My Annual Valentine Luncheon

 When I started this life

(Full time mistress of Linderhof)

I decided to have a Valentine's Luncheon for friends

And every year I have

I love to come up with the table setting

(some more elaborate than others)

the favors

(mostly homemade)

the food

(I've served a lot of heart shaped layer cake for I have the cake pans!)

Valentine Luncheon 2016

for my Nevada friends!

(who not only had to drive over from Nevada but had to

go through the road construction that is right outside our door!

Brave souls, my friends!)

A Quaker Lace tablecloth

Grandmother's china and a damask napkin in a silver ring

Pink, red and white carnations

For pink, red and white was the theme this year

The favor -- a frosted Valentine heart sugar cookie with heart sprinkles --

a white one and a pink one!

For lunch:

Love Apple Soup

(last year's home canned tomatoes, pureed and cooked with salt and pepper and cream.   

Decorated with a cream heart)

Mrs. Sullivan's Hot Chicken Salad, White and Wild Rice and Heart Biscuits

Ina Garten's Chocolate Ganache Cake decorated with a sugared pansy from last year's garden

(the cake baked in a regular cake tin and cut with a cookie cutter in a heart shape, then the ganache is poured over and a sugared pansy is put on top)

Served with coffee in my favorite white and gold coffee cups.

And after everyone is gone but before cleanup begins!

The dishes are all taken to the kitchen where they're washed and dried.    As each stack of plates, cups and saucers are finished, I put them on the dining room table.

All clean and ready to be put away!

I must admit that as much as I like the anticipation of the house when everything is ready but the company hasn't arrived, I also get pleasure out of seeing the clean dishes piled on the dining room table all ready to put away!

Before the party . . . 

The anticipation!

After the Party --

The dining room is returned to normal!

The recipes:

CREAM BISCUITS

These are the easiest biscuits.   Just cream and self rising flour.    You can add herbs if you wish or even cheese.    I cut them out with my littlest heart cookie cutter.   And served to each to my guests!

2 cups self rising flour

1 1/2 cups cream

Mix flour and cream together until it forms a soft dough.    Knead a few times.  And press out about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick.     Then cut out with biscuit cuter (or if you want to be themed -- a heart shaped cookie cutter) and bake in a preheated 475 oven for about 10 minutes.

MRS. SULLIVAN'S HOT CHICKEN SALAD

2 cups cubed cooked chicken

2 cups sliced celery (this is correct and important to the dish)

1 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup slivered almonds

1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

2 t. lemon juice

1 cup crushed potato chips

salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients  (but the chips) together and pour into a buttered 9 x 13 pan.   Top with crushed chips and bake  in a preheated 250 oven for about 25 minutes.

LOVE APPLE SOUP

I use my whole home canned tomatoes.    I can them with thyme, onion and a bay leaf but without salt and pepper.   I use my stick blender to puree them in the canning jars and then pour them into a saucepan.    I add salt and pepper to taste and cook them until they're hot.     I add cream (enough to change them to that pretty pink color) and bring back to temperature.     Serve.