I am sipping my Tito's martini (olives, thank you) up as I am posting.... it is FAB and sooooooo Mad Men. I almost feel like finding a girdle and lighting up a B&H to complete the moment!

And yes, the menu sounds amazing and a wonderful evening for all!

Alexa

I'm having Bombay with a whisper of Martini and Rossi...no fruit....and on the rocks. No more ciggies for me....but my hair is hanging over one eye if that helps.
Sauteed the shrimp in garlic butter and ate it in my fingers.
Now to find out where that personal chef is hiding for the rest of dinner.....oh *snap*...I forgot to get the tenderloins out of the freezer!

I think you have all the suggestions you need for the bar. I'm sure your guests will be pleased with whatever choices they are presented with.

I think it is so fun that you are treating yourself to a personal chef for the evening!

Take photos and report back!

Cheers,
Teresa

the best laid plans of mice and men.....

Apparently I have no need for a full bar. DH went to dinner in a restaurant last night with our guests and some others. Even though a few in the group ordered wine, our Chinese visitors stuck to black tea both before and during the meal.

Now the panic is on to find Keurig K-cups of black tea in my tiny little town. I have green tea, but DH said our guests were specific about black tea.

You can get good teas on ebay and Amazon, and have them shipped next-day.

Sounds like everything worked out fine.

dcarch

thanks, darch, but I would need it shipped "next hour." My guests arrive in less than 12 hours! I'll do the best I can, and if that doesn't work, they'll have to settle for green tea or orange pekoe tea or water.

In your experience and observation, do people from China take anything in their tea? Sugar? Lemon? milk?

I have to remember, I'm entertaining in my home. I am not a restaurant. I am not required to meet my guests every need, but rather to be attentive to their needs and meet those I can.

If you go to Chinatown here in NYC and order coffee, you will be served coffee with cream and sugar already mixed, automatic.

If you ask for tea, you will get plain tea, no sugar or milk/cream given. No lemon.

They do like coffee.

dcarch

So when you go out to a restaurant, not to a bar to tie one on, what sort of mixed drink do you order? It seems mixed drinks are coming back, perhaps thanks to Mad Men. I enjoy wine, but also enjoy a cocktail from time to time. I like a Cosmo but it makes my head spin rather quickly.

I really love a Whiskey Sour, but I think I am dating myself by ordering that. I also adore a Fuzzy Navel but they are so sweet it's more like dessert. Plus, they go down so easily, I can drink one after another.

What is a not-silly, not out-of-date drink to order?

bbstx - IMO if you're serving a bunch of tea what you need is a tea kettle and some decent tea bags. Not your Keurig.

I don't think a whiskey sour is dated. Sometimes places have a specialty cocktail menu, which makes it easy. When I want something a little sweet, I sometimes order vodka and soda with a splash of grenadine and a cherry. I also like a dirty martini, but I have to order it with extra olive juice to avoid that head swimming problem. I really just think people should drink what they like. Most bartenders just want to be treated nicely. If you are friendly, they won't scoff at your drink order.

I very rarely order a mixed drink. I usually just have wine. But, if I do order a mixed drink, it is either a gin martini or a lemon drop. However, DH and I were on vacation last month, and for some reason unknown to me I had a hankering for a whiskey sour...and I don't even like bourbon. But I'll have to say, Ruth's Chris does a wonderful whiskey sour. I even had a second (the closest I come to "tying one on" because I've found them hard to untie the next day).

If it is lunch time, and I'm feeling extraordinarily festive, and I have absolutely nothing else to do all day, I may order a bloody mary.

Classic and creative cocktails are huge in my area (NJ/NYC). But the only mixed drink I tend order is a margarita, and only if I'm in a restaurant that I know has a great bartender. DH orders either a dirty martini or Maker's Mark & ginger. Most of the time we drink wine, but it depends on what's available.

