Weekend Company

Last weekend I had 2 company meals.  One was for friends and the other a family birthday meal.  To simplify things we barbecued hamburgers and I made Baked  Beans for both.  I also used the same recipe for hors d’oeuvres-  Bacon and olives on cocktail ryes.  The bacon was fried and crumbled then mixed with grated Swiss and chopped black olives.  It was mixed with a little mayo and baked.  The finished products were served on my entry table.

For the birthday dessert I made a Chocolate Apricot cake with Apricot roses.   The roses were made 2 days ahead.  Each sliced dried apricot was put between 2 pieces of waxed paper and rolled with a rolling pin until each was doubled in size.  Three apricots were used to make each rose.  They were then fastened with a toothpick.  

The rose decor decorated the chocolate cake which also had dried apricots soaked in Cognac mixed into the batter.