Bruce Fest - the First

To celebrate Bruce's birthday yesterday, since I was coaching on Thursday evening, we invited Richard and Cécile over for a tapas sort of evening .. a bit of this, a bit of that .. with wine and food all night long. We had a somewhat eclectic menu, and I thought I'd share ideas.

A quick note .. with the exception of the green potatoes, none of the pictures here are mine.  I just didn't think to take pictures yesterday!  I spent more time cooking than I did for Christmas!

Flatbread with tomatoes and basil

Panini bread, Sliced tomatoes, Fresh chopped basil, texmex cheese. Mmmmm.

Sweet and Sour Ginger Pork Meatballs

Orange juice concentrate, water, vinegar, brown sugar, juice from fresh grated ginger, 

red peppers and green onions - simmered in a crockpot for about four hours.

My sauce was a bit too vinegary, but the meatballs themselves tasted divine.

Pea & Radish Salad

Recipe here from Molly Stevens on Epicurious. I was looking for an alternative to the usual green salads and came up on this one.  For the first time in a decade .. or maybe a generation .. I have peas in my house. Everyone swore this tasted more like fresh peas than cooked.  I'll take them at their word.  No point in taking chances, right?

Dolmades

Céc and Richard brought Dolmades and a selection of green and black olives.  Bruce loves olives in limited quantities and prefers that I don't purchase them, but he's a huge fan of people bringing them over.

Tiger Prawns

Sauteed in butter with garlic and fresh basil

Twice-baked Green Potatoes (no cheese version)

Baked potatoes, sour cream, avocado, green onion.  These are always a huge hit.

Yam Salad

We all know a good potato salad recipe, right?  Just substitute cooked yams (don't overcook) for the potatoes for a much healther version.

Grilled Salmon with fresh dill

Candied Pecans

Pecans.  Sugar.  So simple.

Cheddar Popcorn

This cake was so easy, it felt like cheating.  I can't recall ever eating a better chocolate cake, however, so I'll probably cheat again. This recipe came from Live | Craft  | Eat, a site I stumbled upon when I was looking for ideas for a DIY project.  The icing I chose to use was again, something of a cheater recipe, but was the perfect complement for the cake.  From Tunisianswife on Allrecipes.

Yup, the first time I bought it, it was because of this label.

A perennial favorite

There is no better way to finish a meal

This was such a resounding success, we've determined that we'll be holding Brucefest each year.  

Save a spot at the table, make your reservations now!