Dinner Party: Eggplant Steaks with Ragoût

On October 23, I invited Tara, Elaine, and Nick over for dinner. Because I needed to make a vegetarian meal, I decided to try making some eggplant steaks. I think the meal turned out well, and was pretty satisfying; Elaine even said it was "restaurant quality," which is maybe overly-kind, but I'll happily take the compliment.

Dinner Party: Beef Stroganoff

On September 27, I invited Jessica over for a hearty dinner featuring Beef Stroganoff and Brussels Sprouts.

Dinner Party: Moroccan Roasted Chicken

For my dinner party on September 25, I treated Alyssa, Jill, and Sarah to a Middle Eastern themed menu. It was a fun challenge, and I had the opportunity to work with ingredients I don't use very often.

Dinner Party: Enchiladas and Tortilla Soup

On September 13, I invited Jinny, Jon, Chrissie and Matt for a Mexican-themed vegetarian meal. Because I was hosting two dinner parties in a row, I served the blueberry ice cream from the previous night as a way of making the meal planning a little easier. I ended up taking more time than I expected on the recipes, but the meals turned out well, and it was a fun time.

Dinner Party: Corn and Tomato Gratin

My dinner party guests for September 12 were Natasha and Donna. Natasha is a vegetarian, so I needed to figure out a satisfying menu that would not rely on meat. While it required a little more digging, I think everyone was satisfied with the results.

Dinner Party: Pasta Bolognese

For my next dinner party, on September 4, I treated John and Krystle to an Italian-themed meal.

The main course was a pasta with a Bolognese sauce, and it was served alongside some broccoli seasoned with garlic and red peppers. To top it all off, I served a limoncello-flavored gelato for dessert.

Jenny's Ice Creams

In 2012, I got an ice cream maker for Christmas, and I have enjoyed using it to make various ice cream recipes to enjoy and share.

I've found that, once one has made a few different recipes, one gets comfortable with the general procedure, and trying a different recipe is more about incorporating new ingredients and making sure the proportions are correct. I will be listing the ingredients for a few recipes I've tried, along with links to the specific recipes; however, instead of writing out the individual recipes for each flavor, I'll first give a description of the general process, and, when necessary, will write notes specific to a particular recipe.

Book Review: The Woman Upstairs

The third book we read for our book club was The Woman Upstairs, by Claire Messud, which we read during January and February of 2014. The illustration originally appeared in the New York Times.

After reading The Marriage Plot, and feeling a bit let down by that book's female lead, we were eager to find a book with more dynamic  female characters. I had heard a little bit about the controversy surrounding The Woman Upstairs and its author, Claire Messud; in an interview, Messud had been asked whether she would be "friends" with her protagonist, and her response was critical of the premise of the question, or the idea that a protagonist, and specifically a female protagonist, would need to be "likable." I was curious to read a novel about a female character who was perhaps unsympathetic, so I suggested the novel to the group, and people seemed interested.

The book is, in essence, a monologue or rant by Nora, the main character; as it unfolds, she tells us about her worldview, her frustrations, and the recent events that led her to become so angry. The story maintains an intimate focus and is told entirely from her subjective point of view, with her interpretation of the story warped by a lifetime of disappointments and her hopes for something better.

Dinner Party: French Onion Soup and Steak Au Poivre

A few years ago, I hosted a series of dinner parties. It gave me an opportunity to learn a few recipes and try a few different meals, as well as an excuse to spend time with friends and a chance to introduce a few of my friends to each other. I decided to try hosting a few more, and contacted several friends to see who might be interested in joining me for a fancy dinner. Since then, I've hosted  four parties, and have a few parties scheduled for the coming weeks, too. It's been a fun experiment, and I hope that I'll be able to keep at least some of the recipes in my repertoire.

For the first dinner party, on August 17, I invited Aurora, Ken, and Donna to sample some French-style cuisine.