Our Gourmet Club met last weekend for another one of our fabulous dinner parties. We have 11 couples in our club and we meet for dinner once a month. This time it was our turn to host, and I chose a Greek theme. The hosts are responsible for planning the whole menu, preparing the main dish and then doling out the remaining recipes to the other couples. I know that 22 people sounds a little crazy for a dinner group, but not everyone attends every single dinner so we usually end up with fewer than 22. For our Greek party, we had 16 attending.
16 ended up being perfect- I was able to seat 8 in our dining room:
And 8 in our kitchen…
I have a bit of an obsession with buying all kinds of dishes, linens, glassware, etc. I have loads of patterns & colors, and I love to mix & match.
My husband and I fully intended to wear togas at the party… but we had some costume malfunctioning goin’ on and had to throw on regular clothes at the last minute! In keeping with the theme, we did play some rather festive Greek music.
Since there were so many recipes involved in the making of this dinner party, I’m going to share them in three posts. Today I’m sharing the drinks and appetizers. Here’s what the menu looks like so far (and I’ll add to it in the next post). Each of the titles are linkable to the recipes.
Greek Dinner Party:
Cocktail:
Greek Mojitos
Appetizers:
Marinated Eggplant with Capers & Mint
Goat Cheese with Olives, Lemon & Thyme
w/ Crisp Rosemary Flatbread
Dried Fig Souvlaki
We started with the drinks. Everyone brought plenty of wine- some actually were able to get their hands on ‘Greek’ wine. I wasn’t so lucky. None of the wine shops I went to carried Greek wine. So we served Greek Mojitos instead. Typical mojito recipes are made with rum. Greek mojitos are made with Metaxa (a Greek liqueur), which is much easier to find than the Greek wine!
The Greek Mojitos were good… making them as directed, they were a little sour… so my husband cut down on the lemon/lime juice a bit and they were just right- a little sweeter.
We had three appetizers- all very good:
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This one was amazing. The men were gathered around this platter gobbling it up. I heard many raves, and I thought it was excellent too. We served the eggplant with slices of toasted baguette. I wouldn’t hesitate to make this for any party- no need to be Greek!
This one was super easy to make- both the goat cheese and the flatbread crackers. We kept the flatbread in big chunks, and everyone broke off their own shards to their desired size and spread the goat cheese onto the cracker. This was a delicious appetizer too, and it was impressive on the platter.
Ding Ding Ding! Although we enjoyed all of the appetizers, this one was the big winner for me. Each of us took a bite into this one and were completely surprised at the flavor & texture. These were dried figs stuffed with feta, wrapped with sage & prosciutto and then sauteed. They were so, so good- definitely my favorite of the three.
Next post… I’ll be sharing more great recipes from our Greek Dinner Party.
*Click recipe titles in the menu above to see actual recipes.
56 Comments
What a feast…..I love everything you have made and as always you make it look so easy!!! You inspire me more everyday!!!
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What a great party idea! Your table is just stunning! Elegant and tasteful, but still casual enough that everyone isn’t too worried about using the right fork to enjoy themselves. Well done!
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that looks sooo goooddd
your table is amazing looking!
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Oh man, what a nice spread. Of course my fav would be the goat cheese with flatbread.
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My oh my would I love to be part of your group with delicious foods such as this:D
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the images are fantastic! yum ..it looks like you did a great job on the menu.
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I love the Mojitos and the Souvlaki looks so good!
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Is it too early to start thinking about having these right now? Everything looks amazing!
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I fell in LOVE with figs this summer, but never got so far as to make a savoury with them. When the season presents itself, I’ll have to give your baconiness a go.
I’m so jealous of your dinner party!
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these all look delicious. But the one with the figs I ll surely try it
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Wow, those dried fig souvlaki sound heavenly! All such great flavors together. I would be all over that and the goat cheese! YUMMMM. Is it bad that I want this for breakfast?
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Lori, you’ve got me hungry this morning…and yes…I’ll have a Mojito before lunch!
I look forward to the rest of the Greek feast.
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Wow, everything looks and sounds impressive. I stress over having my brothers over for dinners and they’re family!
~ingrid
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Wow!! That looks FABULOUS!
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Wow, what a gorgeous setting! This is another level of a dinner party!
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i love your setting, so elegant.. and the food.. what a feast.
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Everything looks so delicious and your tables are so festive!
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WOW. I want to be invited to your house for dinner!
Everything looks spectacular!
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Oh my!! You did go all out! What a fun party!! You really didn’t miss a detail!! Job well done!
