Birthday Picnic Party

We had a little party for Graham’s birthday, and it was so much fun that I didn’t take a single photo. So, when everyone had gone home and after all the food had been put away, I staged this plate just to show you. But then I ate everything on it, haha! Hosting a party makes you hungry.

With baby Arthur toddling around, our time is limited and precious, so my strategy for parties these days is to support a local restaurant that we love and then fill in any gaps with one (or two, max!) dishes that I cook. For Graham’s birthday party, we bought fried chicken, cornbread muffins, and the most delicious red beans and rice from Lena’s in Oakland and we made a quick cabbage slaw (there’s a good recipe in The Newlywed Table) plus brownies for dessert because G insisted that he did not want cake—he wanted his favorite one-bowl brownies.

Our friends played some basketball in the park and even the babies joined in on the game as best they could. It was pretty much my perfect Sunday.