Like Bree Van de Kamp
Folks who know me, know…It’s all about the presentation. The ambiance. I’m a great hostess, so if you’re coming by my place for a gathering. You’re guaranteed to be spoiled and eat good. I love cooking and sharing my passion. I think for most people who cook, it’s just natural to want to entertain. A good meal is better shared over conversation and laughter.
Entertaining is when you showcase not only the food, but you get to set everything up just so. Depending on the time of day or type of the occasion, here’s a few things I do to create a feel-good atmosphere:
- Fresh cut flowers on the table and/or candles
- Fun or classy table runners depending on the food served
- Tableware — I’m partial to white because it highlights the
beauty of the food – I do stray though - A bowl of seasonal fruit and/or some type of light snack
- Good eclectic music
We see food with our eyes first, then we smell, and finally we taste. So, I don’t slap anything together. I want the food to look appealing, inviting. Those who have taken my cooking classes see it in action. It’s all about presentation (kind of the case with everything for me). When in class, I showcase my food on beautiful platters and bowls. If sauce drips on the side of the bowl, I take time to wipe it off. It’s the little details that make the experience, enjoyable and memorable.
I often joke that I’m kinda like Bree Van de Kamp from Desperate Housewives she was known for throwing the best gatherings/parties. She was so fussy, down right persnickety. Everything had to be just so. For a long time, when I watched the show, I so didn’t like her character. I came to realize the reason I didn’t like her much was because I’m just like her when it comes to entertaining. Everything has a place. Everything has to be just so.
Chrisetta Mosley
I am a product – and now a survivor – of childhood obesity. As a child, my family always told me that my extra weight was merely baby fat and I’d eventually grow out of it. I never did. Instead, my childhood is filled with memories of not being able to ride a bike, flattening its training wheels from being over the recommended weight, and avoiding P.E. classes by any means necessary. For years, I wore my fatness like a wounded soldier wears a Purple Heart - with pride. I owned the look. I dressed it up. I worked the room. There wasn't a skinny girl who intimidated me. I made sure my hair was laid just right. Nails polished. Outfits coordinated to the tee. Accessories to compliment every outfit. But everyone has a breaking point, and mine came in the spring of 2004 when I tipped the scale at nearly 400 pounds 388 to be exact. I was MISERABLE trapped inside of that body. I no longer wore my Purple Heart with pride. Rather, I was ashamed and frightened. Ashamed that I had allowed food to become my everything – frightened I would die because of it. Drastic times called for drastic measures... Today, I’m bound and determined to live a better, healthier, active lifestyle. I realize I’m no longer a passenger in my life, I’m the driver. I’m overcoming my inhibitions and I’m slowly but surely saying farewell to my old childhood nemesis, obesity. For once and for all, Farewell Fatso!