Wine and Cheese Party

On Friday evening we hung out in the kitchen, listening to jazz and dancing, while I baked and Christopher made dinner.  I made some spiced nuts, and 65 double chocolate merlot cookies, while Christopher whipped up spaghetti and meatballs.

The next morning we cleaned the house, and got prepped for the evening.

We were having a wine and cheese evening with a close group of friends we get together with quite often.  Almost everyone in the group has had babies within the last two years, so grown-up evenings have become less common, and we thought it would be fun to get everyone together for a classy little evening, sans children.  We sent out invites back in December.

We had fun choosing many different cheeses (I think 17) and accompaniments, and then plating/arranging everything.

There was food in the living room, dining area, and the kitchen.

I forgot to get pictures of the hot dips in the kitchen - oops!  The dining table was full of goodies though ...

We had a fun evening catching up with pals, and snacking for hours.  As usual, we had way too much food ... but it's always better to have too much rather than not enough.

How was your weekend?  What did you do?

Wine and Cheese

On Sunday evening we had friends over for a wine and cheese.

In the afternoon I baked pumpkin cupcakes with a salted caramel butter cream.

I also made a chocolate dump cake using this recipe, but after taste testing it, I decided it was sub-par, and not good enough to serve.  It just tasted like an average chocolate cake. 

I froze it for the hubby to eat with ice-cream.

I set the table with an assortment of cheeses, cheese fondue, crackers, bread, olives, pickles, cheese, sausage, and the cupcakes.

I used some of the new platters that we had the hubby's aunt bring us home from Mexico.  She lives there, and offered to get us a whole bunch of dishes.  We gave her $300 and asked her to get what she could for that.  We got a complete place setting for 12, as well as numerous serving dishes.  

I am pretty pumped about them!

I donned a pink dress, and pretty feather in my hair (I am thinking of wearing the feather clip for my sister's wedding with soft curls - what do you guys think?)

We put out fresh flowers, lit some candles, opened a bottle of wine, and spent the evening visiting, laughing, and eating with both old and new friends.

Today was a holiday for Canadians (Victoria Day), but tomorrow we are back at work.

How was your weekend?  

Have you ever been to or hosted a wine and cheese party?