My dearest El. just sent along some pics from our engagement party spread. The caterers did a terrific job; it turned out to be surprisingly hard to find exactly what I wanted! In the end, we tracked down the long-retired proprietor of a tea room that used to exist a few towns away: she made the egg salad sandwiches, the banana nut-bread with cream cheese, the radish butter and the watercress. Some young women in town who are starting a catering concern made the deviled ham, the smoked salmon, the fruit salad and the deviled eggs! (They also provided lemonade and iced tea.) Then, El and her mother contributed cheese pennies, and a lovely neighbor made crab dip. I brought the sweets up from One Girl. Our neighbor Nicole (the recipient of my HS wardrobe of 1940s housedresses, incidentally) tended bar and generally helped out. It was a nice farewell to the Hastings house and a lovely chance to see all my folks' friends. But let me tell you: it is apparently far easier to find pesto and tapenade than tea sandwiches! While I'd never force the lovely Barbara to come out of retirement again, I'd happily recommend that new catering company to anyone - they even humored me and made melon balls!
I love it! I think it's a lot easier to find tea sandwiches in the south because your spread feels decidedly southern (and lovely) to me. :)
ReplyDelete@Shelly I tried to explain it to people that way, invoking Sally Bell's, and they were all like, "you mean A GRITS BAR? You mean FRIED CHICKEN?" I based it on what my grandparents had at their MD wedding in the 40s...
ReplyDeleteHaha you wanted southern, as opposed to "Southern."
ReplyDeleteYour spread is exactly the sort of thing I've grown up enjoying at various showers, teas, and even at a few small wedding receptions (I remember one belated reception held at my dad's friend's house for a son who'd been married out of a state a few weeks prior- in addition to the sandwiches there were the most amazing little pea pods piped with soft cheese that the bride had worked on all afternoon- delicious!)
As far as your theme goes- I think you nailed it! :)
I must agree on the "southern." I joked to a friend the other day that I needed to go to a shower (wedding, baby, whatever) to eat some tea sandwiches. They're a staple of the southern get together. And deviled eggs. This whole spread is beautiful and makes me want to eat.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, ladies, there is a gap in the NYC market! Box lunch!
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