Grand Opening

Our first round of cocktails was set to begin at 5pm on a Monday.

I had grand plans for our first event.  I volunteered to be the last stop, so I could make a delicious lemon yogurt cake for dessert.  I'd just finished Molly Wizenberg's book "A Homemade Life" and was full to the brim with ideas for kitchen creations that would be just perfect.

The weekend before, I even did a test batch, something I rarely take the time to do.  I diligently followed the recipe, and the results were glorious.  I pulled from the oven a beautiful pale yellow cake, moist and with a glossy brown skin over the top.  We devoured it at our yard sale that weekend.

And then came Sunday afternoon.  Of course I would need to bake the cake to have it ready for Monday evening. I got caught up in making dinner, getting my son to bed, and then grading papers to get back to my students Monday morning.  It wasn't until about 9pm that I realized I'd forgotten the cake.  The whirlwind had gotten the better of me.  And so I created a backup plan, at 4pm Monday in the supermarket.  It wasn't glorious, but luckily being the 4th stop means everyone is already 3 drinks deep!

And so 5pm finally arrived. Our first stop this week was Pleasant Street.  Just about everybody was running late, but we oohed and ahhed over our first mojitos, guacamole, and homemade bread with olive oil for dipping.  Our first cocktail circuit was coming together!  The kids scrambled around our feet while we enjoyed real conversation and a nice drink.

On to Mountain Street, where we were treated to onion tart and Grapefruit Delights. They tasted as good as they looked, with a thick wedge of ruby fruit floating amongst the ice cubes.

Third stop was Pine Street, where we whipped up some attractive Old Fashioneds (that doesn't seem to be a word). Dates stuffed with blue cheese and pecans and wrapped in bacon quickly disappeared, as well one of my all time favorites, baked brie.

Last we headed to Maple, where I set out plates of "Petit-Ecolier" and other shortbread cookies, and brewed up some Irish Coffees.  By then we were all feeling pretty great, and the sweet treats went down easy.

We spent time joking about proper cocktail attire and working out the name of our little circuit, "The Double Vision Quest".  We spent time together with friends, an all too precious commodity in our newly kid-centric lives.  We ran way behind schedule, and so revisions are in place for our next event. We also decided that a weekly theme would be a good idea, and so next week we'll be experiencing "Tastes from the Future".

Kristin's Mojito:

Guacamole:

Grapefruit Delight: Click Here

Onion Tart: Click Here

Old Fashioned:

Stuffed Dates:

Baked Brie:


Molly Wizenberg's Lemon Yogurt Cake

Irish Coffee:
6 oz brewed coffee (we chose Decaf Vermont Coffee Roasters)
1 oz Irish Whiskey
2 oz Bailey's Irish Cream

Last Minute Coffee Accompaniments:
Splurge on some fancy cookies from the supermarket, "Petit Ecolier" being my personal favorite.