Thursday, December 11, 2014

The First of Many Holiday Dinners...

Last night we invited neighbors from our old neighborhood over for a holiday dinner.

The menu….


We began with "New England Express Cocktails":


Directions: Make a simple syrup  by bringing to a boil 1/3 cup water and 1/3cup sugar and 8 sprigs of thyme. Cool.  In a pitcher combine 2 c apple cider, 1 1/2 c dark rum, 3/4 c lime juice and simple syrup.  Pour into 8 glasses and top with Club Soda.  Garnish with a slice of lime and a sprig of thyme



It snowed all day...


…so I set the table...


…with a snowman cookie jar as a centerpiece.


The napkin rings are "hair bows" I purchased in NYC for $.25 ea:


As an appetizer, I served Holiday Crunch Jello...


Directions:  10 Oz crushed pineapple, 1 pkg berry jello (any flavor berry), 1/2 can whole berry cranberry sauce, 1/3 cup chopped walnuts, 1 stalk celery, chopped.  Drain pineapple and add water to make 1 1/4 c liquid.  Boil this liquid and add to jello until dissolved.  Add all other ingredients and chill until set.

I served it in crystal martini glasses:


The glasses sat on old dishes from Pier 1 Imports:


Which sat on my holiday dishes from Target:


This cookie jar was a gift from a girlfriend over 20 years ago, and it is one of my favorite holiday decorations!  Just look at that cute face!


Another $.25 napkin ring:


I served water in a large green wine glass from the Dollar Tree 
(I think we all have these glasses!!)
And wine was served in my Mom's wine glasses that she passed on to me:


The snow continued to pile up outside…


Candles lit...


Dinner served…Roast Pork, Parmesan Roasted Potatoes and Rosemary and Thyme Glazed Carrots:


Good friends, good food and lots of laughs!

Sharing with BNOTP - Tablescape Thursday and Grace at Home


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Patti @ Pandoras Box
Patti @ Pandoras Box

I live in central NY and I am a retired family and consumer science teacher. I enjoy all types of crafting, decorating and cooking

10 comments:

  1. Lucky old neighbors, Patti! It looks beautiful and what great food and accompaniments. Love it! xo Diana

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  2. What a pretty table...and the menu sounds delicious. Love the napkin rings.
    Have a great week, Patti.

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  3. Very pretty table and what a menu! Such a festive table too!

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  4. Everything turned out looking wonderful! The food choices sound great and I think the snow outside really added to the holiday get together! Those star plates from Target are too cute! I love that you have that cookie jar from a friend- always special to pull out and use and keep her close in your heart! That runner is a beauty- love the stripes- they draw your eye but aren't too strong. I know someone that had a big party planned for 16 the other day and got snowed out. She lives off a lake in the "finger lakes" area of NY. Oh those napkin rings are so pretty and the price can't be beat!

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  5. A very pretty table! My male coworkers were asking me about Mackenzie Childs last evening at a dinner we attended. They actually love the stuff :-)

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  6. You definitely know how to entertain!

    Jeanine

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  7. I will come back cause the last few pics won't load for me but I love everything I have seen. The cookie jar is wonderful! LOVE the hair bows as napkin rings!!! I will be looking for cute hair bows now:):)

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  8. Oooohhh!!! I LOVE that kind of Jell-O! I remember eating that when I was pregnant, and it always made me happy! The crunch in it is so different from the slickness of the Jell-O...makes it SO good!!! I'm going to pin this so I don't forget how to make it. I think I'll have some all to myself this weekend! :-)

    Hair bows?!???!??!! What a great idea...especially for the cost!

    Yes, you're right...we all have those Dollar Tree glasses. And they all look terrific! I don't know how Dollar Tree knew those would be such a hit. I bought some in purple from there this year. I wish they'd come out with pink ones. I'd buy them out in a heartbeat!!!

    Great job! Now I'm hungry. :-)

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  9. Patti, I want to come to your house for a dinner party!!

    Seriously, this looks just about perfect. Thank you so much for joining Grace at Home. I'm pinning this post to my Christmas board, and I'm featuring you this week! :)

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  10. I would really like to make your jello recipe. Can you please tell me what size jello to use, 3 oz. or 6 oz.? Thank you so much! Email: swister31@yahoo.com

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