This evening J and I, my two sisters (Ninna & Nicka), and my brother and his wife (Mateo & Kerri) surprised my parents with an Italian dinner we prepared and served under a canopy nestled in the corner of their wood patio. It’s their fourtieth wedding anniversary.
Being the oldest, I volunteered to serve them the meal. (Hooray, my university job as a waiter/host came in handy tonight.)
Without a doubt, Martha Stewart would be proud of the decorations, food, and presentation. The table was decorated with a bouquet of roses from J’s garden, candles, rose petals, and a menu I wrote up and printed on vellum paper, which J then mounted on a forest green cardstock, attaching the two with pearl-white beadwork in each corner of the menu. It was a most elegant creation. We framed a replica of their wedding picture and placed that on a side table, also decorated with a bouquet of roses. The final touch, the one we thought would add the most romantic ambiance, were the four long strands of white lights Matt and I strung along the inside of the canopy.
Let me introduce you to our menu.
For hors d'ouvres, J prepared crostinis, toasted mini-baguettes covered in an assortment of flavorful pastes: artichoke & cream cheese, sun-dried tomato, and sweet red pepper. I then served them a pre-packaged Parisian Salad from Costco (where God shops). If you’ve had this salad before, it is one of my favorites– an elegant blend of green leaf and frisee lettuces, crimson radicchio, sweet carrots, feta cheese, frosted almonds, and dried cranberries. We dressed the salad with the heavenly white balsamic vinegarette dressing that is included with it.
I served them a scoop of lemon sorbet to cleanse the pallet.
For the main course, Matt & Kerri prepared an incredible Pasta Milano that consisted of a generous bed of angel hair pasta decorated with seasoned chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, and mushrooms and dressed with Alfredo sauce. J baked a delicious focaccia bread. For the vegetable, Kerri boiled artichokes and mixed together a creamy lemon sauce that they could dip the meaty portions of the leaves.
We served them a delicious creme brulee, one of my personal favorite desserts. If you are not familiar with it, it’s a baked creamy custard topped with a caramelized sugar crust.
With their music playing through the window, they danced on the patio before the meal.
We set out to accomplish something low-key, yet romantic; something that would make a lasting impression. The effect was quite phenomenal, really for all involved. They were thrilled. We were most thrilled to do this for them.
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