dundalk dinner party

it's wonderful to have friends and it's equally wonderful to be able to have them over and cook for them. i've always loved cooking but, in the past three years or so, i've found it difficult to actually place myself in the kitchen and prepare a decent meal that didn't constitute microwaving leftovers or thrusting frozen dinners into the oven. my previous domicile had two very anal-retentive occupants who, when i cooked and then cleaned, rolled up behind me to clean again, though i have no doubt in my prowess with a soapy sponge. however ... they apparently did.

now that i have my own place i find that it is much easier to create the mess and clean it up after with the knowledge that my practices will not be scrutinized later. thus, the dinner party begins.

last night i hosted an informal blogger convention/dinner party amid unpacked boxes and the smell of new carpeting. the guests of honor included: mrs.twink, the mr., jamie and theresa, 4 people who i adore and am very happy to know. well, except theresa because she dropped key lime tart on my carpet, but i digress.

my guests all arrived bearing gifts, each with a bottle of wine and mrs.twink and the mr. bringing along mini-tarts for desert as well as some amazing artichoke hummus that mrs.twink made from scratch. impressive and quite delicious.i decided to bake a lasagna and, mind you, it's been about 7 years since i've actually made a lasagna so i feared that my skills might be a little rusty, however, i found a great spinach lasagna recipe online at theveggietable.com. spinach lasagna? you may ask ... yes ... you see, mrs.twink is a born-again vegetarian and i felt that it would be far simpler to make everything vegetarian than to single her out and make her eat ruffage while the rest of us enjoyed juicy and meaty steaks. so, for a starter, i created a cool summer asparagus salad (i know it's not summer, but i love asparagus and i love salad thus, i love asparagus salad) with the lasagna playing center stage. i won't lie ... i had a fair amount of trepidation regarding the outcome of the meal, but i am certainly pleased with the results.

the salad was nice and cool with a light, citrus flavoring and the tang of kalamata olives topped off with a hint of mint. (ooh, i rhymed!) however, i feel that i had put too much onion in, though i followed the recipe exactly, except i forgot to crumble goat cheese over the top! oh, i was so angry. that's the part i was looking forward to the most even if it was only an optional ingredient.

the lasagna, made with a four cheese alfredo sauce instead of the traditional marinara, had quite a bit of flavor and wasn't as heavy as many lasagnas tend to be. though the recipe didn't call for it, i added several cloves of garlic as, in my opinion, garlic has a place in virtually any meal, especially italian fare. everyone, save mrs.twink and her amazing figure, had second helpings of each. damn her and her skinniness. i just think she didn't like it.

throughout the course of the night and the meal, we managed to drain the 3 bottles of white wine, though the types fail to come to mind at the moment. i do remember the riesling, as we saved it for last as more of a deserty wine to have with/after the mini tarts.

after dinner we lounged and chatted, mrs.twink and the mr. snapped some photos, though i felt completely gross after working all day and then slaving in the kitchen, so i wasn't very cooperative where the photos are concerned. the mr. and i bonded a few times ... i believe there is photo evidence of that and i would appreciate copies of those, thank-you-very-much-mrs.twink!

all in all, i think the evening went well and i can't speak for everyone, but i had a great time and i am sincerely glad that they came over to see my new place and to spend some time with me. i haven't seen mrs.twink, the mr. or theresa in quite some time, so i was super excited to see them. thank you guys and gals so much for making my night so enjoyable. i [heart] you guys!

an additional thank you to jamie for sticking around and helping with the dishes even after i assured him that i wasn't too worried and i would take care of it. finally, i gave in and he helped me clean up. so, thank you very much, jamie-poo!

side note:
i will be having a housewarming party at some point once i get all my boxes out of the way, so have no fear.

also, i managed to get my xbox360 working last night, though i don't know for how long, but at least i am able to get some use out of it before i send it off to the nazi-corporation, microsoft.

edit: comments and jokes last night were just that ... jokes. hopefully people know me enough by now not to take shit i say seriously. however, though it goes against every conceivable evil bone in my body, i apologize if i offended unintentionally. ooh, apologizing hurts.