One of my favorite aunts has a birthday two days before Independence Day. Naturally, people like to give her patriotic-themed gifts. This year I decided to branch out, so to speak. I wanted to do something special for her that wasn’t red, white, and blue. Don’t get me wrong. I love America, Old Glory, Red/White/Blue, and patriotic décor. Yet it seems everyone gives her July 4th types of gifts.
Aunt Kathy is always going the extra mile for her friends and family. She works tirelessly at hosting dinners and parties, always presenting perfectly designed food and tablescapes. Nothing I do can match her expertise. Still, I wanted to select a theme that was timely and befitting such an elegant woman.
My cousin’s wife who helped with the party suggested spaghetti and marinara for the menu. I began thinking “Italian.” Gift shopping at a favorite local interior design store, I came across a cookbook entitled “Lemon, Love, and Olive Oil” by Mina Stone. Next to the book was displayed lemon-infused olive oil. I was reminded of my visit to the Amalfi Coast and a lemon farm. Perfect! The theme would be lemons! Bright yellow as the summer sun, sweet as lemonade, and cheery for a hot summer evening.
I curated a basket with the cookbook, olive oil, and a few lemon-related items — Lemon pepper, a zester tool with a juicer on the other end, a pour spout for the oil, lemon motif tea towel, and some additional lemon/kitchen items. I dotted the items with artificial lemons and spruced up the basket with yellow silk flowers. The basket became part of the dining room décor until after dinner when she opened gifts.
Antipasto platters are amazing for appetizers and to complement pasta. Pickled vegetables, a variety of both hard and soft cheeses, sliced figs, grapes, marcona almonds, prosciutto and salami served with crostini made for yummy munching.
Dinner consisted of a pasta bar, fruit tray, and antipasto platter which also served as the appetizer while guests enjoyed iced tea or lemonade. (This crew does not imbibe so wine was not served, but a crisp sauvignon blanc or chianti would go perfectly.) Pasta bars can be elaborate, but for only eight people I kept it simple – bucatini (instead of spaghetti), farfalle, and a gluten-free penne could be topped with meatballs, sautéed vegetables, and homemade marinara or alfredo sauces. Soft, warm, garlic bread sticks rounded out the main course.
For the fruit tray I made watermelon and cantaloupe balls sprinkled with blueberries served in the small watermelon shell at the corner of a large square tray, accompanied by sliced nectarines, avocados, strawberries, apricots, apples, and sprigs of green and red grapes.
Of course dessert had to include lemon bars. My cousin’s wife brought Bundtinis in lemon, and three additional flavors. I had planned to make gelato but ran out of time. No one seemed to miss the ice cream.
Most of the food could be made the day before, so only the pasta was cooked an hour before guests were to arrive. Usually I would not slather pasta with olive oil, but I read several sources that suggested a high-grade olive oil would keep the pasta from drying out while keeping it warm. It worked fine. The key was to enjoy the guests upon arrival.
The evening was hot outside, the feeling inside warm and inviting. Family members talked and laughed or as the saying goes, ate, drank, and made merry. Although the theme was lemons, the evening was sweet, befitting for one of my favorite people.
Silver Sage Sisters 