Dinner Party #1

Having a dinner party is a very grown up affair. It's something I always wanted to do, but never really thought I had to the space to do it in. I actually don't have the space, but I've decided it's time to brush off my inner culinary goddess and put her to work. The idea to host weekly dinner parties actually came from my friend. Our goal is to have a different friend host every week. The host is in charge of the main course and everyone else brings an appetizer or dessert. We are on week 2 of our 52 weeks of dinner parties and I got to be the hostess this time. Below is my menu and a few photos.

Cocktail: Tall Meyer Lemon Southside (from Market Fresh Mixology): this is a refreshing gin based drink. It's pretty simple to make and I'm sure you can substitute Meyer lemons for something cheaper. I was also pretty stoked to finally get to use my liquor dispenser I got for Christmas. You are supposed to serve this in a high ball glass, but I didn't have one of those so I used a rocks glass.

Citrus Vinaigrette (adjusted from a recipe I found in Home Cooking with Charlie Trotter): I actually just used CT as inspiration and then worked my magic from there. A little olive oil, a little OJ, some lemon juice and some red wine vinegar...not bad for a girl who hates salads. If you ask me, it smelled like ass, but my guests seemed to enjoy it.

Chicken and Chickpea Tagine (from How to Eat by Nigella Lawson): I liked that I could prepare this the day before and let it sit until the next day. I have to say that chicken thighs are quite tasty and after cooking in the pot for an hour they fell right off the bone. I left the chicken skin on so it added a little extra flavor to the pot. Nigella recommends that you use dry chickpeas, but canned one worked just fine. I served this with a side of pine nut couscous.