Time
for another one of our Wine Tasting Parties!
Well, in reality, other than casual conversation about who brought which
bottles of wine, these gatherings have really turned into dinner parties preceded
by wine and accompanied by more wine…
Our
kitchen counter was set up with a couple bottles of red wine to get us started, white wine will go into the big plastic ice bucket, as well as wine glasses for both red and white wines.
The
table was set and the Amish butter was in place. Our group consists of only 5 couples and one
couple was out of town so this was definitely a small intimate gathering.
Larry,
(aka Big Dude at http://bigdudesramblings.blogspot.com)
and his better half Beverly brought a Gruyere based fondue and a platter of
bread squares, vegetables and fruit for dipping. I ate way too much fondue that’s for
sure! The deviled eggs further up the
counter are my wife Laurie’s specialty… Of course I had to have Tabasco to
sprinkle on the eggs…
Jill
and Paul brought this gorgeous fresh spinach and beet salad with goat cheese
and walnuts. It was a real hit!
Our entrée
was an Irish Beef Stew. It was something
totally new for us to make. We worked
together prepping the meat and vegetables, cooking it slowly the day before our
party. When we doubled the recipe, we
probably added a bit more water/liquids than we needed so we did have to add
some instant potatoes to the mix to thicken it up a bit. The finished product was well received by our
little group!
We basically
followed this recipe from simplyrecipes.com.
One of the keys to the flavor of the finished product was the addition
of Guinness Extra Stout. (http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/irish_beef_stew/print/)
I took
this photo of our group of party animals… In the photo from the left are Larry
(Big Dude), Beverly, Jill, Paul, Dick, Susan and Laurie. Note the nice crusty bread with Amish butter
that accompanied and complemented the Irish stew. The bread was purchased at Fresh Market, a
great source for fresh bread and rolls.
Following
dinner, we all sat around and discussed life, world affairs, future travels and
a plethora of other topics.
Then it
was time for dessert!
Susan
and Dick brought this over-the-top luscious and decadent dessert. She got the recipe from Martha…Irv’s better
half from our absent couple.
I
forgot to take a photo of this cake-like creation while it was still in one
piece. Fortunately, we had a leftover
slice to take a picture of… This dessert had a lady finger crust and featured a
mousse-like cream cheese/cheesecake filling.
It was amazing! I was completely
guilt ridden after eating a slab of it…
Just
click on any of the photos to enlarge them…
Thanks for
stopping by for a visit!
Take
Care, Big Daddy Dave
Good food and good people make for a fine evening.
ReplyDeleteLook amazing and delicious David. I love yours tasting parties!
ReplyDeleteLove your kitchen too!
I enjoyed looking the pics ! xoxo
I would hop on the plane just to have that luscious dessert! What a swell party David!
ReplyDeleteGood evening Dave, I had to pop over and visit, when I saw your name was Dave, as that was my father's name.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely way to spend an evening sharing a table of food with friends.
We love fondue in this house. I remember my first fondue was when we visited Germany. When I saw the small pieces of meat and bread I remember thinking that this would not be a very filling meal. How naive was I, because it was very filling.
Best Wishes.
Daphne
It looks like a wonderful time, Dave! Lovely photos, thank you so much for sharing!
ReplyDelete