My first dinner party

While in Ireland I missed one of my best buddies, Christine’s birthday. So, when I got back I figured it might be nice to have all the girls over for a dinner party in honor of the birthday girl herself.

Belated, Happy Birthday X!!

Senior formal

Twinsies

80's Prom senior year

As you can see from the above photos, we know how to have fun together. Christine makes for an excellent partner in crime!

Back to the dinner party…

This was my first dinner party ever and I was pumped about it. I decided to grill some chicken, steak, shrimp and veggies paired with a big salad and got plenty of wine from Trader Joes. I marinated the chicken and steak all day, in some Sweet Baby Rays, then I marinated the shrimp in some EVOO, lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper and basil (I copied Mrs. Temple on that one .) Along with the fact that this was my first official dinner party, it was also my first time grilling all this food at once. Luckily I didn’t set anyone on fire (with the help of my sous chefs: Alana, Murph and Red) and everything tasted pretty good, if I do say so myself. Lauren (Red, LVP, etc.) made some appetizers, Nuge and Christine made desserts – s’mores and angel food cake (both amazing.) Nuge also made some martinis which were delicious! I think it was a success!

If you can't take the heat...

Umm we don't have a light out back, so Alana was my flashlight helper. Thanks Lady!

The "Grill Masters"

Shrimp and veggies

Chiiiicken

Steak

The spread

The drink station

Nuge the bahtendah extraordinaire

YUM

YUM again

Thanks for the help with the photos Alana!

Like I said, the night was a lot of fun – it’s always so good to get a bunch of us together to chat and catch up. It’s not as easy as it used to be when we all lived about 10 foot steps from one another in college. Thanks for coming everyone!

What’s your favorite dish to make for a dinner party?