Six Hour Dinner

What did we eat? What didn’t we eat? After weeks of planning a Sunday afternoon potluck, a few Boston bloggers and I finally got together yesterday to eat, drink, and be merry, For six hours. As I wrote this post last night, I was so stuffed I may never need to eat again. It was worth every single bite. Besides, we probably burned some of if off laughing. This was one of those events that should have a video recap to capture some of the fun kitchen antics, but alas, a blog post will have to do.

The stage: the home of Megan from Delicious Dishings

The cast:

Megan,  homemade pumpkin ice cream sundaes with gingerbread croutons and spiced caramel

Alicia from The Clean Plate Club, muhammara dip, mushroom pate, shrimp and grits

Daisy from Indulge, Inspire, Imbibe, leek and parsnip soup, warm Brussels sprout salad

Michelle from Fun and Fearless in Beantown, Mama Chang’s pork dumplings, cold peanut noodle salad

I made a white truffle white bean dip and a tortilla española.

The plot: Five food bloggers who just happen to get along really, really well together for a day of food and fun, starting off with a little bit of bubbly from Mayo Family Winery, Nicholas Feuillate, and Veuve Clicquot, and a bottle of this year’s Beaujolais Nouveau

There was much to celebrate on this chilly, late-November New England afternoon, two engagements, a new job, some employment liberation, and new friendships that had formed over the course of the past months.

Megan’s beautiful kitchen was set for a feast with lovely autumn touches here and there, cozy food aromas filling the air.

We were busy bees in the kitchen, putting the finishing touches on scrumptious dishes.

Never have I seen so many people in one kitchen, working in harmony and happy to be there.

Rows of soup bowls waited, creamy grits bubbled away on the stove as a warm Brussels sprout salad sat ready for goat cheese to be added, making this most beloved vegetable impossible to turn down.

Mama Chang’s dumpling perfection sizzled and satisfied alongside Champagne bubbles.

While cool peanut noodle salad added a crunch and a kick to our palates.

The clicks and flashes of cameras prevailed throughout the day, being tired from cooking and eating could not keep these bloggers down.

The evening was sealed with a sweet, the most perfect autumn dessert imaginable, homemade pumpkin ice cream, spiced caramel, with gingerbread croutons.

One blog post can’t capture the excellence of this gathering of creative, smart, lovers of food, food writing, and wine. More to come, including links to recipes for these amazing dishes and a couple of posts on my contributions.

Happy short week! Do you ever plan potlucks with friends? Do you have a particular dish or theme you like to stick to?