So we pulled it off!! Thirteen people came together at our home to celebrate the cold, dark, sleety, snowy, dank and depressing depth of winter. Well...that was what it was like outside. Inside, however, it was a noisy, laughter-filled, cheery, colorful scene.
We arranged two tables end to end in our tiny great room, borrowed some extra chairs, and set out all the silver and most of our dishes for the gala event. The food was heavenly.
Martha and Heinz brought beef tenderloin, which they broiled to perfection in our oven. They also brought delicious gravy to go with it, and lots of red wine, a home made cheesecake, and lots of presents from family in California.
Lisa, Dave, Josh and Max arrived dressed to kill, and Lisa had made a beautiful English trifle for the occasion.
Ariel and Elliott R brought a fantastic green salad with Gorgonzola cheese and caramelized onions. I provided two kinds of squash with mango and cranberry chutney, sour cream, cheese and rosemary potatoes, and the obligatory green peas. Our two special guests, Tiberius Moran-Lopez and Jay Jackson, brought some great wine and beautiful flowers.
The festivities began immediately, with Heinz pouring wine and El making special drinks.
Martha and I were bustling around in the kitchen, preparing last-minute dishes and arranging all the food on the butcher block.
As folks relaxed and started in on second glasses of wine, the noise level rose at about the same pace as downright silliness.
We started with party hats and gewgaws from poppers, and quickly moved on to schpoonschnozzing.
Of course, Heinz is the consummate schpoonschnozzer, but Josh, Max and Lisa are not far behind in technique and presentation. My nose is way too short to even attempt the feat, and besides I'm also way too dignified.
After dinner, there was a feeding frenzy on the presents under the tree. Wrapping paper flew in every direction, ribbon tangled around arms and legs, shrieks of joy filled the room, the fire crackled and sparked, and the dog cowered under a chair.
Everyone got to unwrap something, so we figured everyone must have been good all year long, and we congratulated each other with ice wine and brandy.
The desserts were positively otherworldly, and we cleansed our palates with chocolate candy following the feasting.
All in all, a wonderful time. The party would have stood up well in Saturnalia days, in my opinion. Happy Satwinsolmas!
So we pulled it off!! Thirteen people came together at our home to celebrate the cold, dark, sleety, snowy, dank and depressing depth of winter. Well...that was what it was like outside. Inside, however, it was a noisy, laughter-filled, cheery, colorful scene. 
We arranged two tables end to end in our tiny great room, borrowed some extra chairs, and set out all the silver and most of our dishes for the gala event. The food was heavenly. 
The festivities began immediately, with Heinz pouring wine and El making special drinks. 
After dinner, there was a feeding frenzy on the presents under the tree. Wrapping paper flew in every direction, ribbon tangled around arms and legs, shrieks of joy filled the room, the fire crackled and sparked, and the dog cowered under a chair. 
