A Midsummer Night’s Green
A catered affair with a vegetarian flairStory by Amanda Hardin
Photos by Margaret Ellis and Amanda Hardin
Most people familiar with Margaret Ellis would tell you
that creating beautiful jewelry is what she does best. While
I’d certainly agree with them, I’d have to add
more to her credentials—she’s an expert at
throwing a gorgeous party, along with her husband Fred.
Beautiful people, adorned with beautiful jewelry, eating
from beautiful displays of food—an understatement
at best to describe the “Midsummer Night’s Green
Party” I was graciously invited to attend.
“Always invite a lot of friends, it makes for an
interesting party,” Ellis says, identifying one
of her basic entertaining philosophies. Moving from room
to room filled with people and conversation, it was more
than evident that another of her entertaining philosophies
was brilliantly being played out. “Don’t worry
about a place to seat each guest. Most people like to
stand around and mingle. Open up many rooms of your house
to keep the party from lingering in one room.”
As the guests arrived, Ellis escorted the ladies to a
room in the back of the house to what I describe as her
treasure drawer, where she keeps samples of her incredible,
hand-crafted jewelry. Ellis, not straying from her keen
sense of fashion, picked out pieces for each of us to
enjoy during the party.
Along with opening up her house, including her bedroom
to serve as a dressing room, Ellis likes to attract people
to each room with food and drink. As guests moved from
room to room, we were greeted with displays of creatively
arranged culinary masterpieces. For the party, Ellis called
on her favorite caterer and restaurateur friend, Arnold
Myint of PM, to provide our delicious menu.
Ellis, a long-time vegetarian, wanted to provide a full
menu of vegetarian dishes. She and long-time friend Myint
have worked together for many years, and she believes
in having a bond with her caterer that makes it possible
to use him again and again. Myint’s menu and Ellis’
theme worked together effortlessly, perhaps because of
their bond. If I had Myint’s talents with vegetarian
cuisine, I certainly wouldn’t have a problem ditching
my carnivorous habits, as tasty as this menu was. From
the adorable Chinese boxes filled with zesty green bean
and soy noodle salad in the living room to the peanut
sauce fondue in the den, guests were continuously moving
to sample Myint’s creations.
Bringing yet another talented friend into the mix, Ellis
enlisted the help of Elle Bobier of Elle’s Marche
des Fleurs to contribute what one could only describe
as living art. Bobier’s floral designs seemed to
coordinate perfectly with Myint’s displays, as if
to add the finishing touch.
A midsummer night this evening certainly was, if not the
traditional June 24 of Puck and Oberon. Along with the
warm weather of the season, Ellis also shared her passionate
hopes for a green community. One guest at the party, an
environmental economist who had just moved to the area
from Berkeley, Calif., complimented Nashville on its attention
to the importance of making our community a safer, cleaner
environment to live in, and even referred to East Nashville
as “little Berkeley.” I’m sure Ellis
was happy to accept the compliment, as she’s an
avid proponent of the green movement and wanted to incorporate
that as a key component of the evening.
The Ellis home’s screened-in porch was home to
yet more tasty treats, and the deck overlooking their
lusciously green backyard provided a resting spot for
the libations. Ellis chose to serve only organic wine
and sparkling wine for her earth-friendly party. Ellis,
a creature of habit, didn’t hesitate in heading
to her favorite wine shop, Village Wines. Owner Hoyt Hill
and Ellis have a long-standing friendship and business
relationship. "It was a natural choice to have him
select the wines for this party," says Ellis. "Hoyt's
a very green wine merchant. He specializes in European
wines, and many of them are biodynamic. The short answer
to 'what does that mean?' is that the vineyards are treated
like living entities, and cared for with love, so they
can be handed down to generations to come."
After Myint created the menu, Ellis presented it to Hill
for his organic selections. “He looked at the menu
and came up with a nice variety to go with the textures
and flavors of [Myint’s] food.” There was
a great sparkling Cremant de Bourgogne by Jean-Luc Joillot,
the crowd's favorite. Since it comes from the Burgundy
region it can’t be called a Champagne, but it’s
a great special occasion wine in its own right.
There were two other whites - a 2005 Alsace, Kuentz-Bas,
and a 2006 Rias Baixas, Valminor from Spain. Both of these
wines went beautifully with the food and were a nice change
from the chardonnays and pinot grigios usually poured
at parties. And since it was quite warm and the bar was
set up on the back deck, much more white than red was
consumed. The reds Hoyt selected were a 2005 Domaine du
Pegau Cotes du Rhone “Plume Blue,” and a 2005
Emilaine Cabernet Sauvignon "Natura."
As we enjoyed our wine, Myint plied with an endless amount
of passed appetizers. The final, and perhaps my favorite,
display was the dining room filled with delectable desserts—coconut
macaroons, chocolate-kissed fortune cookies and cardamom
spice cakes. We all enjoyed sharing our fortunes and of
course, our appreciation of Myint’s sweet-scape.
As the evening drew to a close, we returned our lovely
jewelry to its rightful home, thanked our hosts and took
a final look at our midsummer night’s celebration.
Aside from the elegant entertaining tips I took home from
Margaret Ellis, I left with a newfound appreciation of
fine vegetarian cuisine and our community’s dedication
to a greener environment.
In the words of our delightful hostess, "a good time
was had by all."
