A rose petal party

June 12, 2011

Its starts with me, secateurs and  bag in hand, gathering handfuls of fluffy creamy white  elderflowers from the tree in our little park around the corner.  I am preparing for  the book launch. Rather than have caterers  we’re going with the home made spirit of Pure Style, and indeed the book,  and putting on the spread ourselves. My publisher Anova books are very generously  providing the venue (their  white and airy  entrance hall, with a very Pure Style feeling  in a converted  Edwardian magistrates’  building) and crates of  rather delicious Italian  prosecco fizz.

We’re laying  on  elderflower cordial,  cucumber and mint sandwiches,  Spanish olives, almonds, and chorizo from my favourite supplier Brindisa and little chunks of my home made shortbread.  Whilst the elderflowers are fermeting away in their bowl of boiled water sugar and lemon, I go into  mass production mode  for  the shortbread.  This is a very good thing to make in big quantities because all you need are flat trays which can be covered in foil and stacked on top of each other when it comes to transporting the finished goods.

Party day arrives, and I  gather up my stash of  Purestyle tablecloths, blue and white enamel bowls,  and jugs with which we’re  going to decorate the space.  I learn that there are garlands of bunting already giving it  a party feel.  Boy I’m glad I’m not a professional because one look at the elderflower brew and I decide that its not quite ready, not quite flowery and fragrant enough for tonight.  We revert to  plan B and  invest in a perfectly decent shop bought alternative.   At  2pm, nearing  military precision, Patricia and I  heave  boxes  into the car piled with bunches of blue cornflowers, linens, crockery, and  all the components for the cucumber sandwiches  head westwards.  Lying lovingly folded on the top is my launch frock, a lime yellow silk velvet shift that I feel  has definitely been well earned!

We head for the kitchen and construct  manhandable   square sandwiches of  sour dough bread spread with layers of cream cheese, cucumber, mint , lemon juice, pepper and sea salt.  Not too much cream cheese that it  escapes messily and not too much cucumber that the whole thing collapses too easily.  Ha ha! maybe we could go into professional party sandwich making after all.  PS The salt  definitely brings out the flavour of the cucumber.

The shortbread is laid on my friend Katrin’s creamy vintage plates  sprinkled with sugar and decorated with rose petals from the garden. It’s quite astonishing that the petals tastes as  gloriously rose scented as they smell.   With fifteen minutes or so before countdown, it all looks so pretty: the  white tables simply laid  with  jugs of summer blue  cornflowers and inviting edible treats. The evening goes with a real swing!

I am still basking in the warm after glow of the celebration to send the book on its way.  PPS This might seem a bit forward,  but  if any  blog reader who has invested in a copy and feels like making the effort to  review it on Amazon then it  could be a very good thing to help boost sales!