Events such as engagement parties, bridal showers and parties for babies come in waves. For me, it has been a few years since I had an engagement party to go to. I did have one this past weekend for my cousin, who will be getting married in the fall.

It really was a magical party. It was at her parents  (my cousin’s) home in Toronto. They have a home that really is an entertainers dream. In fact, my cousin hosted her sisters wedding there a few summers ago and turned the house into the perfect backyard oasis for a summer outdoor wedding under the stars. The engagement party was much the same.

It started when you arrive at the home. You were greeted by a team from a valet car service. Thank you very much, yes, you can park my car.

We walked up to the home and through the front door, and we were greeted by my cousin. We continued through the front foyer and out into the backyard. It was really an oasis in the city. The large balcony was tented, the bar and the band were there, with cocktail tables and high stools.

I know that my cousin and their family are foodies so, as a foodie myself, I was looking forward to see what kinds of foods were going to be served at the event. Let me tell you, this did NOT disappoint! The catering company they used was Toben Food by Design and that they were.

I didn’t have a chance to take photos of all the passed appetizers, but I can tell you that the sliders were out fantastic. If I had to guess, I would say there were about 10 different appetizers being passed by the serving team.  I cannot possibly remember everything that was there, but here are a few examples.  There were Ahi tuna ‘cones’, Artisan flatbread with goat cheese and sun dried tomato, fish tacos and this out of this world black truffle mac and cheese. Towards the end of the appetizers, they brought out bowls of gnocchi in a braised beef ragu. It was out of this world amazing.

I decided to move my people watching (and food gazing) perch inside. There were available seats in the dining room, which really was where the magic was about to happen – DESSERT! 

The team started to set up platters of small individual desserts, which I really think is the way to go. Large full size cakes are hard to cut, and most people just want a taste of a few different things, so there is less waste.

There were Baby S’mores Tartlets, Mini Strawberry shortcakes (seen here above), Cheesecake lollipops which were displayed in a unique way – they were in shot glasses filled with white candy sprinkles which held up the pops in the glass.

 I cannot forget to mention that there were passed around desserts as well. The first one we saw were these little mini ice cream sandwiches. Followed by the piece de resistance warm cinnamon-sugar mini donuts, filled with fruit compote sitting on a bed of caramel sauce. I kid you not. It was a bite sized bit of dessert heaven. 

It was a wonderful night, and you can see how happy all the friends and family were to be celebrating the engagement. I wish I knew the name of the band, because they were fantastic. The lead singer was so hip and on point. They did these really creative mashups of current hits. When we left, many of the guests were still dancing the night away.

Here are a few more amazing desserts from this party:

Mini Mojito Tartlets – Graham Cracker Crust, Key Lime Filling, Rum, Fresh Mint, Sea Salt