A Mild Version of a Disaster

Tonight was the first dinner party that really wasn't good. I mean, it wasn't. And that's okay. It happens, I guess. So, (Jessica this is not your fault. I don't blame you.) Jessica lovingly got me a cookbook called "Dinner Parties" from Williams-Sonoma, which we used for the first time tonight. It is the prettiest, most fun book, but oh, we did not do it justice tonight. 

The menu went like this:

Celery Pear Salad with Toasted Hazelnuts

Butternut Squash Ravioli with Brown Butter and Roasted Pecans (and chicken)

Apple Pear Crisp

It sure sounded good. 

Three things I should have thought about:

• People are weird about celery. Especially, it turns out, when it has pear vinegarette on it.
• Good pasta is fetchin' hard to make without a pasta machine. This I knew. And considered. And still trusted Brad to make miracles happen. 
• Everything took forever. And almost everything looked brown. (We did buy broccoli, but I was tired, and nobody really felt like it.)

Both guys cancelled. We couldn't get anyone else to come (LAME). So the two girls came, which made for an awfully small party. And I was the only one who ate all my salad. The deal is this. I freaking love hazelnuts. Really. I don't know why, but they are hands-down the sexiest, most heavenly food on earth. Emily Smith may remember my love for Haagen-Daaz hazelnut gelato, which they shamefully discontinued. And when I tasted the toasted hazelnuts fresh out of the oven, it was almost exactly the same. I almost ate them all without sharing. So I really liked the salad, even though it was different for sure. 

The pasta tasted a lot like undercooked pumpkin pie. Sad that this didn't really turn out great because

a) I LOVE butternut squash 

b) I LOVE gruyere cheese

c) I LOVE brown butter sauce

The filling was good. We still need to practice the sauce. 

And dessert was okay, but it should have been crunchy. And it wasn't. 

So really. Kind sad. I'll put a picture up later. And I think Brad and I are going to practice pasta making soon. The Naked Chef gives a little more detailed directions, so maybe we'll start there and then head back on over to Williams-Sonoma (which has inspired a ton of great meals!)

Nite!

p.s. Vanessa T. was one of the girls who came over. Every time (3) that Brad has tried to cook something for her or with her, it turns out bad. So we blamed it on her. We call it the Vanessa curse. We told her that if something turns out good, we'll bring it to her. But for now, she's not allowed back over while we cook :o)