party

I'm so delighted to find people are still reading my blog. It has been a bit thin on the ground because I have been organising a bridge party of two tables for my 81st birthday! It has taken a lot of thought. I prepared the tables two days before as we would eat off the two tables, then remove the cloths,change guests around, then serve coffee and play Chicargo so hopefully one did not get stuck with a bad run of cards or partners! The day before I bought a fresh cooked chicken and a half from Waitrose and pulling off the flesh marinaded it over night, in lemon juice then made a white sauce the quick way, throwing into the hot milk the butter roughly chopped then guessing the flour weight [which was too much!] used a whisk to beat it up, but made much too much, added nutmeg and green peppercorns. Day of the party added to the chicken chopped fresh pineapple from Marks, fried button mushrooms and the white sauce. Mashed potatoes, peeled the day before by a friend, and finished off by a grand daughter who came to help serve and clear away. Another made the most delicious lemon and pistachio roulardes! It all worked remarkably well especially as 3 guests rang later for the recepies! I stayed at the same table with my lighting arrangememts and of course the 'low vision' poker cards. It was great fun but I was exhausted! A whiskey [which has one of those bar pourers to stop me overdoing it] and in bed by 8 30 much to the delight of cat.