Sue

When out to eat at a restaurant with tablecloths, I order either a dry martini on the rocks Bombay gin...or The famous Grouse, on the rocks.
At a restaurant with formica tables and a "What kin I gitcha" waitress, I ask what kind of Scotch they have and either order Scotch rocks or a beer. Wine often gives me a stuffy nose and my very Caucasian version of the Asian flush. Some don't but some do and beer ir a "well drink" is safest>
If there is mariachi music playing and the waiter has a Spanish accent, I will order a Marguerita.
However I will order a martini in some no table cloth places....like Friday's and Outback Steak.

Frankly I am a relic of the Mad Men era.....and well remember M and M parties. Wondering how we could ever manage to get the kids to Sunday School the next morning....but we did!

Bbstx, I agree you don't need to meet all of your guests wants and I think you've gone out of your way to be a good hostess. I'd probably get some good bulk tea if you have that available and make a pot if that's what you think they will drink. Tea bags will do in a pinch, I just like bulk better, so I have that on hand usually.

Dedtired, I also think if you like a whiskey sour, that's what you should drink. I fail to see the purpose of drinking something you don't really care for because you're "supposed to", or because that's what other people think you should like or drink. Taste is subjective, not objective, as I've said before.

I don't think whiskey sours are dated either. Now a Harvey Wallbanger, that's something no one I know has ordered in a while although I still have a recipe for the cake by the same name. Haven't made the cake lately either...

People have their own likes and dislikes. I had an aunt who only drank Canadian Club and a friend who only drinks Gray Goose vodka with orange juice. At Ashley's Birthday BBQ last week there was a combination of wine, beer, and some flavored alcohols. Since Kevin is a police officer and a fire fighter, the entire fire department was there and everyone brought whatever they drink. The biggest hit was some lemonade mixed with pureed local fresh strawberries and vodka. With grilled chicken, potato salad, corn on the cob and Texas Sheet Cake. I'd have been sick eating cake with lemonade and vodka but they weren't. And, being a working night for everyone, no one got drunk.

Drink what you like. It doesn't have to be fashionable or proper or follow any rules, it just has to be what you like or else what is the purpose of drinking it at all?

Annie

Did this one sometime ago.

dcarch

Again I like to reiterate what BBSTX keeps saying...It's my home, I am not a resautrant...

Years back the theater group I belong to would have a big all cast and crew party at the end of every show. And because I have a "good party house"...meaning a big family room and good circulation around diningroom, kitchen, living room, den and family room, I was often volunteered. The way it worked was the hostess charged a fee for food, and paper products, bought the mixers and everyone brought their own alcoholic drink.
I would buy club soda, 7 up, Coke and a small amount of gingerale....but the requests were amazing..."Linda Do you have grape juice?" I only drink Sprite not 7 up...I'm a Pepsi drinker do you have some? Is there any orange juice?...etc.
SOOO.....when the next show was over and I was volunteered again, I said bring your own booze and mixer. And the next morning I had the strangest assortment of pop and juices anyone ever say.
So...if you have a professional full metal bore BAR, then all those mixers and stuff are appropriate, but at a party in your home....go with simple....if someone can't find something they like to drink form the basic kinds of liquor, beer and red and white wine.....why then there's the faucet.
I have many many times been to receptions of one sort or another in a hotel or a country club where there is a separate bar for that party in the room.....and they are not set up for anything but the basics....no margaritas, no old fashions no Long Island Iced Tea, no apple tinis, no choco tinis no cosmos etc....
And there is no reason why you need to feel that you have not provided for your guests if you don't provide such.
HOWEVER....if you are entertaining good friends and you know they like Rose's Lime in Gin or drink Jack Daniels and grape juice, it's nice to have what they like when you invite them over.
Linda C

I do find our adult children (30s decade)like the mixed drinks that we drank in our college years or more likely, our parents drank. They have the cocktail shakers, etc. But then they did introduce me to the mojito, which I think is delightful.

