Dinner Party: A Tribute To Jackie O

A Tribute to Jackie
Jacqueline “Jackie” Lee Bouvier Kennedy Onassis
(July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994)

Remembering Jackie
15 Years Later
My foodie girlfriends and I enjoyed another themed dinner party. This theme: A tribute to Jackie Kennedy Onassis. I have been dreaming of hosting a stylish, elegant, graceful “Jackie” party for years, and coincidentally held this on the 15th anniversary of her passing. We wore pill box hats and pearls, toasted to her memory, and cooked recipes from various Kennedy-related cookbooks including:
  • In the Kennedy Style recipes by René Verdon
  • Cooking for Madam by Marta Sgubin
  • In the Kennedy Kitchen by Neil Connolly

Le Menu
Welcome Platter
French Cheeses (Saint André and Bucheron), Fruit Chutney,
Lucques Olives and Accompaniments

Appetizer
(Served on Vintage Glass China)
Barbecued Cajun Shrimp, Honey Dew Melon, Midori Sauce
Soup
Cauliflower with a Goat Cheese, Pepita, Red Pepper Garnish
Salad
Petite Caesar, Anchovy Rosette
Palate Cleanser
Rose Petal and Lemon Sorbet

Main
Mini Beef Wellington
Seared Filet of Beef, Slice of Truffle, Mushroom Duxelles, Foie Gras Pate
Baked in Pastry
Perigourdine Sauce
and
Mini Beet (vegetarian) Wellington
Roasted Beet, Slice of Truffle, Mushroom Duxelles,  Gorgonzola
Baked in Pastry
Brie and Gorgonzola Cream Sauce

Vegetable
Fancy Ratatouille

Side
Green Risotto (recipe here)

Dessert
Poached Pears in Pepper and Bay Scented Wine

Handmade Vintage-Style Pill Box Hats
I am so blessed to have such amazing creative friends. Everyone perused the cookbooks and chose a dish to prepare that inspired them. And this time, talented restaurateur (and seamstress) Gina Lee chose to sew the hats for everyone with vintage materials, true to style and form. Fabulous!


Wilson gets a mini pill box hat too!

Val’s Refreshingly Unique Appetizer
Great for summer dining al fresco!

Cajun Spiced Shrimp on a Rosemary Skewer
Honey Dew Melon
Barbecue and Midori Sauces
Try this Midori Sauce with Shrimp or Fruit!
Whisk together 1 c. sour cream, 2 T. heavy cream, 1/4 c. honey, 2 T. Midori (melon) liqueur.
from In the Kennedy Kitchen

Noramae’s Velvety and Complex Cauliflower Soup

Gail’s Elegant Caesar Salad

Anchovy Rosette

Lauren’s Palate Cleanser
Rose Petal and Lemon Sorbet
(rose petals, sugar, vanilla, lemon juice and zest)
Served in rose petals on a lemon frozen cap
Basil leaf garnish

Pat’s Perfect Ratatouille



Lauren’s Beef and Beet Wellingtons
with Faux Pearl Design



French Champagne, Wines and Perrier
All the roses were from my garden.

Sally and Yvonne’s Gorgeous Poached Pears

Poached Pears
Port and Red Wines
Black Peppercorns
Lemon Peel
Vanilla Bean
Bay Leaves
Honey
Mint Garnish

Jackie Photos and Memorabilia

“The life of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis was her art, a finely wrought miniature that history enlarged and then tempered and finally veiled in privacy. As a Bouvier she inherited a tradition of elegance that became her way of life and her fortress in misfortune. She had a gift of grace, an innate sense of right proportion that shaped her values and her choices. Everything she did was done with style, a style that was shaped by her mind and her heart. She was civilized and civilizing; whatever she touched, she refined.”  Hugh Sidey
We’ve Just Returned From Paris!

A few days after the Jackie dinner we left for Paris to celebrate my sister-in-law’s 40th birthday. Joyeux Anniversaire Kristy! We were walking to the Musée du Vin (Wine Museum) located in the former cellars of the 15th Century Passy Abbey, just up the street from Avenue du Président Kennedy. So of course I had to include this photo in my Tribute to Jackie post. And I cannot wait to share our heavenly “Parisian Gastronomic Experience” with you. Please come visit Taste With The Eyes again soon for a Taste of Paris!

40 thoughts on “Dinner Party: A Tribute To Jackie O”

  1. Love the faux pearl design on the beef wellington. The whole meal looks phenomenal, right down to the floral arrangements.

  2. So many things to adore on this post, rose bouquet, tabletops, great menu, and PARIIIS!?
    Life is good, isn’t? 🙂

  3. I love themed dinners. It’s always fun. All the food looks elegant as well as the place-settings and decor.

    The picture of Wilson with the hat. Too cute! Looks good on him. =)

  4. Lori you are the quintessential host! All your dinner parties are so elegant and crave worthy! Paris??!! How wonderful.. and spring time no less! 🙂 🙂
    I love the individual wellingtons, and the ratatouille does look perfect!

