Party, Party, Party!

Back in June we had a party for some of the work types at Steve's office. These were the invitations that I made. The wings of the dragonfly are glittery and the eyes are tiny rhinestones. The grass is made from green vellum and the cattails are a brown handmade paper. This is a pocket card so the written portion of the invitation slides out of the top.

I made a bunch of new recipes for this party, which I think is kind of daring. I have no idea why I did that but they all turned out pretty well. Of course there were menus and a wine/drink list that matched the invitations as only I am crazy enough to spend the time to do that but I like our guests to know what they are eating and drinking!

I hired a lady to clean our house the day of... and she never showed up! Or called! I called twice only to hear answering machines. I was big time peeved as I then had to spend an unexpected 3 hours cleaning which I could have done a couple of days before instead. It is a good thing that I had a lot of the food prepared the day before.

The Menu:
You can click on the blue items for the recipes!!
*Turkey Tenderloin Sandwiches
*Beef Tenderloin Sandwiches
(I had a caterer make the meat and supply the rolls, but I wish I would have just made it myself since I think it would have been better.)
*Chipolte Aioli (I'll post this recipe later- yum)
*Whole Grain Mustard Aioli (very good- several people asked for recipe which is originally served with roasted french fries)
*Warm Goat Cheese Toasts with Rosemary, Honey & Walnuts
*Caprese Skewers (great presentation & color and very yummy!)
*Crudite with Chive & Garlic Dip or Southwestern Dip
*Spinach & Artichoke Dip with Pita Chips (no one had any idea it was light! I used the whole pkg of spinach in the recipe)
*Fabulous Pesto Pasta Salad (although it was not 'fabulous' more like 'decent')
*Cheese platter featuring White Cheddar, Gouda, Chipolte Cheddar, Blue & Dill Havarti (there was also a sheep's milk cheese with black truffles that my mom gave me because she didn't like it. I never even got to try it but if they didn't like it I probably wouldn't...)
*Orange Chipolte Spiced Pecan Mix (I am going to use the leftovers (they are in the freezer) in cookies. They didn't go over really well. But I think the cookies could be pretty good and very different...)
Sweet Treats:
*Oreo Truffles (I got this recipe from my blogger buddy Mel...so easy, so good and so hard NOT to keep your fingers out of. Everyone was asking for the recipe.)
*Lemon Cranberry Shortbread (I will post the recipe on a different post- so light and refreshing! My mom had made these for my baby shower.)
*Pretzel Kisses (I blogged about this one already! Yummy! I got M&Ms to go with the invitation colors... crazy, I know!!)
*Rolo Pretzel Turtles
*Cool Peppermint Brownies
*Chinese Chews
*Honey Basil Cookies (people are afraid of these because of the ingredients but I love them and once they get over it they love them too! I'll post the recipe another time.)
*Caramel Sticks (kind of similar to Blondies)

Needless to say, we had food leftover! The desserts went into work with Steve the next morning where they were appreciated by everyone!! :)

The Drink Menu:
Root:1 2008 Sauvignon Blanc (Never got opened...)
Kung Fu Girl 2007 Riesling (This is outstanding! I am a red wine drinker but this was great!!)
Root:1 2007 Carmenere ('The devil's grape'- pretty good)
Beringer Founders' Estate 2007 Pinot Noir (Never got opened)
Old Vine Red Lot #49 (Another great wine. This was enjoyed late into the night...)
Sparkling Sangria (Very nice but I think I like red sangria better)
Beer: Anchor Steam, Spaten, Rolling Rock, Heineken, Miller Lite, Stella Artois, Goose Island Honker's Ale

We moved into our house in August 2008 and this party really pushed us to hang the art that was leaning against the walls and do the little projects that needed to get done (like buy a shower curtain for the guest room/basement bathroom, clean the silicone off the tub from when we took out the shower doors, etc.) which I am glad for! I don't know when it would have gotten done otherwise...

It turned out to be a great party. We didn't get to utilize the deck like I thought we would because it was a bit warm & humid but we hung out there late that night with a few stragglers. Fun, fun for everyone!