I used to love gin with pink lemonade for a summer drink.
Also vodka and orange juice.

My drink of choice is a Caesar---the Canadian version of Bloody Mary. It's made with Clamato juice, worcestershire, shot of hot sauce, few grinds of black pepper and vodka. A stalk of celery and you're good to go.

"Caesar---the Canadian version of Bloody Mary. It's made with Clamato juice, worcestershire, shot of hot sauce, few grinds of black pepper and vodka. A stalk of celery and you're good to go."

That just about does it for my dinner----that sounds wonderful, like a whole meal!

We have martinis on most Friday nights at home, and one friend who often comes for dinner likes her rum and diet coke, but most other people are beer and wine fans. I'd rather ask for wine when I am someone's guest. That said, on the very rare occasions when we go out to dinner where we don't have to drive afterwards, Jim gets a gin martini on the rocks, and I've recently been enjoying Manhattans.

Why isn't the drink selection for a dinner at home treated in the same way as the food selection? I don't see a reason for offering a full bar any more than I see a need to offer a full restaurant style menu of food choices.

Jim

Hmm....interesting, but it isn't.
I serve a meal and say Coffee? De-caf? Tea? Hot or cold? You want sugar? Lemon? Cream?
But I slap a plate with chicken salad, an arrangement of fruit and a roll down without so much as a thought.
And that doesn't even consider the choices before the meal! For my ladies Lunch group I offer red wine, white wine, bloody Marys.....and one person always asks....do you have any Scotch! LOL!
No idea why we offer so many drink sources.

Here's the difference: Picture yourself going out to dinner for a week straight. What are the chances you'll order the same exact meal more than once, let alone every single night? Probably slim to none. How about ordering the same drink several times? (Alcohol, or not.) Probably pretty good. I think we just don't stray much from what we like to drink. "Drinkers" probably more so.

Meal choices take time, effort, planning, and leftovers - cooked or uncooked - can be wasted food. Drink choices simply involve having a few options available in the liquor cabinet. For the most part if they're not used, they won't go bad. Save them for your next party.

I'd not expect a host to have every option imaginable, but a couple options would be nice. I'd expect to go to someone's house for a dinner party and be offered Boeuf Bourguignon as the only dinner choice. Gin and tonic the only choice to drink? That'd be strange.

But when I visit someone's home, I literally have no expectations of having choices except an alternative of water. If they even offer alcoholic drinks. Like I have no expectations of menu choices.

And even a "good" host is not judged entirely on how she caters to a guest's every whim, but rather in just making the guest feel comfortable.

AAH....but what does "make a guest feel comfortable" mean?
To me it means catering to their every desire without it seeming to be any trouble at all.
I know the homes where I feel comfortable...it's not the places where I am waited on hand and foot....not the place where the table is wiped every time I raise my glass to my lips, not the place where there is no evidence of food prep when you go into the kitchen...even with informal settings....but it IS the place where they make an effort to know what would make ME comfortable. Whether it's having my choice of drink or just shrugging and saying "I'm out of Scotch....is there something else you would like"? And pointing the way to the bar.
I have had a recent self revelation about hosts who are not being "hosts" but simply want company for the evening or to fulfill an obligation.

Sorry....now I am getting deep....

I don't have expectations either. I have a hip flask.

(LOL, just kidding.)size>

Seriously though, it's neither expensive nor inconvient to offer up a couple options. To make the guest feel comfortable.

Or you could be the host that caters to every whim of every guest, thereby stressing yourself out and making all of your guests feel uncomfortable. My mom always wonders why our family would rather have events at my uncle's, when she works so hard to please everybody. But she's running around like a chicken with her head cut off, sweating, yelling at guests who are helping her in the kitchen. It's not pleasant. I think the best way to make people feel comfortable is to be comfortable yourself and just have a good time. A hip flask can help with that, too.

