We are busy bees.

Work. Lots of work. School. So much school.

And this: a birthday dinner for one of my oldest friends that is easily our biggest undertaking to date. We are serving a 4-course dinner to 10 people tonight. We are sort of terrified, in a fun way.

We don't have enough dishes for 12 people to eat dinner (10 plus us). We don't have a big enough table for 12 people to sit at. So. There will be some concessions.

(Fancy) plastic plates.

Food on laps.

We're going for the "shabby chic" vibe. But whatever...these are med students and college students. I don't think they will be picky about how their foodie food is served to them.

The menu:

appetizers: Ben's delicious cheesy poofs, and grilled raddichio with mozzarella and prosciutto, served with parsnip and parmesan risotto.

salad: baby greens with candied pecans, blue cheese and pear.

dinner: pork roulade (sauteed kale and bacon) with redskin potatoes tossed in butter and green onion.

dessert: triple layer caramel-chocolate cake with vanilla and dulce de leche ice cream.

The party is BYO, so no wine pairings to speak of.

We have sort of planned this on the fly, and I commend us on two areas of that:

1. This is actually a relatively inexpensive meal. Yes, it's a lot of food, but it's amazing how one or two really pricey, gourmet ingredients will go a long way.

2. We actually have some cooking skills! These recipes are more or less pulled from our existing repertoire, amped up a little bit to make them "party-ready."

We are excited. Penny is excited too. She's been waiting for the guests all day:

Ben has started the cheesy poofs:

And the cake is almost done, I did the lion's share of that work this morning. Here it is, unfrosted but assembled:

And as a bonus, some of my valentines flowers are still looking good! A centerpiece for the cake table:

We'll be sure to report back on how well this gets pulled off! After pictures may or may not come, depending on the level of success :)

Filed in categories: food, home, life