It's a Spring Thing

Party Tips For a Primavera Bash that's Memorable

You've been cooped up all these winter months and now's the time to celebrate the longer days with friends and good food. But the menu isn't the only essential for your next spring bash - decorations are a crucial part to creating the perfect ambience.
Even if you have a tiny backyard garden, it's all about the way you use it. For an evening party, decorate the nooks and crannies with different coloured votive candles to set the scene. Be resourceful and creative: use candles of different shapes, styles and lengths. Lanterns and stake lights are other good lighting ideas. Decorate the lawn or a section of the lawn with flower petals and dot the patio with jars filled with shells or glass pebbles.
For simple but elegant centerpieces, put some fresh herb sprigs in small jars. You can even create personalized flowerpots to use as centrepieces. If you have some personal treasures that you don't want to get rid of but you just don't know what to do with, then here's your chance to put them to use. Charms, shells, beads, and tiles are perfect for creating a personalized flowerpot with a mosaic motif. Use ceramic tile gout to stick on the object. You can find the gout at any hardware store. If you're expecting some child guests, set up a kiddie table with plenty of crafts (toys, colouring books, etc) to keep them busy. For clever party favours, give guests watering cans filled with seed packets.
If you're planning a sit-down and more formal affair, you'll need plenty of fresh, colourful vegetables and herbs that won't bog down your guests.
Sautéed Spinach Leaves is a great appetizer and it's quick and easy to make. Heat olive oil and minced garlic cloves in a pan over medium-high heat just until the garlic begins to sizzle. Add the spinach in batches, each just enough to fill the pan, and sauté until the bottom leaves have wilted slightly. Keep adding the spinach, tossing to move the wilted leaves to the top and the uncooked leaves to the bottom, seasoning each addition with a little salt and pepper, until all of the leaves have started to wilt. Sprinkle some nutmeg to taste, toss one more time and remove from heat. Serve immediately or partially cover to keep warm until needed.
Olive Paste can be used as a vegetable dip or as a spread on crackers or Italian bread or crostini. This combination of kalamata and gaeta olives is also good in soups and stews. Then there are Spicy Cheese Balls, which get a kick from cayenne pepper and black pepper. These delicious morsels can be decorated with nuts or sesame seeds.
To create a springtime atmosphere, base your dishes on edible flowers, like dandelion flowers. To make Dandelion Fritters, simply mix baking powder, cinnamon powder, salt, whole wheat flower and chopped dandelion flowers. Beat egg and milk and olive oil and stir into the dry mix. Add the dandelion flowers and fry until golden.
Zucchini flowers (fiori di zucchine) are another great spring treat. Trim the stems of the zucchini flowers. Wash them gently and pat them dry. Prepare a batter using whole milk, flour and a lightly beaten egg. Heat olive oil in a pan. Lightly salt the zucchini flowers, dredge them in the batter, and fry them until golden, then drain them on absorbent paper and serve them hot.
Farinata is a pie based on chickpea flour and a few other basic and easy-to-find ingredients. It will definitely add some distinction to your party. Potatoes have always been a big hit at parties because a little goes a long way. Forget about the hum-drum potato salad and make a potato cake featuring onions, rosemary, chopped garlic, and dry white wine. Garnish with parsley.
Salads, bright and colourful, are another must for a springtime affair. Arugula Salad with Pears and Beets is an elegant salad drizzled with olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper and coated with roasted pecans.
Rice salads will go a long way at your next party. Lemon Rice Salad, made from fresh lemon juice, brown rice, peas, celery, and tomatoes, is colourful and nutritious. This dish is also great for leftovers. A fruit salad is also a good bet. Nzalata ri lumia is a Sicilian specialty that combines lemons with some salt, olive oil and red pepper flakes.
For the finale, keep it light and delicious. Mascarpone, a white cream cheese from Lombardy, is quite good with fresh fruit.

Publication Date: 2004-06-06
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=4041