The dinner party with our Chinese guests could not have gone better. They were delightful guests and were very pleased to have been invited into an American home.

The delegation leader said that his wife has been to America many times, but had never been invited into a home. This was his first visit and he got to see how we live. I think there will be some crowing when he returns home!

All of my fretting about what to serve to drink was a tempest in a teapot...but I was prepared. When they arrived, 2 asked for orange juice and the 3rd wanted tea...green tea, not black. Fortunately, I keep green tea on hand!

At dinner, we offered red wine or tea, and they chose wine! Water was on the table when we sat down. After dinner, most everyone had a demitasse of coffee.

The private chef was the best decision I've made in ages! I was able to enjoy my guests and give them my full attention without having to worry about meal preparation.

The watermelon and tomato salad was the biggest surprise. I thought I would probably not really care for it. It was out of this world. He managed to source some heirloom tomatoes...some were yellow, some were red, and some were yellow meat with red skin! I am now officially in love with watermelon tomato salad. I hope he will share his dressing recipe!

Bbstx, it does sound like a totally delightful party and I had to smile when you talked about serving tea and then mentioned a "tempest in a teapot". (grin)

I've also seen that watermelon/tomato salad and been a bit suspect. Now I'll have to try it. I also hope your chef shares his dressing recipe.

Annie

Ta Dah....not much better feeling that that your guests enjoyed themselves!
Glad all went well....and waiting for that salad recipe.
Linda C

"Seriously though, it's neither expensive nor inconvient to offer up a couple options."

I think we agree -- depending on what you mean by "a couple". If four or five liquors, a few mixers and a couple of garnishes are offered, anyone should be able to find something to their liking, if not precisely what they normally drink. I don't think of that as a full bar, but ample for the home.

"They were delightful guests and were very pleased to have been invited into an American home."

If you have ever travelled abroad and been invited into a home there, you will understand how special that dinner was for them. Just being in your home, whatever the menu, was a highlight of their trip.

"I am now officially in love with watermelon tomato salad."

Now you have me intrigued. I can't imagine that combination. I need to try it.

Jim

I'm so glad it turned out fabulous!
Now your Chinese guests will think the way Americans live is they have private chefs :-)

Bumblebeez, I had the same thought and had to laugh.

Jim, there are lots of tomato/watermelon salad recipes on the internet. Most seem to include feta or chevre. A few have red onion. And I saw one with cucumbers. But this salad was very simple...heirloom tomatoes, watermelon chunks, and a simple dressing. I saw one dressing recipe that was oil and vinegar and had honey in it. I did not see the chef mix the salad dressing, so I'm clueless, but it struck me as slightly sweet, but that may have been the watermelon juice mingling with the dressing.

And you are right about being invited into a home when you are traveling in a foreign country. When DH and I visited Russia, we were invited to the home of an acquaintance for champagne and cake. It is an experience that I cherish. It gave me insight that I would never have otherwise.

All is Revealed!!! The secret dressing on the tomato watermelon salad is aged balsamic and olive oil (1:3). If the balsamic is less than 15 years old, add a pinch of sweetness (honey, splenda, sugar, agave nectar, whatever makes you happy).

I think the key to this salad is fully ripened heirloom tomatoes and ripe watermelon. I read somewhere in the last couple of days, that if you cut into a watermelon and it isn't sweet, sprinkle it with a tad bit of gin and let it set a couple of hours. Supposedly, the gin adds no flavor, just sweetness. I haven't tried it, but I'm keeping it in my arsenal. (My preferred alternative would be to mix the gin with tonic and pitch the watermelon!)

"All of my fretting about what to serve to drink was a tempest in a teapot...but I was prepared. When they arrived, 2 asked for orange juice and the 3rd wanted tea...green tea, not black."

OMG!! Two had the nerve to ask for orange juice?????? Clearly they do not read this forum! LOL

Glad to hear all went well. And again - how fun that you were able to treat yourself to the personal chef and enjoy your guests.

