The Easter Bunny Has Left the Building....

It's 9:30 as I type...... our friends are gone, the kitchen is all cleaned up, and the dining room is back to its usual state. With the two additional leaves in the center of that table, the dining room looked small, but everyone was comfortable and there was plenty of room around the table for a long dinner.

We started off with K and B's tossed salad...... they had everything in there--- three different kinds of lettuce, olives, pine nuts, raisins, cranberries, celery, tomato slices, feta cheese, carrots, artichokes, and I know I must be forgetting a few items.

After that, we had thin slices of quiche--- from K and B also. They brought two kinds-- one with spinach and cheese, one with bacon and cheese. Both of them looked delicious, and whoever couldn't make a choice between the two got a thin slice of each on their plate.

Then came the Scottish eggs, made by my husband. After the hard-boiled eggs were covered with the sausage meat, they were quite big, so I sliced them in half length-wise and everyone got a half. K said they're usually served with honey-mustard, which I happened to have in the pantry, so we passed that around. I don't eat sausage, so I just ate the egg and tasted the smallest possible bite of the meat. I was surprised that young Miss C liked the eggs--- she's picky about egg dishes, but after she ate her serving, she finished up the sausage that I had left.

The main course was my salmon-crabcakes, shaped like bunnies--- which made everyone smile. No one was expecting that, and each of the cakes came out perfectly. I served those with a side-dish made by C's mom..... red bliss potatoes roasted with onions and artichoke hearts, then tossed with feta cheese just before serving.... they were delicious.

After that, we had the egg hunt.... as everyone was searching for the eggs, it gave me a chance to clear off the dining room table and set it up for dessert. I was also able to put those Easter bunny photos at everyone's place at the table.... my husband made them for everyone and they were such a hit. Each of our friends in different bunny costumes......... we all laughed so much at them all. My husband took my face and put it on a porcelain bunny figurine..... in the photo, I'm wearing a Victorian dress and hat, and I've got a cameo at my neck and a parasol in my hand.

Dessert was a delicious cream-frosted vanilla cake filled with orange slices and topped with strawberries, made by S. It was sitting on a very pretty white platter and she had the top and sides decorated with the berries...... so pretty to look at, and delicious and light to eat.


Young Miss C found the golden egg......... in the TV room behind the Tibetan "Serenity" statue, and C also had the most eggs in her basket. C's mom L had the second-highest number of eggs, just one less than C. For the prizes, I gave C the super-sized box of baseball cards that my husband bought for her, and L got the porcelain birdhouse that's also a tealight holder. (Perfect for L, because the colors match her breakfast room.) I had some extra gifts, in case one of the men got the most eggs, so I'll just save those prizes for the next party.


We all truly had a wonderful afternoon......... everyone got here at 2:00 and the party broke up around 7:00. It's much nicer, I think, to have a big dinner party like this in mid-afternoon, rather than at dinner-time. Especially for K and B, who have to drive all the way out here from downtown.... they're able to get home before the traffic gets too heavy.

It sure is easier hosting a party for nine than a party for thirty. Even with all the plates and silverware, the cups and the glasses, it was so easy to get the house back together when everyone left. A very nice Easter day...... and the weather was perfectly beautiful.