five courses for as many years

So, my sister and her husband (you’ve met) celebrated five years of marriage a few weekends ago. Doesn’t that seem like a long time these days? I think so. They are awesome and love each other greatly and just have a cool story of their life and the things God has done in it. They’re one of those couples everyone just loves. Well I love them extra-a-lot, and wanted to celebrate them in a particularly special way.

I mentioned the other day that I had planned a really special dinner – ’twas for them. David and I have this awesome backyard (no thanks to us, it was all the people we bought the house from – we just try not to kill too many of their plants). It’s small and not completely private and not perfect, but it’s still really great and every time I see it I think of all the things it has potential for. Last spring I had a bridal shower back there and I really really want to have a backyard movie party sometime. Probably not going to happen yet this year, but we’ll see. Anyway, one of the things I have wanted to do is host a private dinner back there, so it was my gift to them for their anniversary. A five course meal for five years of marriage. We have a hanging swing with vines growing all over the base, so we removed the swing part and set up the table underneath the swing frame and hung strings of lights through the greenery. To add to the ambiance we hid a portable ipod dock in the bushes and played Pandora on a station called “French Cafe”. Here’s what the setup looked like before they arrived.

Had I ever made a five course meal? Nope. And guess what? The internet was surprisingly unhelpful in how to do this, so I improvised and relied HEAVILY on my friend Bethany who has a fabulous way with food. She helped me put together the courses and figure out some of the timing and things that would be helpful in that area. Oh yeah and she came over and helped me cook/made the entire soup course while I decorated the table. So don’t be thinking I did this single-handedly. After she left, David helped me/cooked the entire main dish course. I’m pretty good at manipulating people to help me with my insane ideas – obviously.

The main thing you need to know is that in order to do this well, you have to buy a frick-ton of groceries. But it’s worth it to make amazing food and if you’re only serving two people, then you have leftovers of all that food for a week. Behold, my fridge when it’s full. (This is an incredibly uncommon occurrence. We keep a surprisingly small amount of food in our fridge in an effort to not snack a lot and to save dolla-bills on groceries.)

Wouldn’t it have been amazing if I had photographed all five courses instead of just the first three before I got too sweaty and busy in the kitchen to remember the last two? I know. It’s super not cool to blog about a five course meal and only have photos of three courses. I’m ashamed. But guys, the food was good. I think I’m going to post more on this soon as part of a special project I’ve been helping with (more on that next week), so for now I’ll just leave you with the names of these mouth-watering goodies. Butternut Squash Soup with Crispy Prosciutto, Blueberry Ricotta Slices, Garden I-Made-This-Up-Myself Salad with Poppyseed Dressing, and (not pictured…sad face) Chicken with Cherry Tomatoes, Zucchini and Squash, and Gingerbread Chocolate Cake. You can kind of see the dessert in that picture above with the ingredients.

And here they are between courses, with me awkwardly standing in the yard taking pictures of them. No big deal. Sometimes it happens.

So if you want a private dinner party in my backyard, let me know because I’ll totally do it if you buy the food. I eat this stuff up! 🙂 Congratulations, Molly & Steve on your 5th Anniversary. I loved celebrating it!