what if [#2]: i could hold my ideal dinner party featuring 3 guests, 1 menu & 1 band.

I loved reading all your responses to last week's 'What If...' post that saw me ponder an extravagant tour of the world. Each week I'll be mentioning my favourite comment that contained my reader's very own thoughts on the title. I think one of my favourites last week was Lizzie's little imaginary journey. She said that she'd 'choose the pyramids in Egypt, a trip to Venice, New York as (she's) never been.....'. She also said she'd love to do a 'mini UK tour' embracing 'Northern Ireland, some of the islands off the coast of Scotland and the pretty British countryside'. I certainly LOVE travelling in the UK. There's so many stunning places!

This week's 'what if' stems from a favoured dinner table conversation in the Vivatramp household. Our dinnertime is spent discussing various possibilities such as this one so I thought I'd discuss it here. This was an incredibly difficult scenario to digest. There's just so many people you forget and then query why you didn't include them! Therefore, I decided to keep it relatively simple! I'm allowed 3 guests,  1 menu of my choice and 1 band at my imaginary dinner party. The guests are allowed to be either dead or alive. Lets get started!

3 dinner party guests;

Oh my, this was quite complex! I was going to offer up more than just three but I realised less is more ;) I wanted to ensure that each individual guest brought something new to the table - excuse the pun. This would ensure that the conversation would be fresh, interesting and flowing throughout the evening. Okay, lets introduce the guests! My first guest is the intellectually sound Stephen Fry. His thirst for knowledge and impeccable ability to out-wit many really inspires me and I'm also rather envious of all the things he's managaed to accompolish throughout his life. He'd be able to engage in conversation about a range of different things from travel to language to history so I think he's the perfect candidate! My second guest? One of my favourite writers, Sylvia Plath. I'm not sure if any of you know but I absolutely adore literature, writing and anything that involves language so it'd be strange for me to not have a writer at my dinner party. She's such an inspiration to me. She really told it like it was and wasn't afraid to challenge perceptions. I think that's unbelievably admirable. If only she wasn't unhappy enough to take her own life. A great shame. One of my favourite Plath quotes is:

'I can never read all the books I want; I can never be all the people I want and live all the lives I want. I can never train myself in all the skills I want. And why do I want? I want to live and feel all the shades, tones and variations of mental and physical experience possible in life. And I am horribly limited' 

 
My third guest? I've been interested in eating food for 18 years now so it'd be silly of me to not invite one of my favourite cooks along. I've noted my love for Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall on many occasions so you're probably aware of how much I adore his passion for all things edible. I really love just how much he advocates traditional homecooked food and the campaigns he fights for in order to change the public's way of thinking.It'd be really interesting to get to discuss things with the man himself and perhaps debate a little.

the menu;

My ideal menu would be a plentiful, eclectic and bloody gorgeous feast of different cuisines. I wouldn't want to follow too much of a theme because I think it'd be fun to have my guests enjoy various textures and tastes. I'm a big foodie and appreciate lots of different things so I think the menu reflects me and my personality perfectly!

Starter: A plethora of different soups with slices of warm homemade bread. 

Last year, I really struggled with my weight and eating but I dragged myself through it by ensuring that I ate a whole lot of soup! I think it's so under rated. I think people see it as a poor man's staple but you can honestly make some gorgeous soups that out-shine most other typical starters. Having said that, some of my favourite soups are bog standard favourites like Butternut Squash, Leek and Tomato. Soups are also the perfect cure for unhappy thoughts and can certainly put a smile on faces even in the toughest of times!  

Main: A feast of different dishes, cuisines and tastes from around the world.

I'd have a massive banquet featuring all of my favourite dishes. I adore 'tea time' food so I think the best way to illustrate that is to offer up an eclectic mix for my guests to enjoy. I'd lay on some traditional English food with plenty of roast meats, bowls of roast parsnips/potatoes, yorkie puds and fresh vegetables. I'm also the sort of person that likes lashings of gravy over my roast so  there would have to be bucket loads on offer! I'm absolutely mad for Chinese food. I honestly think I crave it on a daily basis so it'd definitely have to play a part in my ideal dinner party. I'd lay on chow meins, sweet and sour dishes, prawn toast, spare ribs, egg fried rice, oriental curries,  crispy duck pancakes, spring rolls, crispy chilli beef, chicken satays amongst other favourites I've forgotten. Corr blimey! What I wouldn't give for a Chinese feast right now ;) From China onto Italy, no dinner party of mine would be complete without some carb full Italian dishes. I'd offer pasta in a tomatoey sauce, a creamy salmon tagiatelle, chicken leek and bacon pasta, hoisin duck pasta and a traditional bolognese. Obviously, there'd be plenty of garlic bread on offer to accompany these delights! Oh god, I think I'm going to stop there before this gets even more like food porn ;) Haha! (Big apologies to all the people that just got diverted here because I used the P word...it's probably not quite what you were looking for, huh?!). 

Dessert: A trio of desserts: A rich indulgent chocolate dream, warm Apple Pie with cream and a Strawberry Shortbread flavoured cheesecake. Nice and fattening.

Traditionally, when I'm taken out for dinner (rarely happens!) I opt for the most rich indulgent chocolate dessert there is so it'd be a crime for Hot Chocolate Fudge Cake to not appear on my menu! I don't understand people that say it's 'too sickly'. Isn't that the indulgent beauty of it? It makes you feel like you're in heaven, haha. My second option would be a traditional apple pie. It reminds me of home, family and warmth. You can't really go wrong with it to be honest! Although, I guess it can be quite heavy which would probably be a nightmare after the gigantic main course! This is why I added my third option of Strawberry Shortbread Cheesecake! It's a lot lighter than the other two desserts which is a bonus I guess. I think there's something so pleasing about cheesecake too. It doesn't really feel naughty! 

1 band: The Cure

As a big music fan, it was extremely difficult to pick just one band! I thought I'd opt for one of my favourite all time bands 'The Cure'. If you were just going on the photos you'd think that they were horrifically gothic and heavy. However, this is not the case. They actually produce some of the most beautiful melodic music I've ever heard.  What I find most inspirational about their songs is that there is just so many different levels and sounds that come together to make such a powerful sound. Shitty 'hip' acts today should bloody take note! My music taste is unbelievably eclectic but I think that's the beauty of it all. Music responds to your feelings, takes note of them, attempts to therapise and in turn makes you feel a whole lot better. It's definitely one of my favourite releases.

It's now over to you....Who would you invite? What do you think of my choices? I loved reading all your comments on last weeks post. It gave me a lot more inspiration for future travels! I'll mention my favourite response at the start of next weeks 'What If' post so get thinking ;) P.S There's only a couple of days left on my ebay items so why not go check them out HERE!