May 27, 2006
Garden of Eating, Part IV (Il Posto- the place) (copyright Maria Liberati 2006)
As promised we are continuing with our outdoor entertaining series and hope everyone is having a wonderful Memorial Day weekend- wherever you are!! The Space..The weekend before your garden party, prepare the space by enlisting the help of a professional landscaper to brighten up the space. You don’t necessarily have to add a garden but just tidy up and brighten up what is already there, adding some decorative bricks, stones, blocks, cleaning up unsightly weeds, etc. In Italy a beautiful outdoor brick oven style barbecue. You can find them here in the States. This is a unique touch and is great for grilling pizza. The Decorations…Nature creates the most beautiful decorations. So if you already do have plants and flowers, guests will be entertained by the scent of flowers in bloom. If you want to add any accessories be sure that they work in with the flowers that are there already. Or use those flowers as the theme ofthe decorations- working with the colors of the flowers already there.Clay pots always add abeautiful touch to any outdoor party. They can be used for decoration, to place citronella candles in, or to use as wine buckets. They add a very rustic touch.To add a bright summery feel choose heavy plastic plates, ciups in beautiful, tasteful colors. However, to get that rustic European feel bring out the ceramic plates with rustic pattersn (sunflowers, terracotta style, etc.) When I do parties wit the picnic in Tuscany theme I use these plates- it adds a wonderful, special touch. Coming next is the most improtant part- the food. So stay tuned for recipes and more…
May 24, 2006
Garden of Eating (Part III)
As we are continuing with our series of tips for outdoor entertaining to celebrate the official beginning of the summer season, here are some tips for that easy relaxed, garden party; INVITATIONSGive your party a special personalized feel from the beginning. Why send pre-made invitations when you can easily make your own. WIth the overwhelming assortment of beautiful papers readily accessible to consumers at stationery and craft stores you can make your invitations look as fancy and/or no frills as you like. For a no-frills homemade touch, handwrite the invitations yourself (assuming you are not inviting more than say 20). A high quality pen helps to add a touch of elegance to your invitations.To add a real personalized touch to your invitations, instead of handwriting everyone then use ones that arepre-printed but add a personal note on the bottom of each invitation. For example:When creating an invitation of a special friend or relative you can ask that they bring their famous crab dip
