A few weeks ago, I got to thinking that I should host my first solo event at Chez Silvia. The Memorial Day holiday provided the perfect opportunity to gather friends together to celebrate the arrival of summer while also memorializing the events of the past - perfect. As I considered the invite list and the menu, some latent irreverence kicked in and I decided that all women, all sausage, was the way to go and thus, Sausage Fest 2011 was born. Honestly, it was my easiest birth ever and completely lacked the post-partum ickiness that no one ever tells a woman about anyway.
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| Troy Farmer's Market bounty |
While the star of the grill may have been the medley of sausages, veggies were well represented also. These beautiful examples came from the farmer's market and were brushed with olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper and then lightly grilled.
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| Sausagepalooza! |
The sausage were a mix of Italian hot and sweet (hot Italians are, truth be told, a personal weakness), chorizo, andouille and two varieties of chicken. I think the chorizo may have been my favorite, but all were enjoyable.
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| cold wine for a hot day |
Pretty table, right? The bucket of flowers came from Lisa's garden downstate and they were magnificent. I baked a couple of loaves of bread in the morning and, thanks to thoughtful guests and another indulgent expedition to
Empire, there was plenty of wine. I made a salad of Asian greens with a mustard vinaigrette and fresh corn, a potato salad garnished with chive flowers and tossed together a big bowl of arugula with lemon, olive oil and shaved Asiago. Mary Lynn contributed a delicious orzo and feta salad which rounded things out perfectly.
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| salad three ways: Asian greens, potato , orzo and feta |
Despite popular belief and false assumptions, this was not a male bashing event. It was just some women getting together to enjoy good food, conversation and a gorgeous evening on my deck. Don't take it personally, guys, none of you were grilled in effigy, after all. I'd be lying if I said we didn't take a cheap shot or two, but the day was much more about having a good time and looking ahead to the future than it was about denigrating males. Trust me, I'll always be a guys' girl, but it's nice to have a group of interesting, eclectic female friends to share sausage, memories and wisdom with. Minced meat in a casing has got nothing on that.
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| Lori and Kerry |
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| Mary Lynn and Lisa |
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| Becky and Kaaren |
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| me and Donna |
Looks lovely! We had a SausageFest at my old house last year...followed a few weeks later by a ClamJam. Both of our events were co-ed.....but I know I told you on Twitter about my mother and stepfather's parties:)
ReplyDeleteAll of the sausage fests I have been to were either all or mostly male attended. I thought that was the way it had to be, by definition. By taking the men out of the sausage fest, you are breaking a tired and unappreciated patriarchal tradition and replacing it with a new feminist paradigm. Congratulations and more power to you, sister! I'm sorry I won't be invited to your future sausage fests but I understand why and will continue to support your efforts.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a great time, so sad to have missed it!!
ReplyDeleteI love reading this Blog. I must say that even the veggies look phallic.
ReplyDeleteIt was a great time - we'll definitely find more excuses to gather on the deck this summer, believe me.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Anonymous. That's pretty funny and completely accurate. :)