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Martha Stewart -15yr- Personalized Aprons

August 2006

Jamie in Duluth, GA USA

For my fifteenth birthday I wanted to do something other than the bowling and going out to dinner scenario that all my friends did. So I decided to host an "I Wish I Were Martha Stewart" Dinner Party at my house. I chose this crazy theme because this is something I actually say quite often, because I wish I had the cooking and crafting abilities that Martha Stewart has and I can't wait to be house wife. So I figured that cooking an elaborate dinner with and for my friends, a la Martha Stewart, would be fun and out of the ordinary. 

Prior to the Party: There was a lot of planning to do for a five-course dinner and party ahead of time. The first thing I did was buy a Martha Stewart Entertaining Book and planed my menu, using recipes for the book and the internet. I decided on a color scheme: apple green and white. I bought coordinating invitations at Target, the kind that you can load into your printer and print the info right onto the invitation.

On the invitation I told my friends to dress up a little and for the girls to come at 1 o'clock and the boys to come at 6 o'clock. This gave the girls plenty of time to cook the meal and for the guys to come over later and eat it! I also bought TONS of ribbon- I chose a specific kind with a green and white pattern on it, plain canvas aprons and green and pink fabric paint.

The week before the party I personalized aprons for the girls- They each had their names on them and a green and pink border.  The Day of the Party: My mom and I went grocery shopping in the morning. The food was more expensive than I thought it would be, but besides the invites, ribbon and apron materials, it was all that I bought. I made really cute place card holders by taking green apples and slicing a notch in the top of them. I set a business card-sized piece of paper with each person's name on it and placed it in the slit. The last thing I did was type up all the recipes so that the girls would have easy access to them. Then the cooking began!  The Party!!!

The girls came over and I gave them their aprons, which they were required to wear:) My mom helped us out a bunch with the cooking, because none of us are Emeril, to say the least. I recommend having a lot of cooking help to anyone who wants to have a party like this. Each girl was assigned a task to do, and we all just cooked and chatted and dance to the music that I had blaring for a couple of hours.

We also set the table. A white tablecloth was our base. Green candles and small white tea candles were the centerpiece. We got out the best china and wrapped silverware up in green napkins, tying it with the ribbon I had bought. We tied a big bow (with the ribbon) to the back of each chair and put the apple place cards at the appropriate settings. As the finishing touch, we scattered hot pink rose petals all over the table. Just as soon as we were done cooking the boys arrived.

We had appetizers and mocktails (fake cocktail drinks) and I opened presents. We then moved into the dining room. My Mom served us all of the courses and we had a great time telling the guys about our cooking mishaps, taking pictures and eating fancy food.

After dinner and dessert we watched a movie, then after that we made grasshoppers, a mint milkshake type thing. Everyone said that the food was delicious and that it was a really elegant, fun party. At the end of the party one of the guys even said that he wanted to do the same thing, only the guys would cook for the girls. I liked the sound of that! 

The Final Menu-
Cilantro Shrimp with Spicy Peanut Butter Sauce          
Wilted Lettuce Salad           
Roast Lemon Chicken           
Some sort of fancy pasta (I forget)           
Chocolate Bread Pudding           
Isles de la Neige (a type of complicated dessert)

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