Party, party, par-taaaay...woo hoo! Kicked up my (painfully, ouch!) high heels last night at John's office holiday party at the Walker. Lovely evening, filled with lots of good food, wine, and conversation. Opened with an ice-cold glass of Muscato, with Stu the Wine Genius, in the bar at 20.21. Then upstairs to find Debbie, cocktails, some seriously fun appetizers (including an itty-bitty cheeseburger; sounds potentially goofy, but it was pretty and delicious), and a lovely sit-down dinner. Closed with a slow, romantic dance with my honey (masochistic shoes way kicked off at that point), a fairy-tale beautiful drive home around Lake of the Isles, and beddy bye-bye-bye. Bye.

This morning, tired, pasty, sore-footed, with messy hair and black circles under my reddish eyes, I whined to John that I'm not really a Party Girl anymore. He said, awwww, it's OK honey, and gave me a big hug. Sigh. It's true, sniff. I'm not. However, I will try my best...

...tonight, Baseball Moms, here, so more food, drink, and FUN! Can I swing it? Stay tuned... Whipped up a few simple appetizers, including an antipasto platter for which I roasted asparagus, eggplant, and carrots; spicy sweet peppers and roasted cippolini onions snagged from Byerly's olive bar; paper thin slices of imported salami; crispy breadsticks; and a quick "aioli," basically mayo into which I stirred minced garlic, freshly squeezed lemon juice, and herbs. Easy and pretty - good combo. I made up a recipe for savory olive muffins, enhanced with a touch of onion, garlic, and parmesan cheese. I'm setting out a couple of spreads with crackers - the blue-cheese walnut I posted a couple of weeks ago and a simple-as-sin shrimp. Last, I rolled up thin slices of salty, truffle-enhanced Italian ham in purchased puff pastry dough - I'll slice and bake right before everyone arrives. Few candles, little wine - bring on the moms and we'll call 'er a party! Yeah baby! (Recipes posted in comments, below.)