17 October 2007

You Are Cordially Invited



Your table has ten place settings. You are sitting in one of them. You can invite anyone living or dead to join you for dinner. You have two missions. Name the people seated at your table and then nominate someone to be the guest of honor and President to be seated at the President's table. We will have a vote later for the guest of honor slot from the nominees.

Just to get your creative juices flowing:
The menu, place settings & entertainment:


Celery Broth with Crispy Rock Shrimp
Newton Chardonnay "Unfiltered" 2002

Medallions of Buffalo Tenderloin
Roasted Corn
Wild Rice Pancakes
Glazed Parsnips and Young Carrots
Peter Michael Pinot Noir "Le Moulin Rouge" 2002

Mint Romaine Lettuce with Blood Orange Vinaigrette
Vermont Camembert Cheese and Spiced Walnuts

Petits Fours Cake
Chartreuse Ice Cream Red and Green Grape Sauce
Iron Horse "Wedding Cuvée" 2002

*

Dinner Table Settings and Music
The State Dining Room, The White House State Floor
Clinton China
Vermeil flatware
Gold pintuck silk tablecloths
Sprays of white phaeleanopsis orchids with camellia foliage
in the historic White House vermeil candelabras

The United States Marine Band Flute trio - The East Entrance
The United States Marine Band - The Grand Foyer
The United States Marine Band "Strolling Strings" - The State Floor

After Dinner Entertainment - The White House State Floor
Yo Yo Ma, Cellist - The East Room
Kathryn Stott, Concert Pianist - The East Room

The United States Marine Dance Band - The Grand Foyer

28 comments:

enigma4ever said...

oh this is wonderful...lovely...okay I would have my grandmother...she died of Breast Cancer and Lung Cancer in December 1986 ( hmmm or was it 1987...funny I am not sure off the top of my head...I think it was 1987...)anyways....she was a wonderful soul and a closet democrat...but so much wisdom...a steel magnolia....Now for the Presidents Table I need to think on that and get back to you....

the menu is soooo gorgeous....

enigma4ever said...

okay...Grandmother Flo from the great beyond, and Molly Ivens also....John Amato of Crooks&Liars, Keith Olbermann, George Clooney,Jimmy Carter, ( oheekss..again my Dead List would be larger than my Live list- this always happens..), Peter Gabriel, BONO, The Edge, .....I think that is it for my table...a good lively group....people with souls and consciences...

Now for the President's Table...My grandfather Ted ( dead) but a Staunch REAL Republican....now I have to say that he would hate Bush..and he would refuse on principle to eat with him...so then I have ONLY one choice...Nixon.and let's watch the Fur fly shall we???

Durward Discussion said...

Good Start. Everyone should get in on the game. This will be fun if we get a whole spectrum.

Schmoop said...

Excellent idea Jamie. I will definitely participate in this. Cheers!!

Durward Discussion said...

New Rule: If Mahar can do it, so can I. If someone has selected a person for their table, you can't have them. Pure physics a body cannot be in two places at once.

Durward Discussion said...

So here is mine:

My father and mother (they don't have to talk to each other - I just have a lot of genealogy questions).

Louisa May Alcott and William Shakespeare

Me and Thomas Jefferson

Jane Austin and Bill Clinton (that should make her romantic heart go pitty pat)

Elizabeth Blackwell (we may need a doctor if we laugh too hard at her date)
Boccaccio

President: Biden
Guest of Honor: Abraham Lincoln (let him straighten out this red/blue business)

P.S. Presidents and Guest of Honor can be duplicated by entrants.

enigma4ever said...

Oh no I forgot Guest of Honor and also President we can change- well, holy cow, that is a Whole new ballgame....okay Guest of Honor : Nelson Mandela, and for President, well let's go Camelot- JFK.....

I have to point out something(s) that are missing from the menu...
(1) OrDourves (sp), I think we need some Oysters Rockefeller and Shrimp Cocktail and also no soup??
I think a nice Lobter Bisque perhaps?

(2) Now I have to laugh...but no drinks or wine? no punch? ( maybe that is trashy ? ) I don't know a thing about wine....but just saying...

BTW your table really does rock the Kazbar Jamie..wowo...I mean William Shakes and the Little Woman herself...omg that is genius...

So tonight later on I am sending People here when I post my Thursday Night Music....

( Which of course will be the Singer that has offered their services for your lovely elegant dinner)

Anonymous said...

Jamie,
At my table, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, physicist Richard Feynman, CC Goldwater, Stephanie Miller, Kinky Friedman, Billy Joe Shaver, John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd.

President: Bush. Guest of honor: Molly Ivins.

Durward Discussion said...

Enigman, Pay attention tipler. This is a real White House menu. Everything in italics is the wine ... Drink until you are blotto.

dnd, You left Bush as Prez and then seated Molly Ivins on his right? Wow! That should send the plates flying.

Anonymous said...

Jamie,
"You left Bush as Prez and then seated Molly Ivins on his right?"

It's not a White House party unless someone gets into a fist fight.

BTW, can we get some beer at my table?

Durward Discussion said...

dnd,

Smuggle it in under your Black Tie tails.

maryt/theteach said...

