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| John reading his favorite Frida quote. |
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| My parents and I. |
I decided to do this on a separate post because there are so many details to touch upon regarding this dinner.
First the concept.
The idea for DIT&O Dinners is to have regular (bi-montly) get togethers hosted at a different location each time. I've been sitting on this idea for some time and it's inspired by a few different things. For a short time 2 years ago I worked for Dinner Lab. With an ever expanding group of people becoming foodies, pop-ups are all the rave. What Dinner Lab does is take a space, any space, not intended to serve as a restaurant, and host a nice 5 or-so course meal to about 50 people. Each time a different chef hosts the dinner, drinks are paired to the courses, you get the point, fancy. And the other source of inspiration was the social networking site Meetup. I wanted to have a regular meeting of friends, but I didn't want to always be the person hosting, planning and doing everything. I would of course help the host with coordinating but the theme/concept for the DIT&O Dinner would be up to the host.
~~Ain't nobody got time for that.~~
You may or not know what I do for a living, for my real grown up job, but you can read about it here. I'm about to start my busiest season, the next 5 weeks will be so, so busy but so rewarding and fun. I wanted to host the first DIT&O Dinner before it all begins, which was perfect timing for Frida's and my mom's birthday.
M E N U
For the menu I used a book perfect for the event, Frida's Fiesta's. Written by Frida's step-daughter, Guadalupe Rivera, it highlights a menu for every month of the year. Each menu is preceded by text explaining what they would typically celebrate in that month including stories from Frida's kitchen, conversations Frida would have with her housekeeper Eulalia and experiences from Guadalupe's perspective from her time while living in the blue house. I went with the June menu and chose the dishes I saw fit for my experience level and accessibility of ingredients.
D E C O R
I set up the altar in a hutch. Photos were collected from online sources and printed at Walgreens, my go to for printing on a budget. Walgreens sends out weekly coupons and the week of the dinner they happen to have deal on poster size prints so I printed 2 high resolution photos of Frida in large format at half price! All of the little items decorating the altar I have collected over time. Most of the dinner table decor was found at the 99 cent store (all glassware) or Dollar Tree (place mats and blue vases). The table runners were reused from the wedding. I borrowed a lot of platters and dishes from my mom for serving food. My house plants filled space and provided some natural greenery.
We listened to Spotify's Latin Lounge Playlist and my guests enjoyed cocktails on the patio while I made the last of the dinner preparations.
I had never hosted a dinner party like this. It was intimate, there were a lot dishes to prepare and with the help of my parents and John pulled it off. It was such a wonderful evening, I imagined that day what it would have been like to attend one of Frida's dinners in the Casa Azul in Coyoacán.
I look forward to the next DIT&O Dinner. Now I just need to find someone to host it!
xx,
We listened to Spotify's Latin Lounge Playlist and my guests enjoyed cocktails on the patio while I made the last of the dinner preparations.
I had never hosted a dinner party like this. It was intimate, there were a lot dishes to prepare and with the help of my parents and John pulled it off. It was such a wonderful evening, I imagined that day what it would have been like to attend one of Frida's dinners in the Casa Azul in Coyoacán.
I look forward to the next DIT&O Dinner. Now I just need to find someone to host it!
xx,
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