  5. I am left speechless, as always, by everything you create. What a great party! My favorite photo this time is that of Wilson: totally adorable with the hat.

  6. Wow that dinner party looks fantastic – so much work but so much fun – I love the sound of the beet wellingtons – and the pill box hats look so creative – thanks for a bit of armchair dinner party!

  7. That is one absolutely gorgeous theme party. Wilson is so freaking adorable! I gotta confess, I don’t even look twice at cookbooks that are related to non-food people (er, Oprah), but everything does look fabulous! I may need to check them out now 🙂

  8. A fabulous party! I love your gorgeous table setting, I love the dishes, and I love your hats! I’m sure you had a wonderful time together! 🙂

  9. What a beautiful table setting, the food is truly ‘eye candy’! I remember how we all wanted to emulate Jackie, the lady had style.

  10. WHat a wonderful. Everything looks perfect! Love the table settings and selection of food! Beautiful.

  11. LL,
    You ladies are having way tooooo much fun at these theme parties!
    That ratatouille tian is beautiful, as is everything!
    Can’t wait to go to Paris in September!

  12. Very fashionable food, and quite a feast, too! Was hoping you’d post shots of the pillbox hats – they’re due for a comeback!

  13. LL, You are fabulous! Just look at the detail’s that went into this dinner, right down to the pill box hats! The food, the table, everything looks perfect, even little Wilson, so cute! Then to top everything off, you trekked out to Paris!!

  14. You couldn’t have chosen a more elegant theme than Jackie O. I love the detail you all went to and am so impressed that you can pull together enough foodies to actually enjoy it. And then jet set off to Paris. Who can even keep up with you!!!! Amazing.

  15. This is one drop-dead gorgeous post. I can smell the roses – always a good thing. I just may swipe your entire menu. Lovely Jackie would b pleased.

  16. You’ve done Jackie proud – unbelievable elegance from decorations to the food dishes.
    What a wonderful treat to celebrate your sis-in-laws b’day in Paris.

  17. I really enjoyed this post, Lori Lynn. I didn’t get a chance to leave a comment when I first saw it. What a blast!
    xox

  18. oh my god, everything looks out of the world! that sorbet in rose petal looks So exotic and beautiful…actually, everything looks so good, my head is spinning!
    jackie must have been beaming up there to see all of you enjoying yourselves like that!

  19. What a fabulous post, Lori Lynn. I absolutely love your blog. I will definitely be visiting often. Thanks for your sweet comments over at my blog, too. What a dinner party this must have been! And that menu sounds divine!

  20. You really know how to entertain… but I must say, Wilson in the pill box hat was the sweetest! And those flowers, just divine! You are so talented, and your friends are lucky to have you.
    ~Abby

  21. Wow, what a fun party LL. Such a great idea, and everyone had a chance to make their own food too. They look really delicious. YOur friends are fabulous looking!

  22. What a wonderful dinner you had and I’m sure you had a wonderful trip. Looking forward to reading more about it.

    LOL1 Wilson got a pill box hat, too? So cute. I’m sure he enjoyed a treat, too. Right? 😉

    Love all the photos. Welcome back home.

    Paz

  23. What a great idea for a party! I love the dishes that the shrimp appetizer was in.

  24. I am absolutely in awe of your beautiful blog and incredible photographs…

    I am also in awe of your gorgeous tribute to Jackie! Beautiful beyond words!

  25. What an incredible setup! I can’t imagine anything more chic and elegant. Beautifully done from top to bottom.

  26. Beautiful.
    Wilson looks like he has a headache with that pill box on his head. What a cutie.

  27. Oh My God , 15 years ??? Times runs so fast
    What a wonderful idea,so fancy and stylish , I love it.

  28. What a wonderfully stylish gathering!
    Adore pillbox hats – wore one for my wedding…of course, I can’t compete with dear Wilson. : )

  29. Wow, Lori Lynn, yet again, you amaze! I thought I did theme parties, but this is F.A.B.U.L.O.U.S!!! Can you share the recipe for the rose petal and lemon sorbet? I have rood quality dried rose buds (bought from a tea shop) and have been thinking about making a sorbet with them. This sounds perfect.

    – Zahavah

  30. Wow, wow, wow! You all look so gorgeous in your pill-box hats (as does Wilson), the food, the table, the beautiful flowers—what you did there is just amazing. What a spectacular tribute to our beloved Jackie. I salute you!

    And how interesting about President Kennedy Avenue in Paris; I had no idea.

  31. You haven't done a tribute dinner in awhile and Jackie O is a fitting suject for a dinner.

    The menu card is a who's who of food and the setting, dishes are all A-one as per usual.

    Do we get a Black Jack Bouvier dinner? lol

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