Holiday Entertaining

Last night we had our friends Warren and Gary over for dinner. Dale and I made lasagna and green beans amandine. For dessert I made a marble cake in my Nordic Ware yule log pan. Warren and Gary are also our neighbors and we found out that they are going to be moving soon. Thankfully not too far away.

Christmas Day 2011

Mom came over to our place on Christmas Day and we had Christmas dinner at about 5:00 p.m. We had turkey, stuffing, gravy, sweet potatoes, green beans amandine and dinner rolls. It was all very delicious. Dale did almost all the dinner prep although I did help baste the turkey. I also carved the turkey and Mom made the gravy. We had chocolate roulade for dessert. It was all very delicious.

Holiday Entertaining

Two couples that we know from the gym came over for dinner last night. Michelle, who teaches a spin class that Dale takes, and her husband Steve, along with Fred, who also takes the spin class, and his wife Linda arrived around 6:30. Appetizers included cheese, tapanade and crackers. Everyone drank wine except Steve and me who had Tanqueray gin martinis [Note to self: Steve loves Hendricks].

Dale made rigatoni and green beans amandine. Fred and Linda brought the most divine chocolate cake from Cafe Latte in St. Paul (see above photo).

It was a lovely group of people and a good time was had by all.

Chicken Pot Pie

Tonight called for comfort food and pot pie is just what the doctor ordered. For the pot pie we used the same recipe that's in the February 9, 2011 post but this time I added a little sage. Dale found a new recipe for green beans amandine that he made for a dinner party we hosted not too long ago. The recipe is from allrecipes.com and was submitted by Brenda DuFresne.

Green Beans Amandine

Ingredients:

1 pound fresh or frozen green beans, cut into 2 inch pieces

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup slivered almonds

2 tablespoons butter or margarine

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

In a saucepan, bring beans and water to a boil; reduce heat to medium. Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes or until the beans are crisp-tender; drain and set aside. In a large skillet, cook almonds in butter over low heat. Stir in lemon juice and seasoned salt if desired. Add beans and heat through.

Everything was very delicious and also very comforting.

Dinner with Lisa, Janine, Gus, Kathy and Kathleen

Last night Dale and I had over our friends Lisa and Janine and their son Gus. Also joining us were our friends Kathy and Kathleen. Dale made baked rigatoni and green beans amandine. Lisa and Janine brought over a salad and Kathy and Kathleen brought dessert. I served as drink mixmaster. We pulled out the leaf on the table for the first time since probably last December. Dale pointed out this morning that the table looks very inviting. I agree.