Holiday Memories: My Holiday Party at the Farm, Part Three
Merry Christmas! As we continue the holiday week, I hope you enjoy this encore blog from December 21, 2017.
Here are more photos from this year’s holiday party at my Bedford, New farm.
My Winter House was where all our delicious savory dishes were served. My friend, Chef Pierre Schaedelin from PS Tailored Events, prepared a fabulous feast - cooked hams, homemade biscuits, an array of mouthwatering hors d’oeuvres, and of course, lots and lots of fresh shrimp and oysters. I made panettone, plum puddings, and a giant Buche de Noel. Every room of my Winter House was beautifully decorated in glistening shades of gold, silver, white and green. It was all so gorgeous and perfect for our holiday gathering.
Enjoy these photos.
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- Guests entered the Winter House through the large porch. We started a nice fire in my sugar pot. This is one of two huge cast iron sugar kettles I keep as fire pits. They add such a nice accent to the terraces and have always been fun conversation pieces during gatherings.
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- Another sign tells guests what they will find inside this building – it was by far the most crowded house during the party.
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- The giant bird in my entrance hall greeted everyone as they arrived.
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- My Green Room is just off the foyer. Laura decorated this sunken parlor in gorgeous gold and green. I love these two trees filled with ornaments – they just light up the room.
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- Here is a closer look at one of the trees – overflowing with balls in every shade of green.
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- I love how everything shimmers on the branches.
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- On one table is a collection of green bottle brush trees.
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- Another grouping of bottle brush trees sits on this high chest. Kevin’s reflection can be seen in the mirror.
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- My Bird Room is on the other side of the foyer. It is the smaller of two dining rooms. Here, Laura added touches of green and silver – in the back right corner is another gorgeous tree.
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- This is a 7.5 foot silver tinseled tree from my collection at The Home Depot. goo.gl/judpnB
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- On the table is another lovely napkin display – simply rolled and piled neatly together.
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- The napkins were set next to nuts and dried fruits from New York City’s famous Eataly Downtown. https://www.eataly.com/
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- This is my servery – a room from which meals are served. During parties, I often serve drinks from this area. This big silver bowl is for my special eggnog.
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- We filled this room with lots of white decorations dotted with copper and silver-colored accents.
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- More trees and woodland animals fill my mantel in the Brown Room.
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- In this corner, a green tree from my collection at The Home Depot – adorned with strings of lights. Beautiful decorations don’t always have to be elaborate. This tree was a big favorite.
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- A smaller tabletop tree with glass icicle ornaments – also very simple, but so elegant.
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- We moved my long dining table closer to one side, so we could serve the foods buffet-style – it’s a wonderful solution for large gatherings.
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- Meringues, cakes, and cookies filled the table.
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- Whenever possible, always try to use real china. Here, we stacked a combination of white and white with gold plates for all the guests.
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- Nearby, a tray of forks – even the flatware looked so decorative on the table.
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- Laura folded these napkins in rectangles and then arranged them in a crisscross pattern.
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- This is one of the plum pudding cakes I made for the party – it was so deliciously moist and flavorful. Next to it is a hard sauce I made with cognac.
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- My daughter, Alexis, is an excellent baker and cook. She brought this gorgeous cake topped with berries.
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- Here is a platter of beautifully sculpted meringues.
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- On this plate, stollen with marzipan from Balthazar New York. It is surrounded by Noel Nut Balls, the tasty cookie made from our Martha & Marley Spoon Holiday Cookie Box. http://balthazarny.com
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- Our shrimp came from True North – 40 pounds of the freshest shrimp. We served it on cake stands garnished with lettuces from my garden – they look like flowers. http://www.truenorthseafood.com
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- Jason Schreiber and I created this giant Buche de Noel – I added these whimsical mice right before the party – they were perfect.
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- My kitchen is where we served our hams – it is quite a spread.
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- This ham in the center is from my friend, Pat LaFrieda. It is a 20-pound smoked ham. http://www.lafrieda.com
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- This one is a whole country ham from Loveless Cafe – so flavorful. https://www.lovelesscafe.com
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- And the ham in the foreground at the bottom of the photo is from La Quercia – a spectacular acorn-fed prosciutto style ham. http://laquercia.us
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- The hams were served with homemade biscuits and mustard sauces.
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- We made a delicious pomegranate punch using concentrate from my friends at POM Wonderful mixed with citrus slices. It was very popular with all our guests. https://www.pomwonderful.com
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- And look how beautiful it is in this giant bowl.
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- Everything looks so stunning all prepared on my kitchen counter.
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- Tomorrow, I will share more of the food, photos of friends and family who attended, and of the special visit from the jolliest of them all – Santa Claus. I hope you are all enjoying this holiday season.
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