Special Company for Lunch

It was the July Lunch Bunch Lunch

plus one

A very special one

Internet friend Connie came to Linderhof

to lunch!

Earlier this week, we had no air

it wasn't a simple fix but a new unit was needed

The install date was the week of July 16

Thus, when I did the final planning for lunch

it was with the idea of no air conditioning

That there would only be fans

But Linderhof was built in the 20s

When there was no air

Taking a page from some of the early owners of Linderhof

I decided to do a summer ladies lunch

A luncheon that perhaps Mrs. Gunn 

(who lived at Linderhof in the late 20s)

might have served to her "society" friends

The good news, however, is that we got moved up

and yesterday our new air was installed

Working overtime far into the night

by morning, it was "normal" at Linderhof

Cool and dry!

For that I was grateful,

I went ahead, however, with my summer 20s lunch

A tablecloth, flowers, silver  and crystal on the table

Aynsley Pembroke

Jim's grandmother's cutlery

Our French goblets

A bouquet of stargazer lilies as the centerpiece

Which picked up the pink of the Pembroke

A picture of Linderhof taken in 1924

with the menu on the back

A cool lunch for a hot day

Cool and Creamy tomato basil soup

Homecanned tomatoes and garden basil pureed and chilled

Heavy cream added as well as a generous sprinkle of salt and a grind of pepper

A trio salad plate

meat (chicken salad - a simple one, shredded chicken, thin sliced red onion, a good palmful of garden tarragon and half mayonnaise and half sour cream, salt and pepper)

vegetable (spring mix, tomatoes and homemade poppyseed dressing)

fruit (strawberry cranberry jello salad -- jello salads are so 20s!)

The coffee service

Aynsley Pembroke -- some pieces from the turn of the 20th century while other pieces are from the turn of the 21st century

(Can you spot the difference?)

Dessert was chocolate mocha icebox cake

It was wonderful conversation around the luncheon table

and after a tour of Linderhof, Connie headed back north.

We met for tea in Kansas City in June and I was so glad

she could come and share lunch with us.

I've met the best people because of

Lines from Linderhof!

Strawberry Cranberry Jello Salad

1 1/2 c. fresh or frozen cranberries

2 c. diced fresh strawberries

1/2 c. sugar

2 c. boiling water

3 (3 oz) packages strawberry Jello

2 c. cranberry juice, chilled

8 oz. can crushed pineapple, undrained

1 c. diced celery

Process cranberries in a food processor until coarsely chopped, stopping once to scrape down sides.

Stir together cranberries, strawberries and sugar in a medium bowl.

Stir together 2 cups boiling water and jello in a large bowl, stirring 2 minutes or until jello dissolves.    Stir in juice, and chill 30 min or until consistency of unbeaten egg whites.     Stir in cranberry mixture, pineapple and celery.     Pour mixture into lightly greased 9 x 13 pan.    Cover and chill 8 hours or until firm.