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Your serveware is great! You did a really nice job with all of the set up. So impressive. The souvlaki sound like a treat we need right now.
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sounds like fun! the menu so far looks great… can’t wait to see the rest
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I just adore your table settings and what a great party! Oh boy I wish I was there
Rosie x
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What can I say? Everything looks heavenly. Oh how I wish I could have been there. I’m big on Greek food and your Dinner Party looks wonderfully executed. Thank you so much for sharing….Oh I’m so wanting Greek food right now…
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Wow, the food looks just as fabulous as I imagined it would! I would have had a hard time pacing myself with those appetizers…
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What gorgeous place settings. If I had the space and$$$ I would add on to my collection. So far its looking like it was a beautiful party.
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Oh man would I love to try a greek mojito! How festive! Where do you like to get diff plate pieces from? I’m always drawn to crate & barrel; they have such sturdy pieces. The Mikasa outlet was good too.
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I love this – I belong to a group called Gourmet Girls and we meet every two months – it is so much fun!! I will suggest a Greek night to them!!
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Gorgeous table setting! I’m all about the table top too. I even work part-time at a store that sells beautiful tabletop accessories. Guess where my paycheck goes? Looking forward to reading about the rest of the menu.
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lovely food you had for the party! The togas would have been a hoot!
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What a fabulous dinner party! Everything sounds soooo delicious!
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My god, woman…I’m relocating to your city and joining your group!!! The table setting is fabulous…and the food, the food! I’m just left here drooling!
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Those figs look to die for!!I’ll be checking out the recipe for those. Love your blue & white dishes in the dining room photo! We had the same set when I was growing up.
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I love the pictures from your dinner group. Everything looks so exquisite!
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I can’t wait to see the rest of your menu! Beautiful table settings and a great selection of appetizers…Can I join your dinner club? tee hee
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How wonderful is this dinner! Everything looks lovely and delicious!
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What a great start to your meal! Can’t wait to see the rest of it.
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Hi! What a nice party!
I loved how the table looks: Really, really nice and inviting!
My favorite appetizer was the last one as weell.
Great job!
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Can’t wait to see the rest! And yes, the souvlaki would have probably been my fave too, but then again I can’t resist a good flatbread…
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I love the idea of a dinner club!! How perfect. All of these recipes sound delicious. I’m a huge Greek food fan, so I really can’t wait to try these! Beautiful pictures!
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Lovely table-setting and food!!
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First, gorgeous table settings! Second, how fun to have such a cool club.
Can’t wait to see the next installment!
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It looks and sounds as if you did a superior job (of course, what else is to be expected). I love the goat cheese and olive appetizer; they are two of my favorite ingredients. I am looking forward to the remainder of your ideas!
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That goat cheese with olives looks divine!
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Looks like a fabulous meal. I love your place settings as well!
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OH wow! I need to come over for one of your dinner parties. Everything looks fantastic. I would drink many of those mojitos.
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Your tables looked beautiful!!! I have an obsession for glass pitchers big and small! Your drinks and apps are wonderful, I can’t wait to see whatelse you made!!
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What a fun idea – now I want to start a dinner club! I love Greek food. I’ll look forward to the rest of the meal!
I left a thank you for you on my blog.
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Beautiful table setting indeed! I love Crate and Barrel dishes myself, especially when they are topped with a Greek feast such as this. Your spread looks amazing!
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It’s all Greek to me…but I think I like it! The sense of festivity is so wonderful in the pictures, and I can practically taste all of the delicious food!
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Pictures are amazing here Recipe Girl
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Where did you find the large, Greek figs?
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RecipeGirl Reply:
March 8th, 2009 at 7:21 AM
Cathy- I didn’t make the figs, but I’m pretty sure they were just dried figs that the gal picked up at the market (the ones you find in the produce section).
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So far, everything looks fantastic, Lori! All three of those appetizers look like winners. I’m especially partial to the eggplant. Must be the Italian in me.
I love how you set up your tables, too! They look so beautiful and elegant!
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Finally trawling through this amazing spread. Took me long enough to get over here! Tables look fabulous! Always a challenge to seat more than 8 so clever you. So many outstanding recipes here I don’t know where to begin, but those stuffed figs definitely have my attention. Very nice.
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I am curious as to what was served as main meal? could you share the dinner menu please
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have you made everything yourself? loos very professional. just like in a luxus resteraunt.
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Are you sure those are figs!? They look more like dates. Let me know
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Lori Lange Reply:
August 19th, 2010 at 11:00 AM
@Cristy, Yes, they are “dried” figs.
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