30B430 #14

With my birthday coming up, could there really be a better time to complete #14 on my list? I invited some friends over to the Godwins for a dinner party celebrating my birthday, with the stipulation that I had to prepare at least three courses. Seven people RSVP-ed and I made 8, which was perfect. The week before the dinner, I started to search some recipes and think about specifically what I wanted to prepare. The morning of the dinner, I went first to the market, and then to Trader Joe's and then to Winco to pick up everything I needed for that night.
Back at the Godwin's, I started to get everything ready. I first made the cheesecake and once that was in the oven, started prepping everything else.  This meant bringing shrimp, cutting strawberries, setting the table, getting the table furnishings, etc. The menu was as follows:

Appetizers: ciabatta and French bread, olive oil and balsamic and salt for dipping, brie, antipasto plate with panchetta and salami, bruschetta, and veggies.

Entree: Linguine and shrimp in a white wine and lemon sauce with garlic and parsley. Arugula salad with homemade dressing, pears, blue cheese and glazed walnuts.

 

Dessert: Homemade cheesecake with a strawberry glaze.

By 6:30, almost everyone had shown up and I got everybody drinks. The nice thing about the people that were invited were that they were all affiliated with C of I in some way so there was always something common we could talk about. There was a lot of other side conversations and so much laughing, which was great. It seemed like everybody was having a great time. I had some help in prepping the pasta, which I did while people were snacking on appetizers and everything went really well in making the actual entree.

Because I didn't have an official birthday cake, everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to me before we started to eat and I blew out one of the candles that I had on the table. Which I then made them re-light because it added to the ambiance. We were at the table for a long time, eating, chatting, laughing, telling stories, and enjoying our time together. 

After we had finished, everyone was really helpful in cleaning up and doing dishes, straightening the place up so I wouldn't have to do it afterwards. Juliette was our evening's photographer and she went around getting pictures of everyone and pictures of me with people, including me with my new apron from Bailie and Brooke.

At the end of the night, we all ended up gathered around the island to eat cheesecake. It was a bit soggier than I had anticipated because I think some of the water I use to bake it got into the pan and so presentationally, the Chopped judges would have docked points but taste wise, it was delicious. I only had a few bites because I was so full but everyone else seemed to really enjoy it. I would have to say that for my first dinner party, it was a roaring success and I think everyone else really had a great time. Not only am I glad to have completed another item on my list but am extra lucky that I had some great friends to celebrate with. Thanks, everyone, for coming!