Archive for the 'Parties' Category

First Communion Feast

June 11th, 2010

By Lisa

This was a big year for Ella, and one of the bigger events was her First Communion. Many families have very, very large celebrations. We were brief guests at one than included, among many other offerings, a taquero equipped to make several hundred tacos–in addition to fantastic chicken mole, rice, drinks, fruit, vegetables, salads….
Our [...]

LEGO Cake

November 20th, 2009

by Lisa

The boy loved the chocolate card his sister made him, and his shiny new red bike, but most of all he craves one thing and one thing only:  LEGO.
I tell, you, the boy’s passion for the bricks surpasseth all else; the glory of a new kit transcends every earthly joy he has known thus [...]

Moms + Kids + Pizza=Party

June 3rd, 2009

by Lisa

When I moved to the suburbs, I quickly fell in with an excellent group of moms.  These women were  funny,  friendly, well-educated, down-to-earth.  They had adorable, energetic, smart kids.  They made me feel welcome and they fed my soul.  We and our yearlings became fast friends…and the years sped by.   More than five years [...]

Limoncello Party

March 31st, 2009

by Lisa
Ever since we’ve had a lemon tree, and more lemons than we knew what to do with, I’ve been making limoncello–a lemon liqueur made from steeping the zest of fresh lemons in grain alcohol, then mixed with simple syrup and more alcohol. It hails originally from Sorrento in Southern Italy.  It’s strong and fragrant [...]

Birthday Cakes

March 3rd, 2009

by Caroline
For all the baking I do, you’d think I would have one, standard, go-to birthday cake.
But I don’t. I have dozens of cookbooks, and I want to explore them. I baked most of the way through Nigella Lawson’s Chocolate Cake Hall of Fame (in Feast) and found many excellent cakes to add to the [...]

Family Romance

February 16th, 2009

by Lisa
“I am more modest now, but I still think that one of the pleasantest of all emotions is to know that I, I with my brain and hands, have nourished my beloved few, that I have concoted a stew or a story, a rarity or a plain dish, to sustain them truly against the [...]

Food=Love, Not your Ordinary Valentine’s Day Menu

February 12th, 2009

By Lisa
Barton Rouse, the late and much-loved chef at Princeton’s Terrace Club taught me, and many of my friends how to eat well, how to eat in good company, and that food means more than sustenance. In Barton’s kitchen and dining room, food was a way to forge community, celebrate difference, and find exuberance in [...]