Yuletide Feast

Owing to the fact that I'm the type of person that doesn't like doing things I don't understand the significance of (um, panty hose? wha?), I opted to explore some of the ethnobotanical elements associated with this time of year a bit more closely. What better way to showcase and share my new found knowledge, I decided, than by throwing a swanky cocktail party? Guests were encouraged to don their finest party frocks and join Glenn and I this past Friday at our home for libations, feasting, and camaraderie. It was truly wonderful. 

We ate:

-Cremini mushrooms stuffed with blue cheese and herbs

-Phyllo pastry cups filled with leek, potato, apple and rosemary

-Smoked local Gouda and chevre topped with pecans & cranberries

-Roasted salted figs  

 -Spiced, herbed pecans

-Black-eyed pea and dandelion green cakes with homemade aioli

-Sugarplum balls of dried apricot, figs, and dates with orange peel, 

Cointreau, and spices

-Pine nut and anise seed cookies

-Homemade buche de noel (Yule log) with meringue mushrooms

We drank:

-Eggnog martinis

-Tawny Orange Marmalade Sours with Hendrick's Gin

-Sparkling Rose (that's wine, not the flower), pomegranate and 

Absinthe punch

We smelled:

-Juniper candles

-Juniper & Douglas Fir incense

Guests received:

-Homemade bitters, either basil or orange

-9 Herb sachet blends, representing the connection between the soil

beneath our feet, the ground we stand on, and the heavens above

We saw:

-Wild-harvested decorations, lovingly gathered and curated by my 

dearest of friends, Jen and Jon (love you nogito and negita!!)

It was amazing and precious and delicious and I'm looking forward to doing something similar for each season from now on!