HOW TO HOST A BIRTHDAY PARTY FOR THE MAN IN YOUR LIFE

Hi there. Last weekend a good friend of ours celebrated a milestone birthday. His wife Brenda is a brilliant hostess and always throws great parties in their beautiful Lake Arrowhead home. So join me at the party and see how to host a birthday party for the man in your life. It can be done in these 10 steps…

Step 1: Dim the lights. Low light makes everything look better and it sets a romantic mood.

Step 2: Light lots of candles.

Step 3: Decorate with lovely flowers. Everyone appreciates a feminine touch even if it is a guy’s party.

Step 4: Invite the resident French Bulldog who will charm everyone in attendance.

Step 5: Plan your menu. If you’re feeding a large crowd heavy appetizers, served buffet-style is a great way to go.

Step 6: If you’re my friend Brenda then you make some delicious and rustic homemade bread. It helps if you have your own wood-fired oven in which to bake it. One of these days I’ll have to post a recipe tutorial on Brenda’s bread baking. In the meantime you can simply buy some good bread from the bakery and let everyone think you made it yourself.

Step 7: Display the food artfully using fresh herbs and fig leaves to decorate the plates. Then simply let everyone help themselves to things like baked brie almondine, rosemary, garlic & olive oil infused goat cheese logs and smoked gouda with grapes. Add a bowl of olives, an olive tapenade and savory whole grain crackers. Wrap prosciutto around slices of rolled up provolone cheese and your appetizers are ready to go.

Step 8: Prepare some grilled mini peppers filled with herbed goat cheese using this terrific and easy recipe. Then pass them around to your guests, it’s a great way to mingle with them.

Step 9: Homemade pizza is loved by all and is a real show stopper when it’s prepared throughout the evening in a wood-fired oven. Your guests will be clamoring for the next delicious slice served bubbling hot out of the oven. Pizza toppings can be prepared in advance along with homemade pizza dough. Need a good pizza dough recipe? Get mine by clicking here.

Step 10: Don’t forget the birthday cake. Save yourself a lot of trouble and order the birthday boy’s favorite flavor from a great bakery.

Ok, so it’s with tongue-in-cheek that I suggest that a party like this can be done in 10 easy steps. In reality it takes a great deal of planning, a huge effort, a hefty budget and a lot of love to pull off such a beautiful and successful event. Great hostesses like Brenda fool everyone by making it look easy, when most of us know it’s not! But I also think we’d all agree that it’s worth the effort for those we love.

So there you have it: HOW TO HOST A BIRTHDAY PARTY FOR THE MAN IN YOUR LIFE

Get the recipe tutorials by clicking on the photos and links below:

1. Mini Peppers Stuffed with Herbed Cheese
2. Olive Oil Pizza Dough Recipe
3. Making Pizza in a Countertop Pizza Oven
4. A Pizza Making Tutorial

Thanks for dropping in!  Do please leave a comment below.  I’d love to hear from you!

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