8 women + 4 bottles of wine = delight

A friend of mine started this group a few months ago on the premise that we're all in book clubs and have a hard enough time keeping up, so let's get together for what we really love...cooking, wine and conversation.

So, one saturday a month we get together and rotate hosting. The hostess picks the menu and does the shopping then everyone else helps prepare & cook the meal. In my kitchen this is not so easy - the stove, dishwasher nor refrigerator can be opened at the same time, and there's about as much counter space as my desk at work.

Everything was going smoothly, all the dishes were ready at the same time except the pork tenderloin. After 15 min (max cooking time according to the recipie) i checked on its progress, and, it was still RAW! Another 15 min goes by, then 30...still not cooking to the point where it was at all edible when we discovered that the upper heating elements are out.

Note- check oven heating elements before dinner party

Since it's halloween and fall, i thought the menu should be follow those themes. The bountiful displays at the market inspired me as well as the letter "p".

Menu:
Emmentaler & Gruyere Fondue
Peppered Roasted Pecans
Thai Spiced Pumpkin Soup
Pomegranate Glazed Pork Tenderloin with Persimmon Salsa
Orange-Pomegranate Seed Basmati Rice with Pine Nuts
Harvest Roasted Vegetables
Pear Crisp

Wines:
Pinot Evil
Vampire Pinot
Trick
96 Oak Grove Zinfandel
94 Oak Grove Zinfandel

blog No 1

So i've done it. i've drunk the punch. taken the pill. joined up. followed in great footsteps, i've started a blog. In doing so i'm just putting my thoughts in words for anyone who's interested to read. thank you for visiting!

I feel like i'm always buzzing through a place, my day, conversation and for the last 6 years my life, never resting in one spot. Often, i let my life get too busy and this is one of my attempts to stay in touch with family, friends and anyone else who finds themselves reading random blogs late at night.

The irony is, i'm starting to feel settled and am taking the time to stay put, and not have so much chaos. However I have a feeling i'll always be buzzing around something.

I can't promise to always use the best grammar, punctuation or capitalization, especially the capitalization as for me that's a nuisance of extra keystrokes :) My hope is to have fun, enjoy some laughs and share a bit along the way.

I promise to (and really i'm trying to promise myself so that i stick with this!)

• be myself
• write once a week, if i slack off feel free to gang up on me in knottieland
• attempt to leave readers with one interesting takeaway

so sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride!