Our neighborhood’s Gourmet Group gathered for a dinner party last weekend. Nineteen of us celebrated & toasted the summer’s end.
Our hostess used a rubber band to wrap asparagus around formula (or coffee) cans, stuck a glass inside and arranged flowers in the glass. Raffia wrapped around the asparagus cleverly covered the rubber band. Aren’t they wonderful centerpieces?
Our menu:
The featured beverage…
Blueberry Margaritas (edged in sugar): Yum!
The appetizers…
Herbed Lima Bean Hummus: This was very, very good. You have to play with the spices a bit to get the flavor that you’re looking for, but it’s unique and summery and perfect with veggies or pita chips or crackers.
Fresh Blueberry Salsa: It sounds unusual, but it’s a very summery approach to an appetizer, and it works. Dip a chip or two in this stuff & you might have trouble stopping.
The starter…
Chilled Zucchini Soup with Lemon- Cumin Shrimp & Cilantro Cream: These were served in small tea cups. We dunked the shrimp and then sipped the soup out the cups. It was a gorgeous soup for an extremely hot day- great choice.
The main meal:
Gorgonzola- Stuffed Beef Burgers with Sauteed Wild Mushrooms & Caramelized Red Onion Marmalade: Oh My! Everything about these burgers was perfect- the mushrooms, the marmalade and the hint of gorgonzola… these were definitely gourmet, and no extra condiments were needed.
Grilled Corn Salad: This is my new favorite salad recipe. It has a creamy vinaigrette that completely makes the salad. Everyone sitting at my table asked for another scoop.
Watermelon & Avocado Salad: The classic mix of watermelon, feta & greens, but it also has avocado added in- as well as a raspberry vinaigrette. A very good summer salad.
The dessert…
Fresh Peach Ice Cream with Vanilla- Scented Peaches: A creamy, creamy ice cream loaded with fresh peach flavor (not frozen peach chunks), and topped with peaches that have marinated in a vanilla bean-wine simple syrup. Oh yeah!
All recipes were fantastic, and each would be a welcome addition to a Labor Day Barbecue. Have a terrific holiday weekend of grilling, eating, relaxing & hanging out with friends, and be sure to try out a new recipe or two.
All recipes listed can be found by clicking on the recipe titles above.
36 Comments
The fresh blueberry salsa looks great….I’m going to try it. I’m on a blueberry kick right now. And yes, the centerpiece is lovely. Fun to use vegetables with flowers.
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Wow, wow. What a menu! Definitely some inspiration for the weekend.
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AWESOME menu!! I’m all over that hummus and peach dessert, especially
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What a great summery menu! I love the color and the unusual idea of the blueberry salsa. Great idea! Beautiful centerpieces, too. Wish it was *actually* the end of summer, though. So hot lately : /
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How fun to be part of a group like that! The menu looks wonderful and I love those centerpieces…so creative and pretty!
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Umm, can I come over for Labor Day, what a great menu!
I love the asparagus centerpiece, once I saw one with an artichoke in the middle of a bouquet of purple cabbage and I’ve been trying to recreate it ever since!
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Great menu ideas! I love the center piece. I may have to make that blueberry salsa this weekend!
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I love the neighborhood gourmet club.. I just wish I had neighbors!
The asparagus centerpieces look good, but I’d rather have the asparagus wrapped in proscuitto!
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wonderful menu…including the centerpieces…lots of inspiration for me! I enjoy your blog so much…
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Wow Lori, what an arrangement you’ve got here! I love all of it! Fabulous post my dear!
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Wow…YUM! I want to try the burgers, hummus and corn salad. Thanks for sharing!
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What an incredible line up! Love the centerpieces, what an excellent idea! The burger, oh heavens. We are going to have to give that one a try.
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The gorgonzola burgers have my drooling! I recently had a bleu cheese burger and was thinking that stuffing a burger with gorgonzola would be so mouth-watering.
Love that centerpiece idea!
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Wow I wish I lived in your neighborhood! Everything looks absolutely wonderful! I love your centerpieces. So original!!
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Yumm!! I too wish I lived in your neighborhood. The meal and the setting looks fantastic!
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Wow – I wish our neighborhood parties were more like this!
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Now that’s a gourmet group – lucky you! I love all the blueberries and will have to try the margarita.
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Beautiful…everything…and very clever centerpiece!
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What a fabulous menu! Everything looks amazing!
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Now that is one party I would like to have attended. Fabulous food
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That sound you just heard is my tummy grumbling! Great menu!
By the way, I’ll be retweeting this tomorrow (@huggingthecoast on Twitter) as part of a special Labor Day Weekend Twitter Marathon.
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This food looks GREAT! It’s so vibrant and festive. Enjoy.
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Those centerpieces are amazing! And that spread of food looks amazing as well.
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Wow, all of it looked terrific! Where do you live?
~ingrid
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That sounds delicious!
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What a meal! I was just telling a coworker about your gourmet club. What a blast. I’m all over that burger and ice cream!
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Now that is what I call a centerpiece!!!
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everyone looks perfect and so delicious!
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Where do you live? I’m call the moving van so I can join your gourmet group.
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Do cooking groups do cook-offs or show downs? This menu would beat the best of the best!!! This is Summer Sunshine in all its glory! Thank you for letting us share, Heather:)
P.S. My Recipe Girl Button is acting up. Any ideas???
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This all looks fabulous! A nice twist on traditional dishes.
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Wowser, those burgers look huge! What an awesome food lineup.
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The Gourmet Club menu looks stunning! It is funny, how I stumbled upon your food blog as I just posted our Cooking Club evening.
Your evening screams summer and it all looks so beautiful! I have made a note about the floral arrangement. I need to do that next time.
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What a beautiful spread.. and your photo’s are fabulous Lori!!
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I’m intrigued by the Herb/Lima Bean Hummus. I love hummus and have never heard of this kind; I have no doubt that it’s great though!
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I love that centerpiece, I might have to borrow that. Lori all the food looks fantastic but I really want a sip of that margarita!
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