Sunday, December 04, 2011

Guests: wanted, unwanted, and somewhere in between

Guests who were wanted: We hosted a Christmas party last night. It made me feel more rooted in Miami. Last year I didn't know enough people to invite to a party, whereas this year we know know enough people that half could decline and we still didn't feel lonely.
I meant to take pictures, I really did. I had never hosted a Christmas party that would take place both inside and outside, and it took some planning to figure out how to construct a room in the garden. (The answer: several strings of lights, a couple of chairs and a lamp, and of course plates and plates of food.) Unfortunately, I had so much fun I forgot about the camera, so you only get an annotated menu:
Rum Punch (Terrific - rum and fresh lime juice are an unbeatable combo, and the nutmeg and bitters raised it from good to stellar.)
Non-alcoholic Punch (I used chamomile tea, white grape juice, and lime juice.)
Chili (to soak up all the Rum)
Extra-thin chocolate chip cookies
Sfratti, walnut-honey Rosh Hashannah cookies (Named for sticks used to evict the Jews. Aside from the dreadful back story, they were excellent.)
Goat-cheese topped apricots (These are the easiest hors d'oeurve I've ever made.)
French onion dip with crackers. (I think I was thirty years old before I discovered that there was a way to make this dip without Lipton soup packets.)
A guest who was unwanted: The success of the party was a welcome diversion from our ongoing battle against a mouse in the house. Since discovering its presence, we had filled holes, boxed up the full contents of the pantry into Tupperware boxes, and had used both no-kill and regular traps, to no avail. In the middle of the night, Andrew heard it chewing again and managed to corner it, where he discovered it was a RAT. Andrew trapped it and carried it halfway across the neighborhood. He then spent the day filling even more holes, and disinfecting the house. I am experiencing equal parts disgust (at the idea of a rat in my kitchen) and gratitude (for a husband who deals with it all).
Guests who are a mixed blessing: This week is Art Basel Miami Beach, which is a international art Show. The show has now spread to other neighborhoods, and the Design District, where we lived, has been overflowing with exhibits, live performances, and other events. This means that we can just walk out of our house and immerse ourselves in interesting art happening all around us. It also means that the traffic in our neighborhood is outrageous, and we must plot alternative routes to and from our house.

8 comments:

R. said...

;-) Basal.
Check out my Basal recaps. We have been all 10 yrs and this was my best year in terms of the number of fairs i was able to hit. I hope you went to a few. Well worth the traffic inconvenience. My 'hood too.

Anonymous said...

Oh how I wish I could have attended!

A chef who catered a friends party once made these delightful dried apricots stuffed with a craisin and a soft, less salty feta: a little clam from of heaven.
-Laura

alexis said...

wow sounds like a fantastic party. And good lord, I second the horror of discovering the rat. It's the thing I'm dreading the most now that kitty has passed on (mice rather than rats) as mice are a big problem in Amsterdam.

Anonymous said...

Laura - sounds delicious. I'll have to try that sometime.

Alexis - I have told that cat several times that she is fired. She just stares at me, then goes back to sleep.

de-I said...

Yes, just what is it with your cat. Your the education specialist. You need to give her some good lessons on rodenting. And maybe it's time for a stiff performance review with a written 30 day notice in her file!

Matty Lau said...

That is always my greatest fear- that the battle I wage (and typically lose) with the rodents in my house are actually with rats and not mice. Kudos to Andy for capturing AND relocating the said large rodent.

Pulisha said...

OMG, goat cheese topped apricots sound like heaven. Easy and it has goat cheese, that is right up my alley! Sounds like you guys had an awesome time. I love this time of year :)

Bernice said...

You do live in an interesting place.Your party sounded great too.