Cynthia's White Birthday Luncheon

It was that time again. The ladies were invited to Cynthia's home for lunch to celebrate her birthday. We are always excited when we get invited not just to see what gourmet food she has prepared but to see her presentation and table setting. For party favors, she gave us all a large bottle of white tea & fig hand soap from London.  We were all present except for Sandi who is ziplining somewhere in North Carolina.

The ambiance was perfect. Sure enough, her presentation was impressive as ever. The attire was to be white; only Mertz and Cynthia had white outfits. The rest of us just had white tops which had to do.  She started us all with a cocktail she made previously that was such a hit; Lemon-Thyme Prosecco. She prepared some Deviled Eggs with mascarpone, Dijon mustard, horseradish and some mayonnaise. She made two kinds of sandwiches: Tomato Butter which had onion and clover, on a Brioche bread. The other sandwich was called Benedictine Cucumber which included red onion, cream cheese, mayonnaise, and bacon. She made some of those on Brioche Bread and some on Milk bread. The sandwiches were light and super delicious. For a salad, she had Marinated Beans with Celery and Ricotta Salada which is apparently hard to find (Whole Foods carries it).

On the table, she had some Macarons and Canalé from Trader Joe's. Those were just teasers because she had baked a Lemon Cake (from Trader Joe's) and she claimed she put a ton of butter in it. That made it buttery and yummy naturally. She also created another dessert; Blackberry Summer Pudding. That was absolutely divine. The only thing I didn't eat was the edible flowers. I thought it best to leave them be. Cynthia informed us that all the recipes were from Food Network.

In the end, when none of us could eat or drink anymore, Cynthia was presented with the singing Birthday Cake and the "Happy Birthday" tiara. We all can't wait till next year to see what's in store for us! I think we should hire her to plan our future parties.