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Updated Jan 25th,
2007
‘Empty House Party’
Kicks Off
Showcase
House Season
 Cassy and Kirk Aoyagi, the husband-and-wife owners of C&K
Landscape Design, were among the dozens of designers/decorators
at Descanso Gardens’ Boddy House for last Friday
evening’s Showcase House “Empty House Party.”
By SUE STAUFFER
LCF Outlook
The Empty House Party for
the 43rd annual Pasadena
Showcase of Design was attended
by approximately 600 people
on Friday, Jan. 19. This year’s
Showcase House is the historic
Boddy House, an elegant twostory,
22-room, Hollywood
Regency-style mansion located
on the grounds of magnificent
Descanso Gardens. The house
was built in 1938 for E.
Manchester Boddy and his wife
Bernice by Beverly Hills designer
J.E. Dolena. Boddy was the
publisher of the Los Angeles
Daily News and the founder of
what is now Descanso Gardens.
The evening featured presentations
of designs by 21 interior
designers and seven exterior
designers who will transform
this elegant old estate and gardens
into a work of art for the
public to view April 22 through
May 20.
Kitchen for Exploring
Foods catered the elegant buffet
supper in three different food
stations. The passed appetizers
were grilled croquet Gruyere
sandwiches with pear and fig
compote, lemon potato pancakes
with avocado butter, crab
cakes, and Belgian endive
stuffed with Buratta cheese. At
the first food station, guests
enjoyed shrimp and Dungeness
crab cocktail in martini glasses.
At the next food station, a variety of grilled statays were available.
Julia’s beef bourguignonne served
over mashed potatoes with crispy
onions tempted the palate at the
third food station. At the soup station,
corn chowder and French
onion soup warmed the tummy and
at te fifth food station a salad of
French greens, toasted walnut
vinaigrette, pomegranate seeds,
pears and figs was served with a
variety of French cheese. The
dessert station hit the mark with ice
cream bon bons served in a large
silver bowl and strawberries
Romanoff served in tumblers.
Gourmet coffe with chocolate bits,
whipped cream and cinnamon sugars
finished the feast.
Proceeds from the Pasadena
Showcase House of Design are
used to support the programs of the
Pasadena Showcase House for the
Arts, including Los Angeles
Philharmonic; Walt Disney Concert
Hall; local symphonic programs for
youth; the Music Mobile for third
grade students; the Youth Concert
for 200,000 fourth graders to attend
a performance by the Los Angeles
Philharmonic; and the instrumental
competition for young musicians
between the ages of 16 and 24 with
over $300,000 in prize money
awarded to date.
For more information, visit
www.PasadenaShowcase.org. |
