Grazing Tray

Haven't made a grazing tray since New Year's Eve. Grape tomatoes. Shrimp with cocktail sauce. Grapes. Pepperoni, cheddar cheese, and crackers. Apples. The blueberry tart was for dessert and, thus, not on the tray. It was mostly a great success although I will say the grape tomatoes, although very good, just didn't work with the other stuff. The grapes were a bit to ripe. 

Chili with Stew Meat

We had Warren and Gary over for dinner last night. Dale made chili but we tried it with beef stew meat rather than ground turkey.  The night before he dredged the meat in flour and lightly fried it off. He then assembled the chili, let it cook on low for about an hour, and then refrigerated  it overnight. A couple of hours before our guests arrived we put it back on the stovetop over a low heat. The result was spectacular!

We had some Gorgonzola cheese with sliced pears and crackers planned for an appetizer. It was all set out and ready to go just after our guests arrived. Our mistake was leaving it unattended in the living room while we went to grab our drinks in the kitchen. Athena ate half of the substantially sized wedge of cheese. Naughty girl (although you gotta give her a little credit for knowing to go for the good stuff!).

Pumpkin pie and whipped cream for dessert. Yum.