The Party That Wasn't

Dear Potential Guest,

When invited to a gathering of friends, please make your attendance intentions clear. For example, don't say to your potential hostess, "Yeah, we'll stop by," if you have no intention of doing so. In addition, don't tell her several times you are planning to attend and then e-mail her work account (on Saturday) saying you don't think you'll make it after all. In that case, a phone call is definitely in order. Finally, don't discuss the upcoming party enthusiastically giving your potential hostess the impression you are attending if you are not. Remember, your hostess and her family could find better things to do with half of the weekend instead of cleaning the entire house (making sure to remove all traces of her beloved pets just in case you're allergic), not to mention planning, shopping for, and preparing interesting and tasty foods for the consumption of people who can't be bothered to show up.

Sincerely,

Your Hostess

As you can see, I'm a little annoyed this evening. Of the 45 invitations we issued to co-workers (with the potential of 90 people counting significant others), two people came to our party this evening - one of them alone (since she is steadfastly single) and the other with her partner. Thus there were three guests and two hosts to consume food and drink geared to about 25. (We know from experience that by inviting 45 people we will probably get around 15 actual takers who may or may not bring someone to the event.) For this reason Jeff and I have a love-hate relationship with parties. Sometimes they are extremely well attended (i.e. last spring's retirement party and last Christmas's martini party), but sometimes no one shows nor offers any explanation for the behavior. To make matters worse, this party wasn't even our idea. Several people (none of whom attended) said repeatedly that we should have a party to mingle with the new faculty members. Rationally, I don't think non-attendance is meant as a personal affront, but emotionally it's hard not to take it that way. Oh well, maybe I should just be grateful to have leftovers.

I made sesame chicken drumettes (a Sandra Lee recipe from one of her Semi-Homemade cookbooks), tartlets filled with fig chutney and topped with Pecorino Romano cheese, edamame hummus, pinwheels filled with black olive and roasted bell pepper tappenade, pita chips, roasted balsamic onions, caramelized black bean butter, and "flan" cake.

The chicken was tender and wonderful, though I didn't use the drumettes since I already had a bag of frozen tenders. Basically, the chicken is marinated in teriyaki sauce for at least an hour and then baked for about 15 minutes. At that point, it is brushed with a mixture of equal parts honey and barbecue sauce with a splash of sesame oil and put back in the oven for another five minutes. Next, flip the chicken, brush it with more of the hone-barbecue-oil combo and cook for a final five minutes. This is so yummy you will make it again and again. (I do!)

The tartlets were pretty cool, too. I used a rolling pin to flatten slices of wheat bread before cutting out large circles which I placed in a muffin tin, sprayed with butter flavor cooking spray and baked for about 10 minutes to make them crispy. When the cups were cook, I spooned in some of my fig chutney and shaved cheese on top using my vegetable peeler. These babies were a hit with the few people who actually came over tonight.

The edamame hummus is an easy dip that I enjoy more than the guys. First I nuke a package of frozen edamame and pour it into the food processor. Next, add about a cup of ricotta cheese, a splash or two of lime juice and about a quarter cup of olive oil. Process until smooth, adding salt and pepper to taste. This is excellent with pita chips - which are super easy to make. Cut the pita circles into eighths, separating the layers to make 16 pieces out of each round. Toss the wedges with a little olive oil and the seasonings of your choice. (I like cumin, pepper, and salt.) Finally, bake them for 12-15 minutes. (Check them at 12 to make sure they aren't too done.) These are so crispy and wonderful that every time I eat them I think I'll never buy a bag of chips again.

The tappenade also came out of the food processor and included a can of pitted black olives, two marinated and roasted bell peppers (from a jar purchased at the 99 Cents only store), pepper, parsley, and feta cheese. I spread this yummy mixture on flour tortillas, rolled them up, and wrapped them tightly to sit in the fridge for a couple of hours before slicing them up for consumption. They were excellent, too, and provided a nice counterpoint to the roasted balsamic onions. (These were roasted in their skins on low heat for an hour, and then peeled and put in a container with a marinade consisting of equal parts olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Next, I put them in the fridge to marinate all day before draining and serving them tonight.)

For dessert Jeff requested  a "flan" cake that his mom made when he was young. Basically it is a yellow cake layer baked in  a pan that has an indentation on the top and fluted edges. When the cake comes out of the oven, the indentation is filled with cooked and cooled vanilla pudding. Just before serving, spread a can of fruit pie filling (we used strawberry-raspberry) on top. This both beautiful and good.

Overall, the food was excellent even if no one showed up to eat it. Perhaps I'll make these festive party bites for game night with just the guys.

Clockwise from Top Left: Roasted Balsamic Onions, Edamame Hummus, Caramelized Black Bean Butter, Olive and Pepper Pinwheels, Romano Cheese and Fig Chutney Tartlets