KITCHEN TALK: Dinner Parties

Saturday night we had some old friends over for dinner for a belated New Year's celebration since we weren't home for the regular festivities. There's nothing better than chatting with good friends, drinking some good wine and eating a great meal. Toot toot. That's me tooting my own horn. ;)

If you haven't tried my Balsamic Asparagus with Parmesan you have to. Right now! It was delish along with the baked potatoes (with the prerequisite sour cream) and steaks from a very tasty bovine (thanks to one of my BIL's who buys them from a supplier that supplies our local steakhouses. There is a definite difference in quality. They were sublime!). For dessert we had lemon meringue pie (the lemon filling was out of a box - I'm not a total food snob and will on occasion use mixes etc!) and Bavarian Apple Torte. The Bavarian Apple Torte combines apples (duh!), cinnamon, a thin layer of raspberry jam and a shortbread crust. Check it out here on the blog. Needless to say there is no more of the leftover dessert left in my house. :)

In the past I always thought of dinner parties as more of a hassle and stressor for me but as I get older I'm not as hung up on all the fancy little details. As long as there's good conversation, the kids are having a great time together, there's wine a'flowin' and good food ... it's all good. :)