Food Blogger's Welcome Dinner Invitation

Honestly, I love the idea of hosting some local food bloggers in my home for a fabulous meal. And when the kids are grown, maybe I will.

And what would such a dining experience be like? A buffet, certainly. I love the freedom of the buffet. Take your plate outside and sit at the picnic table and enjoy the view, sit at the bar, or luxuriate on a comfy couch! And eat dishes in any order or mixture that appeals to you.

I'm strangely uncomfortable with the formality of sitting around the dinner table. Something about it takes me back to a trapped, uncomfortable feeling from childhood. Which is odd because I don't recall any "trapped at the table" incidents, just silently crying with laughter with my cousin at breakfast as an elderly relative loudly slurped his breakfast (of prunes). And then there's the "Dinner with the American" scene from Brideshead Revisited, where Charles' (English) friend is trapped at the dinner table with his eccentric father who insists on treating him as a visiting American.

Being bicultural (Oxfordshire, England and Northern California), the menu would have to reflect the best of both the traditional and the new and fresh. You'll see there's a lot of pastry and cheese and lots of fresh veggies to offset any heaviness. And, some French accents to reflect my francophilia.

And, I'd do everything I could in 2-3 bite sizes so you could try everything without getting too full.

Many thanks to Amy for inviting me to blog on this topic.

I'm inviting Susan V. of Fatfree Vegan, Alanna of A Veggie Venture, Fiber of 28 Cooks, and Sam of Becks & Posh to participate.

So, without further ado...the menu:

Appetizers:
Cheese Sables
Cheese plate with Humboldt Fog, Tintern, and Manchego, grapes, halved fresh figs, baguette slices, and crackers
Vegetable Crudite with Blue Cheese Dip
Cerignola Olives
Mixed Olives

Soup:
Asparagus & Cilantro Soup served in tiny cups

Salads:
Salad with Feta, Blueberries, and Almonds
Beet, Ginger & Spinach Salad
Caprese Salad
French Potato Salad

The Fun Continues:
Pear & Gorgonzola Pizza
Tomato & Cheese Tarts
Enormous roasted vegetable platter with tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, onions, and garlic
Miniature Stilton & Watercress Tarte
Small English Sausage Rolls with Coleman's mustard
Portobellos Stuffed with Lentils & Stilton

Drinks:
Pinot Noir (I like Mirrasou, but I'd probably ask Derrick)
Fuji still water
San Pellegrino fizzy water

Dessert:
Bakewell Tarte with heavy cream (unwhipped)
Gooseberry Fool in tiny cups
Best Chocolate Cookies
Coffee & Tea