Summer Clambake

a view of the dining table and the buffet
always love to stop on the roadside market, picked up the peaches and the tomatoes here, love the honor system
here is what the space looked like early afternoon
I put my hustle on and moved all the gear, kind of like trunk show set up day when trunks of dresses arrive
I even moved the two red pots of geraniums down for the evening, love how they tied in with the two red chairs, too bad I didn’t get around to tying the cushion bows, oh, well, next time…in the background, you can see our friends walking down for dinner
the buffet I prepared, not too fancy, tried to get everything we needed, even a small bowl of wet naps!

There are days I wish I could get myself to concentrate on my professional life more, yet most days, I find myself burying my body and soul in the kitchen, spending countless hours putting together meals for others; I guess there are way worse ways to occupy my time.

My husband had a golf date last Friday and asked me to put together a small post-outing dinner. I decided to do a bit of a riff on Ina Garten’s Kitchen Clambake and went from soup to nuts changing up a few things. I’ve done this clambake before using live lobsters; my fish and poultry guy advised on frozen tails this time around as ‘the water is just too warm for those lobsters to have much meat,’ so frozen tails were my choice. It actually made the whole thing so much easier, and I wouldn’t say I like throwing live creatures in the pot anyway. I also added two bottles of white wine instead of the recommended two cups; it really made a great tasting broth as I cooked it down a bit longer than required, I had things to do.

Thank goodness Bill loves his lawn equipment, that Kuboda came in handy as I also moved tables, chairs, and everything required for dinner for six. I love a little surprise and delight for my dinner guests, and I’m pretty sure they enjoyed the walk down to the lower deck after I rang the dinner bell, arriving at a fully set table and a fun buffet.

gingham tablecloths are new this season and they have been on heavy rotation
I always like to fill the water glasses and keep lots of hydration on hand, there have been a few times I’ve missed that important detail, yikes
the food was great, we threw the shells into bowls on the center of the table, Cosmos and Queen’s Anne Lace from my garden
oh! and the tomato Caprese salad! that was as great as my daughter’s dress

I wore a dress I bought for my daughter Mary that I found at a little outdoor boutique on the St. Pete’s Pier, pairing it with a pair of Dolce & Gabbana earrings I bought in Aspen, CO, three summers ago. The combination felt right; I love when my clothes accurately reflect the mood I’m going for.

peach pie and scratch vanilla ice cream, the ice cream could have used more time in the freezer, details, we ate it all anyway
see the small vanilla bean specks? so delicious
I lit the votives when the sun started to set

Two other things I loved about this small party: the Limoncello Vodka Collins cocktails I mixed up, and the Perfect Peach Pie with scratch vanilla ice cream. Isn’t it extra great when your dress matched your cocktail?

Every day dress, Summer Clambake.

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4 Comments

  1. Ina Garten’s Kitchen Clambake is one of my favorite, easy to impress, go-to entertaining recipes. I haven’t tried it with frozen lobster tails but am adding that to the list for our upcoming beach vacation!

    • Yay! Go Michelle! Add two bottles of wine 🙂 extra delicious broth

  2. Hey Rebecca! Good to see you blogging with some frequency again. I always enjoy seeing a post. And I love seeing you wearing color! Question: where do you get the gingham tablecloths from? They are my favorite but can’t seem to find any decent quality ones. Help!

    • Hello Barbara! Thank you for reading along. I bought ten blue gingham tablecloths on Amazon in early spring. I used them for a barbeque for 44 people, and now I seem to be using them all the time. I think I paid about $16/cloth. I really wanted the gingham clothes from Hudson Grace, yet those were $495 each and way above my budget. Good luck! xoxo

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