Garden Birthday party for Mom

Thanks to a family group effort, the garden party for Mom's birthday was a success!  The food was delicious and the decorations turned out just the way we'd hoped!  Unfortunately, my picture-taking was less than wonderful.  (I discovered that it is hard to hostess and photograph for a blog at the same time!)  

Here is an idea of some of the decorations that we set up on the deck:

Blurry picture - but you kinda get the idea...

We set up lots of candles on the tables and more candles in the wooded area - including hanging candles in the trees.

This picture came out!  Yay!

There were flowers all over the deck and twinkle lights on the railings.  It really looked pretty as the sun began to set...You'll have to believe me because the pictures are not so great...

We set up the food buffet in the house.

We wrapped the bamboo forks and knives in the napkins and then tucked in a sprig of fresh rosemary.

Here's a look at the food on the buffet.  We had plenty of food!

Lamb with a Matzo crumb crust and citrus sauce:

Turkey Breast Stuffed with Prosciutto, Parmesan and Pine Nuts

This is from an old BH&G magazine that I saved.  I'm too tired to write the recipe tonight, but I will if I get a request in comments...

Sweet and Yukon Gold Potato Gratin and Marinated Green Beans with Tomatoes and Olives:

Find the recipe for the green beans here.

And...The Grand finale...

Chocolate Cherry Port Wine Cupcakes with Marscapone Frosting

Find the recipe here.

It was truly a group effort to get all the cooking done!  My sister made the lamb.  I worked on the turkey.  My brother was in charge of the green beans and my daughter made the cupcakes.  And then there were appetizers and drinks and coffee...At one point, I am pretty sure that there were about 12 people in my kitchen all working together to make this party happen for Mom! Literally!

Thank goodness my brother was able to get some nice photos of the food! 

In the end the party was a blast!  We were able to celebrate Mom's birthday and have a mini family reunion too. (We were missing my Navy girl, though!)

And the best part...There were enough leftovers to do it all again the next night with just family.  

What a wonderful way to end the summer!  I hope that you had a wonderful summer and are looking forward to your own family feasts this fall.

Love,

Pam