{"id":89932,"date":"2020-07-21T07:45:58","date_gmt":"2020-07-21T12:45:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.enchantedhome.com\/blog\/?p=89932"},"modified":"2020-07-21T07:45:59","modified_gmt":"2020-07-21T12:45:59","slug":"entertaining-diaries-chapter-6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.enchantedhome.com\/blog\/2020\/07\/21\/entertaining-diaries-chapter-6\/","title":{"rendered":"Entertaining Diaries Chapter 6"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hi there. Hope you are having a great week, busy busy one over here. But its been very productive and as we have one eye on moving to a larger warehouse space, there is no grass growing under our feet. It’s a huge undertaking but will be well worth it when done.<\/p>\n

So I started the Entertaining Diaries as I noticed it was a subject so many wanted to hear more about and even though I have done my fair share of entertaining, I still love learning of new ideas, great recipes and tips. I was brought up with the notion that there is always room for improvement!<\/p>\n

Today’s post is kind of a walk through of how I approach entertaining (on a small scale). We were to meet two couples in a restaurant (first time)but I chickened out even though it was outdoor dining, with the seriousness of what is swirling around us, I decided to invite them over instead. What turned out to be a casual easy dinner of course tuned into a lot more.<\/p>\n

I wish I knew how to keep it light and easy but before I knew it I was puling out a white dry cleaned tablecloth, crystal glasses and just continued from there. So normally these are things I would do a day or two before just to get it out of the way but in this case, it was all done that day.<\/p>\n

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I always lay all my dishes\u00a0 and utensils out on my island the day before or early morning of. Makes me feel like its one thing checked off my list and gets me moving forward\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Ditto utensils, and I will often set a table the day before as well<\/p>\n

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Prep work starts early (whatever can be done first thing) cutting up any vegetables, herbs, making my fruit platter (always have a fruit platter). Some things are made the night before (if the recipe allows it). The more you can do ahead of time, the better!<\/p>\n

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I cut up things like limes for drinks and anything else we will need and put aside for later (my husband is fully in charge of the bar and drinks)<\/p>\n

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Here is what was on the menu that day-<\/p>\n

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I made my cheese board about 2 hours before they arrived but kept it inside until they got there (it was a very hot summer day). I start placing the cheese, fill in with crackers then add fresh fruit, nuts, dates, figs whatever I may have on hand.<\/p>\n

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Always like\u00a0 a few hard cheeses and include a soft cheese with a nice variety of crackers\/bread sticks and some kind of fruit<\/p>\n

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Fruit platters are a part of our daily routine, so I always have one when I have guests over too. Granted our daily fruit platters do not look like this:)<\/p>\n

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Brushetta I made early in the day and kept refrigerated, I found it refrigerates well for at least up to 4-5 hours so it’s convenient to make ahead of time and oh so good!<\/p>\n

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For the bread- I cut up a large baguette drizzle with olive oil, bake at 350 for about 7 minutes until crisp. Don’t worry if they overbake as once the brushetta is placed on top, it gets a little softer and has just the right “bite” aka crunch vs. soft center..yum! I have also found you can make these well in advance and store in a ziploc, one less thing to do last minute!<\/p>\n

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Pasta being mixed together, so yummy (recipe below)<\/p>\n

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In this case I have already made my pasta, chicken and salad ahead of time. I always wait to add whatever sauce I am using for the pasta to mix together at the very last minute. And always cook your pasta very al dente, realizing when the hot sauce hits it, it will continue to cook. Nothing worse than mushy pasta!! This meal has become my default meal when having guests over, everyone loves it!<\/p>\n

Wish i had taken better pictures but by this time of the night I am always busy playing hostess<\/p>\n

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I set up everything outside, hydrangeas cut from\u00a0 my yard!<\/p>\n

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Here is the recipe for Chicken Scarpiello<\/span><\/h2>\n