Summer Dinner Party?

Hey everyone, my apologies on this whole lack of blogging thing, apparently I can't seem to commit to it as much I as I wanted too (not the only thing I have problems with committing too) but I'm back, and full of motivation as ever...hopefully.
 
As it is finally drawing near to the summer season (though the weather here in Vancouver begs to differ) I thought it would be perfect timing for a summer themed dinner party!  I've always loved hosting things and now that I am on my own, I figured why not? I am making it a goal of hosting at least one successful dinner party a month (seems do-able right?) So I wanted to start small (group of 4 friends) so in case it was a complete disaster I wouldn't have to clean up after so many people AND it would've been less embarrassing haha.  I started creating a menu a couple days prior to it with some ideas being thrown at me by my coworkers.  I wanted a simple, summer, picnic feel to the menu so I figured lemonade, and some sort of sandwich and pie would be perfect.

I always think of lemonade when I think of Summer so that's where I started, then the rest of the courses seemed to come together like a fat kid to ice cream (points to self), complementing each other well.  The final menu ended up being this:

Yummy Menu

Surprisingly, the hardest thing to add to the menu was the appetizer.  I wanted something really simple and flavourful without being to heavy to act as a meal on it's own.  I debated quite some time on this weighing out a couple of options before settling on the salad (besides it's all about portion control right?)

The different components of my salad all ready to be tossed together

My Key Lime pie just about ready to chill

After buying all the ingredients the day prior (Whole Foods) I started slow cooking the pork around 3am (after coming home from 90's bingo! woot woot) and then, later that morning I started the pie.  I had to make the dessert first to allow the crust and filling to settle/cool.  After that, I began chopping my veggies while dancing to some classic 90's tunes (BSB anyone?) I chose not to mix the salad until right before serving, to keep the veggies fresh and because it's what all those Food Network stars would do (WWFNSD?)

Freshly squeezed lemonade

Then I quickly whipped  up a fresh batch of lemonade and put that in the fridge to chill.  Since this was my first time hosting a dinner party, I had to make it uh-mazing, so I brought out the nicest china (ooooo fancy plates), polished my silverware (cause that's what they do at restaurants) and got some nice summer themed flowers that were really just for me.   In hindsight I might have gone a little overboard but really, there's no such thing haha.

A table set for four

Thankfully I had plenty of restaurant serving experience (shout out to Red Robin) so transitioning between courses while maintaining a lively discussion on Kim/Kanye's new baby North West was a breeze!  Following dinner we had a super quick game of Cranium (FYI I got for $6 at a second hand store) then parted ways.  Then my inner Monica came out and I began cleaning my kitchen/dining area like there was no tomorrow!  I do love that part of the evening.

A triumphant success

Overall, I can say it was quite a successful evening though our time was brief.  From the birth of the idea to the last utensil cleaned it was such an enjoyable time for me (though some might compare it to being eaten alive by crazed Honeybadgers) I for one, will most definitely do it again (Host dinners that is)

Let me know below where you stand on hosting things.  Are you the Monica of the group and get excited when given the chance to entertain or are you the Rachel who is comes along for the ride and shows up?  Plus if you enjoyed my post (or even if it made you smile a little) make sure you subscribe for more updates! 

Thanks :)