Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Holiday Extravaganza

Sorry guys (i.e., readership of 3), I've been suffering from blogblock.

Last Saturday, Mark and I had the best party we've ever hosted. Our friends are a lovely and diverse group that came together beautifully...many dressed to the nines:


The spread was fantastic:


I must say I was impressed by our efforts, if it wasn't just a wee little bit over the top. During the planning phase, I had to stop myself and say, "wait a minute, these people are my friends, they're just going to be glad to be with us." For a bit, I was thinking of it in a professional sense and that's a little silly as I work in education, not culinary arts...but I'm glad I aimed high, because we proved successful.

The menu was as follows:
Dips
Garlic Chutney Hummus (my usual hummus from VCon with garlic chutney from the Indian grocery)
Spinach Dip

Olive Tapenade
Ranch

Smoked salmon dip


herbed ricotta

fresh mozzarella
drunken goat cheese
montegrappa
Fontina D'Aosta


Soups
Curried Pumpkin Soup
Vegetarian Chili

Various soup toppings:
Shredded cheddar
Scallions
Sour cream
Cilantro
JalapeƱo

various dippers:

the usual suspects: Baguette, crackers, Parm spirals ,

Manchego crackers--these guys were my favorite


Small Bites

Prosciutto Cups with Pear


Spiced nuts
Acorn Squash & Black Bean Empanadas with Cilantro Soured Cream from Veganomicon--as it turns out, vegan sour cream=quite tasty

Desserts
Pistachio Rose-water Cookies
brie w. fig/apricot jam
Bourbon pecan truffles

Crunchy chocolate treats

As daunting as that list might lead you to believe, it felt like the most effortless party we've ever given...most everything was made the night before, which was fun. Mark and I stayed up to 2 a.m. and got to catch up on our This American Life podcasts. David Sedaris does the best Billie Holiday. I wish he was pocket-sized.

Needless to say, it was a lovely night. Old friends
(Yay! Wal-Mart portrait hands)
mingled with new friends

and no one got too drunk...
not even our newly appointed alarm clock.