bunnies here and there and more grass…
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I added colored hard-boiled eggs, edible egg-shaped treats, candles, and some carrots
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Two small pretty and fragrant springtime bouquets of flowers…
Hyacinths smell soooo good!
PLACE SETTINGS
I wanted a fresh, clean-looking palette…
I layered my Williams-Sonoma blue beaded chargers with simple white dinner plates.
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Colored glass egg cups filled with a colored hard-boiled egg at each place setting
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What fun would an Easter dinner be without Easter baskets??
A little goodie Easter basket for each of our guests…
PLACE CARDS
Funny Easter sayings…–
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
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MY DINING ROOM CHEST
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THE INVITATION/MENU
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COCKTAILS & APPETIZERS
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Crisp Potato Pancake with Caviar & Salmon Duo with Dill
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Pepper Jelly-Goat Cheese Cakes
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Bourbon Meatballs
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DINNER IS SERVED
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Egg-citing Salad
I forgot to take a photo:( but it had hard-boiled eggs in it
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Intermezzo: Berry Sorbet with Mint
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Springtime Veggies
Glazed Carrots
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Roasted Asparagus
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Smashed Fingerlings with Fromage Blanc
Another couple prepared these – in keeping with the spirit of Easter, she creatively used all purple fingerling potatoes
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Hoppin’ Down the Bunny Trail Herb-Crusted Leg of Lamb
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A Full Dinner Plate
You can see the White Bean Ragout on my plate too
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Peter Cottontail Carrot Cake
The Worst Part about Making Carrot Cake…
Shredding 3 cups of carrots
The Best Part of Carrot Cake…
Cream cheese frosting
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To officially make the Carrot Cake into a Peter Cottontail Carrot Cake, I decorated the cake with some Bunny Marshmallow Peeps
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