a real highlight

Now this was a whirlwind weekend if there ever was one.

And what a wonderful summer party it was! Almost unbelievably, the weather remained warm and sunny, so unlike the years before, and we were able to sit outside all night, until finally the last guest had left at half past two in the morning.



The food was a great success, as we had hoped for. I made all the bread, two huge pork roasts with crackling, the cured salmon and, and, and... Even though we calculated the amounts rather generously, we hardly had any leftovers.

First thing we ran out of was my mother-in-law's indian cucumber salad, followed by the eggs in hot curry sauce and the tiramisu. I'm still stunned by the sheer amounts of food these people have stuffed themselves with! But happy with it, of course, and still glowing like a christmas tree with all the compliments me and my lovely crew have received.

Actually, the most complimented dish on the whole table was my wife's pasta salad - which enraged her ever so slighty, as she had made the exact same salad each year before, and it had never received much attention so far. Who said our guests were reliable eaters...

Anyway, it was a great party, and a real highlight of my year. I'll post some of the recipes individually over the coming days, while we sort through the remaining debris and the piles of unmarked (and mostly edible) presents that somehow have wordlessly accumulated on our sideboard. At least I assume they are presents, if not, someone please let me know.

Especially that tiny, elephant-shaped vase, wrapped in a red silk scarf, amazes me to no end. Where did that come from? And what am I supposed to do with it?