I'm a little late in naming the people at my table: John Updike, Joyce Carol Oates, Edwidge Danticat, J. M Coetzee, Ernest J. Gaines, Amy Tan, Stephen King (they are friends), myself sitting next to Ian McEwan.

At the President's table: President Barack Obama and (Jamie I wanted Bill Clinton, but I'll pick Hillary)

And Jamie I am delighted to be there because the U.S. Marine Band is playing which means my dear nephew, my brother's son, is there playing the French horn.

enigma4ever said...

Oh dear, someone above has tried to take Molly from my table...what to do...

And Jamie- I am an idiot- I did put my reading glasses on..so I can see now...thank you....( I thought the Menu was written by you- I was actually so impressed...too funny)

Dnd, could you smuggle one little Heinken for the poor half bling enigma?

Durward Discussion said...

Enigma, Showing up shortly Renee and dnd who are throwing a beer bash, smashing the good china, wearing blue jeans and inviting the Blues brothers to entertain.

I don't have a whip and chair to keep them in line so you are welcome to join their party. At least you picked an "imported" beer.

Anonymous said...

Jamie,
Just to clarify, I'm bringing the beer. Renee is bringing the tequila. This is why Ms Ivans will be partying at our table. And in her honor, we'll have some Kinky Friedman and Billy Joe Shaver to serenade her. Enigma, you are certainly welcome.

Finian said...

President Russ Feingold
Honored guest Al Gore

My table
Jane Smiley
David Steinberg
Gary Trudeau
Bill and Hillary Clinton
John and Elizabeth Edwards
From the crypt
Bella Abzug
and Shirley Chisholm

enigma4ever said...

Oh dear...I can not party with such a rakish bunch...and I don't go near tequila..I just wanted a sip of Heinken..sigh..and now they have gone and taken Molly from my table...sigh...so I have had to ask a replacement guest, I am bring Ray Charles, since my grandmother Flo loved him so, and he will fawn all over as she looks great in Red ( being a redhead...) oh, and he has very nicely asked if he could serenade us with America the Beautiful after dinner ?

( and I have to say Katherine Graham Cracker just melted my heart, PRESIDENT FEINGOLD .... be still my heart...)

Anonymous said...

Enigma is going to join us at our table, dnd..... oh goody!

I'll make some homemade Sangria as well as the margaritas.....

dnd.... sweetie..... don't forget Aretha....

Anonymous said...

Enigma....

you're bring Ray Charles.....
I'm bring Aretha Franklin.....

maybe we'll get the to sing a duet...

oh yeah.... dnd and I want Larry Sabato as our guest of honor.... hope he like Sangria.... :)

Anonymous said...

OMG...

I typed that last post so fast..... look at all the mistakes.....

that'll teach me to sample the Sangria..... ;)

Linda said...

Well, this is going to be tough as there are already so many choices being made. I will do my best not to duplicate any of them.

I will definitely stick with Abraham Lincoln as Guest of Honor because if he wasn't there, he'd be at my table!

Now, at the table -

1) Ulysses S. Grant
2) Robert E. Lee
3) Mark Twain
4) My father who would just LOVE all this!
5) My best friend Cyndi for the same reason plus I need someone to make snarky remarks with!
6) John Cusack (yeah, yeah, I'm shallow!)
7) Matt Lauer so he'll get the story straight on The Today Show
8) John Adams
9) Abigail Adams

As for the President - hmmm, Stephen Colbert!

Corey said...

Okay. Here goes my table:

John Mayer
Michael Buble
Amy Sedaris
Lisa Robertson (QVC)
Stan Laurel
Bobby Kennedy
Dean Martin
Ben Franklin
Sara Evans

President: Teddy Roosevelt
Honored Guest: Thomas Edison

Durward Discussion said...

My you folks have been busy. I'll let you run through Saturday and then turn the whole party and voting into a column.

Anonymous said...

ok.... here's my list....

Larry Sabato
Bronson Alcott
Richard Russo
Margaret Atwood
Judi Dench
Bill Maher
Al Franken
Keith Olbermann
Stephen King.... I get an author and a Red Sox fan

guest of honor.... Henry David Thoreau

Lisa Ryan said...

wooo hooo, it's a party!
and there are so many fun and interesting people attending.
here's my table

me
Eleanor Roosevelt
Jerry Seinfeld
Helen Keller
Charles Gibson
Leonard da Vinci
Lewis Carroll
John Lennon
Ellen DeGeneres
Audrey Hepburn

president will be JFK and guest of honor nominee, I'll go with Abe, he's a good choice.

Rob said...

Hey Jamie. How have you been? I hope all is going well.

Yoyoma is my favorite musician, it's funny that you put him. I have allot of his Cd's and his DVD's. He was here in the City last month but I couldn't go see him.

Rob said...

Renee,

I saw Olbermann in person a few months ago. You should definitely invite him.

Travis Cody said...

I know I left my list last night. But I don't see my comment.

1. Me
2. Pam
3. General Alexander Archer Vandegrift, USMC
4. Lieutenant Audie L. Murphy, USA
5. Julia Roberts
6. Merle Streep
7. Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth of England
8. William Shakespeare
9. Mom
10. Stepdad

President: Bill Clinton
Guest of Honor: Mel Brooks