Dinner Partay

I'm no big celebrator of Halloween- too old for dressing up like a sexy maid and too young (or rather, too immature) to have kids. So this weekend, my husband and I breezed through the Halloween festivities and instead threw a dinner party for some friends. We hauled out the wedding china and silver and I cooked up a storm. I made place cards from the shipping tags we had left over from our move.

We were able to pack 10 people into our tiny kitchen/dining room thanks to the long antique farm table and benches we bought this summer. Instead of my usual frenzied cleaning and cooking (and once infamously plating salmon on the bathroom sink when I ran out of counter space in my old galley kitchen), I tried something new: a menu of foods that I could prepare entirely ahead of time, and just warm things up before we ate. For once I was able to actually enjoy a glass of wine while spending time with our friends during the party, and even got to watch the unexpected fireworks show that went off to celebrate the marathon- we had a great view from our terrace.

THE MENU
Butternut Squash Soup
Roasted Chicken
Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Sautéed Brussel Sprouts
Green Salad with Shallot Vinaigrette
Pear and Almond Tart with Fresh Whipped Cream