Pizza Party Poolside

[Richie]

We are having a pizza party for 40 people on May 12th. Does anyone have pictures of how they have snazzed up their yards/pools/kitchens for such an event? We're going for an Italian Trattoria look in the backyard.

Maybe we need a new Sub-Heading devoted to this topic???

We'll take pics to get it started.

thanks

[arevalo53anos]

Richie:

There are no pictures but a lot of tips in 'Pizza party for 35 persons...'.
Do search in this site.

Luis

[james]

Use lots of terracotta. Geraniums in pots, lemon trees in pots, azaleas, olive trees, roses, etc. There are also some very nice Tuscan motif cotton tableclothes that might look nice. In a pinch, you could use Provence cotton -- it's close. They are decorated with olive branches, lemons, olives, etc.

What about wrought iron candle holders?

Nice glass bottles for olive oil with cork pourers? Definitely use the good stuff.

Balsamic vinegar in glass bottles for dressing salads? Get the good stuff -- 1+ year old. :-)

Chianti Classico and Vernaccia di San Gimignano.

Good luck. I'm looking forward to hearing more.
James

[james]

These are a little over the top, but here are a couple of photos from the Boboli Gardens at the Pitti Palace in Florence. Serious terracotta pottery.

Of course, their limonaia (the greenhouse) is about three times bigger than our house.
James

[DrakeRemoray]

When we have a big outdoor party, I string white small christmas lights from a second story window out to the fence in sort of a fan pattern. I plug them all in inside upstairs and connect them to a board that is wider than the window. Then I drop them out the window and attach them to the fence using cup hooks screwed into the wooden fence. Then I go back upstairs and make the wires tight and attach them to eye hooks on that board. The tension holds the board against the window. No pictures, but a great effect...
Drake

[Richie]

We donated a party to an auction, 15 couples paid $125 a piece, went to local school where the kids go. Seven couples helped us fund it and put the party on.

We went through 50 pies, everyone built their own then we added desert pizzas at the end. Here are a few pics from the night:

[Richie]

Sorry, I had to post more, it was a great party!

[RTflorida]

WOW! 50 pizzas in one night??? What an incredible undertaking. Just the preperation is mind blowing; then you have working the oven, heat management, etc.
I'm very curious as to the heat management aspect. how did the oven perform? How long did the whole cooking process take? How many "extra" logs were thrown in over the course of the evening? I'm sure I have more to ask....still amazed by the 50. GREAT WORK!!!

Sorry for all of the questions, my wife is planning on a party in a few weeks. Will probably involve 20-25 pizzas.....I gotta say, I'm a bit worried. so far I've only done 5 in one evening; just getting a good 'feel' for my oven. Any tips on pulling it off are greatly appreciated.

RT

[DrakeRemoray]

Looks great. You used the Christmas lights I see ...Nice under cover patio setup you have there!

How did you mix enough dough? Ready to spring for the big mixer yet?

Drake

[Richard]

With everyone making thr own pies did you have problems with pies sticking to peels? my experience with only making a few at a time, is even when peel floured if people take too long in deciding what to put on, expecially aftre adding the sauce, pies then to stick and make a mess in oven.

Would really like to know how you solved this