Call me weird, but I have more fun staying in and cooking rather than going out...
Especially if it involves good friends, and even better yet if those said friends enjoy the cooking and partaking as well. Such was the case last week, when we decided to avoid the "Amateur Night Out" (aka New Years Eve) by having a little dinner party.
The great part about a dinner party at home (or someone else's home,) is that you can do everything at your own pace, and choose your menu and wine, without restaurant limitations. I say dinner party rather loosely, because I don't want to infer that I did all the cooking and preparation. On contrary, my two lovely friends and I collaborated and collectively made a dinner that was fantastically better than any restaurant in town.
We started with wine and appe's, of course. The standout of the appetizers was the Carmelized Onion Dip from the November issue of Cooking Light.
Then we. got. serious.
Here we are working away at dinner. The men happily sat back, relaxed, sipped their adult beverages and watched us revel in all our foodie glory. My kitchen isn't large, but the three of us worked well, with the only mishap being a little spilled milk. (literally!)
I didn't catch a photo of all the dishes we made, but here are a couple.
A few scallops searing:
Salad of spring mix, Granny Smith apples, blackberries, shaved fennel and gorgonzola:
And my favorite of the evening...Roasted Cauliflower Augratin
Unfortunately, those are the only photos I took of our amazing meal. We also had, filet mignon, roasted red potatoes with a roasted garlic vinaigrette,and roasted brussel sprouts. Dessert was mocha chocolate lava cakes - which was served with port. Our evening can be summed up as decadent and rich! Not only rich in calories, but in having good times, with good friends and starting the New Year out right!
4 comments:
Mmmm. I completely agree with you. I did the same thing and had a spill as well. Mine was quite similar: a quart of homemade ice cream base. I'd been chilling it to churn when it fell out of the refrigerator and the plastic container cracked sending gooey milky custard everywhere. It was such a mess. Your meal looks amazing. I've been meaning to try that dip. I love caramelized onions.
The one question I do have is why your lovely Le Creuset seems to be sitting on top of the cabinets unused. :-( I hate to project feelings on cooking instraments but it looks so sad up there.
What a happy new year'e eve! I totally agree...I often prefer staying home and cooking to going out. :) That cauliflower au gratin looks amazing, where is the recipe from?
What a fun night! I love that au gratin, it's beautiful!
Kelly, the Le Creuset doesn't get much use, sadly. It is heart shaped (a wedding gift) and it's not the most practical when stirring/braising, etc.
Andrea, the cauliflower augratin is from the November issue of Cooking Light.
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