August 31, 2007

Dinner with Friends

Last Saturday, a few friends and some of their friends came over for dinner. I chose two recipes from Ina Garten's Barefoot in Paris cookbook: Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic & Vegetable Tian (both of which I'd never made before).

I planned to have everything prepped when people got here, so that I could cook while they drank (Absolut New Orleans cocktails) and munched (roasted grapes w/cheese & crackers). But, that didn't happen. I had nothing ready when they arrived. And, I mean nothing. Luckily, I have wonderful friends who very willingly helped in the kitchen. In fact, they prepared most of the meal...making cocktails, destemming grapes, setting out cheeses & crackers, peeling garlic, slicing zucchini & tomatoes, layering three veggies artistically in a casserole (Nice work, Ashby). All I did was slice potatoes, cook the chicken, and arrange an arugula & mushroom salad. Oh, and bake two pies: Another blueberry pie like before and one with strawberries instead. Both delish, by the way. And, I have to give myself props for making the scrumptious garlicy gravy for the chicken.

So, after a couple of hours of cooking, dinner was served. Everyone seemed full, a little drunk, and pretty happy, albeit tired from having to cook their own dinners. *sigh*

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