The Dinner Party

It all started out rather ominously: My boyfriend announced that hands-down the best meal he'd EVER had was at a friend's house; cooked by his friend's girlfriend. I consider myself a decent cook and to be thrown a wrench of this kind so deep into our relationship, well, I couldn't take it for anything less than a CHALLENGE.

I prepared weeks in advance. Details down to the wine selection and the dessert presentation were reworked over and over. The weekend before the fateful dinner party my boyfriend caught the flu. Instead of canceling the event, we continued as planned. He spent the weekend in bed. I did all the shopping, prepping, cooking, cleaning and serving. The meal went off without a hitch and was fabulous (if I must say so myself.) Would I ever do it again? Not in a million years! And I told him so.

About a year later I finally agreed to host dinner again for our foodie friends. This time my goal was to prepare everything in advance. The baklava was stacked and baked on Saturday, the falafal and quinoa cakes were prepared on Sunday morning. The tanjine was made in the new slow-cooker 8 hours before dinner.

Following another successful meal, my boyfriend remarked that dinner parties are even more fun than holiday parties, only with less work.

Sometimes I'm not really sure which planet boys come from, but it can't be earth. I think next time we host a dinner I should arrange to be out of town unexpectedly.

Menu

• cheese and crackers
  
• olives and zaatar spice
  
• gin and orange cocktail
  
  appetizers
  
  
• spinach falafal with beet and yogurt sauce on lavash
  
• salad greens with lemony vinaigrette
  and grilled haloumi cheese with lemon and fresh mint
  
• Sauvignon Blanc
  
  mains
  
  
• Moroccan spiced chicken tagine with preserved lemon and olives
  
• Potato tagine with preserved lemon and olives
  
• Sauvignon Blanc
  
  sides
  
  
• toasted almond quinoa cakes
  topped with harissa and sundried tomato
  
  dessert
  
  
• almond walnut baklava with lemon sherbert
  
• Moroccan mint tea
  
• Moscato
  

~flutterbyblue