An A+ Dinner Party

I would consider myself somewhat of an "old soul," which is why I was chomping at the bit to attend an all couples 45 years + dinner party on July 3rd, instead of camping out on the lake with my sister and her 20 something friends. I guess it's partly because I enjoy a fine red wine to a luke warm keystone - shoot me.

And let me say, I am truly glad I opted for the dinner party, because while my sister and her friends huddle in our lake house during the pouring rain, I enjoyed an endless fountain of wine while stuffing my face with appetizers and good time. Success! Anyway...

My mom was in charge of bringing an appetizer to the dinner party, which obviously meant that she needed to bring two - That's just how Joan rolls. Also, please note that my mother takes her food as seriously as I do, and therefore you will never see her just bring cheese and crackers to a party - unless of course the cheese is homemade with imported goat's milk from Italy and the cracker's freshly baked.

For our first appetizer we made ricotta and orange marmalade covered chabatta. Please note - If you're Italian and bringing this appetizer to a party, don't pronounce it "Re-gut" as my mother does - people will not know what you are talking about and it may discourage the guests from trying this foreign unheard of cheese. Yes I'm speaking from personal experience. But I digress. This appetizer is great if you are looking for something delicious, customizable, and quick. For this recipe all you need is a long skinny baguette or chabatta bread, ricotta cheese, and a bottle of orange marmalade. First cut the bread into thin slices, add butter to a grill pan, and crisp the bread - a few minutes on each side. Wait for the bread to cool down, and then spread one side of the bread with ricotta, and top with a generous portion of marmalade. To simplify this recipe even more, you could purchase pre-toasted baguette crackers. Also, don't be afraid to improvise. My mom and I had some raspberry jam laying around for another recipe and we tried using that instead of the orange and it was equally as delicious - just have fun with it!

The next appetizer we made was Paula Dean's raspberry and walnut brie. Brie is another great app that allows for a lot of creative freedom. For instance, I love my brie with walnuts, brown sugar, and maple syrup. All you do for this recipe is start with some store bought puff pasty. Let the pastry thaw (takes about a half hour) and then cover with flour and roll out so it's slightly larger (maybe an inch longer each side). While the pastry is thawing, gently saute walnuts in some butter, and then let cool. Place a small wheel of brie in the center of the puff pastry (we cut off the top covering of the brie - but if you don't want to you don't have to), cover with raspberry jam, and top with the walnuts. Gather all of the edges of the brie together at the top, tie with kitchen twine, and then cook in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes. This should be served immediately - so only make it if you're going to a party close by! Otherwise check with the host before hand about using their over to cook the brie once you're there.

Once we arrived to the party, the appetizer's included the two that we brought, Moroccan chicken skewers, and sharp cheddar cheese with crackers. We enjoyed our appetizers with cocktails that included mojitos and cosmos. The host and hostess made sure to have a selection of different liquors, and along with having a signature drink, were offering to make guests whatever they wanted - my kind of party.

As we transitioned from apps to cocktail hour we were presented with grilled figs and fresh prusutto to wrap them with. Oh my god - straight party in my mouth.  I hope I can recreate this on my Forman grill because unfortunately grills at my 7th floor, deck-less apartment are frowned upon - something about being a fire hazard?

As a first course we indulged in a light salad with olive oil, topped with fresh Halibut straight off the grill. There was also a caprese salad being passed around.

The fish course was followed by grilled sirloin steaks, paired with orange roasted asparagus and fingerling potatoes.  The asparagus was most likely seasoned with salt and pepper, drizzled with olive oil, topped with orange slices, and baked in the oven at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. The fingerling potatoes were halved, lightly seasoned, and baked until tender.

As we dined we were serandaded by the soothing music of Adele and Van Morrison, and later danced the night away on their back patio to Billy Joel and Tom Petty. We also had a bevy of dessert to snack on, including homemade key lime pie, apple pie, and cheese cake.

Overall this party did not dissapoint. It was well organized, delicious, and everyone enjoyed themselves. Our hostess made sure to keep the party to a manageable 16 people, and had everything planned out to the minute so that she was able to relax and mingle until it was time to begin preparing the next course.