Teresa

Gaah....aged balsamic and good oil....how simple!
Was it just watermelon and tomatoes? No onion?

Now I have had watermelon spiked with gin....and with vodka and even with everclear....but gin to make it sweeter?
And to change the subject just a bit...I was at a "meet the artist" event for the DMMO's upcoming season and one of the sopranos said that the costumes are never cleaned during a run....but to "freshen them" they spray with a mix of vodka and water...
Who knew? LOL!

Lindac, that's it: watermelon, heirloom tomatoes and a simple oil and balsamic vinegar dressing. And a sprig of basil for garnish.

We had leftovers tonight. Good, but certainly not as good as fresh. The takeaway: do not prepare this dish way ahead.

Ynnej, I had to laugh. I so agree. I would almost rather have a can of lukewarm pbr shoved in my hand than have someone get worked up and give me 10 options. Deciding is exhausting, and trying to relax in the presence of a manic episode is worse!

It sounds like the dinner was a wonderful success. Congratulations!

I think we agree -- depending on what you mean by "a couple". If four or five liquors, a few mixers and a couple of garnishes are offered, anyone should be able to find something to their liking, if not precisely what they normally drink. I don't think of that as a full bar, but ample for the home.

Jim, we agree 100%.

bbstx - Congratulations on pulling that off so well! Count me as another who has got to try tomato and watermelon together.

Linda ``.but to "freshen them" they spray with a mix of vodka and water... who knew`

I`ve seen that exact thing recommended as a room freshener. I like the premise, but not the cost.

In my neck of the woods, Vodka costs about $15 for 1.75 liters...lots cheaper than Glade!

I like the premise, but not the opportunity cost. ;-)

I had to look up vodka as room freshener. It's a modest amount of vodka. From ehow.com:

Things You'll Need

Spray bottle
1 teaspoon essential oil
1/4 cup unflavored vodka
3 1/2 cups filtered water

Instructions

1
Clean out a spray bottle with hot water. Make sure it's absolutely clean, or else the residue of the previous contents may affect the scent of the room spray. One effective method to get rid of a scent in a previously used bottle is to allow some vinegar mixed with water to sit in the bottle overnight. Use one part vinegar to one part water.

2
In a small bowl, mix the essential oil and the vodka using a wire whisk or fork. The vodka acts as an emulsifier so that the water and oil blend together.

3
Pour the oil and vodka mixture into your spray bottle. Add the water to the mixture and shake vigorously. Now you're ready to freshen your room. Remember to shake the mixture each time you use the spray.

Well....that's a different kind of "recipe"....thanks!

Hmmmmmm . . . think I'll try my watermelon and tomato
along side my wedge of iceburg lettuce.
(running now to hide under my bed).

Our table for our guests last Saturday. I have a friend who is a tabletop designer who helped me. Unfortunately, I took the pictures before I finished setting the table...no spoons and no wine glasses.

bbstx, that's lovely. The flowers are peonies, roses and iris? The colors are beautiful and the napkins match the iris almost perfectly.

Annie

Annie1992, the flowers are peonies, roses, and orchids. There are also green hydrangeas and dracena leaves.

The small stack of brown baskets at the upper right of the centerpiece were used for cool towels before dinner was served. DH brought them to me when he went to China several years ago. I had not used them before, but I just may start doing so! We had our drinks on the patio, so it was refreshing to have a cool towel for our hands when we sat down to dinner.

Lovely setting!!
And I love that toile!
I have a cupboard of Mason's Pink Vista......perhaps I need those chairs!!

Lindac, How pretty! I'll bet you set a lovely table with that. Is it transferware?

Now I see the hydrangea in the middle, very pretty contrast.

The baskets for cool towels is an interesting idea. Used to freshen up fingers before dinner?

Wow, those chairs DO match LindaC's dishes!

Annie