Friday, December 17, 2010

Holiday Dinner Party Round 2.0

My weekend of holiday dinner parties led me to none other than Lavina's apartment for more food and merriment (really, the two go hand in hand in my opinion).  Lavina also invited Nina, Neelam and Manisha and we all contributed something delicious. 

Neelam brought this smooth and savory bean dish topped with sour cream and cheese.  I parked myself right in front of it and shamelessly gobbled it up while Lavina was still cooking. 

Nina brought a suprise dish - surprise because I did not expect some of the flavors to go together at ALL! She made a dish with mascarpone cheese (we all know how much I LOVE this!), drizzled with honey and pomegranate seeds.  Sounds like dessert, right?  WRONG! Well kind of wrong.  Serve it up with some baked plain pita chips (such as Stacey's or Utz) and you have a sweet and savory dish.  So this is actually not only festive, but also a real crowd pleaser because it accomodates everyone's cravings (those who like sweet = me those who like savory = other people). 

Lavina provided the entrees.  First up was the macaroni and cheese which I believe was borrowed from Smitten Kitchen.  Then that was followed by a mouthwateringly spicy red curry with tofu and mock duck.  For those of you who don't know what mock duck is: it is basically faux meat made out of some product I'm not sure of, but is meant to provide protein to vegetarians in whatever dish they make.  Does it taste like real duck?  No.  But I hardly doubt vegetarians would know.  Served with white rice, this dish was better than any of the curries I've had at the various Thai restaurants in New York!  As home-made is generally the case.  Light, non-greasy, and as delicious as it was aromatic.  Nice work, L. 

And of course, yours truly provided dessert.  You know how stores sell dresses, "wear 1 dress 10 ways!"...well I think my ice cream is the LBD of holiday parties.  I took with me the same ice cream I took to Becca's apartment, and all were a hit, especially the sparkly candy cane!  (sidenote: that will now be my go-to recipe any time I feel like Christmas!). 

As if there couldn't possibly be more stuffing my face this weekend...stay tuned for Holiday Dinner Party Round 3.0!  I'm serious.

1 comment :

Lavina said...

YUM YUM and YUM. I gobbled that candy cane ice cream up on Monday haha. Christmas in july!!!

The mac and cheese was a recipe from Martha Stewart but I found a post on from Smitten Kitchen and adjusted it (used cranberry cheddar instead and attempted to make them appetizer size in a cupcake tin).

Glad you enjoyed the curry! I haven't made it in a while :)