The day finally came, the visitors arrived and all went off smoothly. Sue, Wheatcliffe, Caro and I worked like mad in a kitchen not at all equipped for catering but everything turned out perfectly in the end. We also had Naomi (back in my house) on standby if we needed anything extra. I phoned her quite a number of times: Naomi, please could you ask Stanley to cut some basil and bring it up here. Stanley duly arrived with a bag of mint! No problem, we needed mint for mint sauce later. I explained where we'd planted basil in the garden and off he went back to my house. No sooner had he delivered the basil to us and returned home, when I phoned Naomi again. Naomi, can you please go to the sideboard and check the fruit bowls. How many apples do we have. Six? OK please ask Stanley to bring them up to me. (The small fridge in the Guest House was icing up and the apples for the Waldorff Salad and all other for the fruit salad had frozen over the weekend.) Then I phoned for lemons. And again for coriander. And again for mangoes. Get the picture? These two people were actually the unsung heroes of the day.
When I got home at around 12.30, I thanked them both for their behind-the scenes-help. Naomi just smiled; Stanley said tunks!
Guess who's using my stile? Mmm?
The various breads I baked on Saturday. Only the loaf with topped with sunflower seeds was for the visitors' lunch! The rest is for home use, with one of the white breads going to Johan as normal
Channa Dahl, an Indian dish which I made for the lunch
I'm sorry I didn't photograph the Waldorff and smoked salmon salad. It was a masterpiece! And the Chicken Pesto Pasta looked good too and apparently tasted divine.
Caro folding napkins into a Bishops Hat for the table setting. She and Wheatcliffe did the flower arrangements for the table centres!
Cheeseboard
Grant phoned me when he returned to the office and said lunch was a great success.
Just after 2, Caro arrived with a tray and two plates of food on it for me. Sue made the apple pie from her mum's old-fashioned recipe. She cooked her own apples instead of taking the easy way out by using tinned. It was delicious
Now it was time to do my two dishes for dinner. I had a leg of lamb to roast and for dessert I made the Bread-and-butter pudding which I've posted before. While doing the roast, I read a few blogs which was most relaxing. I especially enjoyed one I've only recently started following: The Squashed Tomato. Linda is a bubbly young lady with such a passion for life which shines through in her posts. Please do visit her blog here It was while reading this post, I saw an interesting twist to bread-and-butter pudding. She made hers in ramekins and topped them with meringue. I mailed Linda and said I'd like to try this with my large -size dessert and she agreed it would work very well . I tried it and it did!. Here's the end result.
Bread and butter pudding with a twist
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Looks like it was all a HUGE success.. Congrats to you HARD workers..... The meal looked fabulous!!!!
ReplyDeleteHope you can get some rest now.
Hugs,
Betsy
Oh my goodness, Jo, you've made me so hungry. I was going to wait for Dick before I started eating, but he won't be home for another hour, and the sight of that pudding with meringue has me salivating! LOL
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, I just love the family of monkeys on your stile. They're like cats, aren't they? If there's something new, they have to try it out. What fun!
So glad the meal went well. I wonder if the VVIPs know how much work went into it.
Luv, K
My word, all of you have really outdone yourselves. The food looks fantastic and the presentation and table settings are really a good restaurant quality. Kudos to all of you and to Sue, Wheatcliffe Caro, Naomi and Stanley. All of you should be very proud of how you catered for the VVIP. No wonder it was a huge success. Hugs.xx
ReplyDeleteGoodness, you're a busy lady, Jo! While I'm not fond of cooking, I do like eating and much enjoyed seeing the l luncheon you and your wonderful helpers set out, especially the desserts. I love the idea of topping bread pudding with meringue...yum...will have to try that!
ReplyDeleteAnd I liked the story of Stanley building your turnstile...a clever idea you had and a great job carrying it out on his part. What a blessing to share your life with the people you do...:)
Have a wonderful week!
Lynette
Everything looks and sounds so good. I'm sure your lunch was very appreciated.
ReplyDeleteWow, Jo - what a feast it turned out to be! It's only 9am here, but I could eat everything in those pictures without any problems!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the mention of my blog - I think your meringue looks spectacular! Such a great way to add some flair to a firm-favourite pudding. Well done on such a successful evening!
Jo, all your food look so yummy. Sounds like you did have a successful day and meal. Thanks for sharing, have a great day!
ReplyDeleteWell done Jo! You did an amazing job considering you are in the back blocks of Africa. I couldn't even manage such meals in the modern city of Brisbane.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, Jo! What an excellent hostess you are. Beautiful tables, fit for a King. Isn't it good to have friends you can call on in those times of need?
ReplyDeleteLovely post!! Where do you get all the ingrdients from? I will definitely follow your blog from now on!
ReplyDeleteI looove the bread and butter pudding!
Geez, looks like one successfully, yummy event! got me drooling with all that good food.
ReplyDeleteSimply scrumptious!
ReplyDeleteOh, you DID get to taste your banquet after all! I'd read your latest post prior to scrolling back to this one! The food looked scrumptious, as Phillip said! Loved the picture of the monkeys perched on your stile :)
ReplyDeleteI spent the whole day with Linda helping her reorganise her little garden before Noodle arrives to take up residence on Saturday.
You are a fantastic cook, Jo! Every dish and loaf of bread looks mouth-watering. Those VVIPs are very fortunate to have you and Sue and your other helpers cooking for them!
ReplyDelete