Pop-Up White Dinner in Brooklyn

One of my favorite things to experience during a New York City summer is one of the pop-up white dinners hosted by Handmade Events. When the tickets go on sale for these dinners, they sell out quickly, and with good reason–who wouldn’t want to attend a party with 5,000 beautiful people, decked out in white, in a dope location, and the very best vibes?

How does this whole pop-up dinner thing work?

You buy your ticket months in advance, without knowing the specific location where the dinner will be held (other than somewhere in Brooklyn). And then three hours before the event, they email everyone with the secret location. You put on your white, you pack up your picnic dinner and any table decorations you fancy, and you make your way to the dinner location.

Saturday night’s dinner was held at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal in Red Hook. The set-up was right on the water, which meant we had beautiful views of Lower Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty. And there’s nothing like seeing a sea of people, young and old, all different shades, decked out in white.

Jordan’s brother and his wife Jasmine joined in on the fun too, which made this favorite event of ours even better.We shared a lot of good food, including one of my favorite picnic dishes to make–an orzo salad with shrimp, feta, tomato, and fresh herbs. Scroll the bottom to see the full recipe.We talked. We laughed. We admired the tables with really beautiful decorations. I ran into a few friends I hadn’t seen in ages, including one old friend from college. Darryl “DMC” McDaniels (of the Run-DMC) was the surprise musical guest, and then a live DJ had the crowd dancing for the rest of the night.

Here are a few more pics of the good times…Sometimes I really can’t get over the fact that I get to call this city home.You can see that my sister-in-law reeeeally cracks me up.And apparently, when the music is good, we don’t know how to act.Saturday’s dinner will definitely go down as a highlight of the summer.I’m wearing this dress. And Jordan is wearing this shirt.

And here’s the recipe for that favorite salad of mine…

ORZO & SHRIMP SALADIngredients:

1 cup uncooked orzo pasta
¼ cup pitted kalamata olives, chopped
1 cup diced feta cheese
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1 small container of grape tomatoes, sliced in half
1 lb cooked shrimp (I salt and pepper mine and then pan sautéed in olive oil)
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
⅛ cup lemon juice (about the juice of 1 lemon)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook orzo until just tender; Drain and rinse with cold water.

When orzo is cool, transfer to a medium bowl and mix in olives, feta, basil, dill, shrimp, and tomato.

In a small bowl, whisk together oil and lemon juice. Pour over pasta, and mix well. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Chill before serving.