A Warm House

Well, my housewarming party was a success.

I never really thought about it growing up, but hospitality has always been an important part of our family. My mom is a terrific cook, and a very gracious, generous woman. In high school, my house was often "the place to be," even though (or perhaps because) my parents were almost always home and there was no drinking allowed. I had a lot of parties and my friends were comfortable there. I remember one time I came home from school and found my friend Kevin's car parked in the driveway. I went inside and there was Kevin, helping my mom decorate the Christmas tree. He'd come over to see me, and was comfortable enough in our house to hang out with my parents until I came home.

Anyway, all of this is to say that it's important to me to have friends in my house and to share my space with people I care about. It meant a lot to me to have new friends in my new apartment, and it was fun to get to know people better. The conversation was lively, we had a good mix of personalities, the food was tasty (if I do say so myself) and people seemed to enjoy themselves.

I kept the menu pretty simple:
Home made brownies and ginger snap cookies
Veggies and dip
Bake brie with apple slices and crackers
Chips and dip (brought by friends Julio and Bobbi)

For beverages:
Red and white wine
Thew's delicious green-tea-and-peppermint iced tea
Ginger Ale, Coke

I did all the baking the night before, so day-of prep was pretty simple. Recipes often include adjustments for baking at altitude, but I have only ever baked at altitude, so I found myself wishing I had adjustments for sea-level. Things turned out a little differently than usual, but were nonetheless tasty. For the brie, I just brushed it with a little melted butter, sprinkled some sliced almonds on top and baked at 350 for about 20 min. And for the record, it's true what they say - if you dip apple slices in lemon juice, they won't turn brown! I used one part lemon juice to one part water and brushed that on the apples and they stayed fresh and nice-looking for 3-4 hours.

Thew's iced tea is the most delicious beverage ever. It's super simple, just half green tea and half peppermint tea mixed together. It has the light and refreshing green tea taste with the little kick of peppermint. It was a HUGE hit at the party and went fast. Next time I'll remember to make more.

All in all, a successful first soiree. More to come, I'm sure.