for the potluck, i decided to make croque monsieurs, veggie panini sandwiches and brie+cranberry puffs. they turned out great, if i may so myself...but the events that preceded A's party were pretty much like a cross between an episode from bridezilla (or insert show with crazy women here) and the breakup, where vince vaughan comes home with three lemons instead of twelve (without the fighting of course!).
at 10:00 am i thought i had everything under control. at 11:30 john got me cooking arugula instead of baby arugula. at 11:35 he was on his way back to longo's. 12:00 john comes back with the right arugula. by 1:00 i was burning things trying to multi task, looking for tape, yelling at no one in particular and drying my hair.
i relinquished everything to john, being the calmer and more patient one (and the sweetest thing in the world), and when i came down, the kitchen was spotless.
hardeehar.
and i say i work best under pressure.
in the end, everything turned out great and we got to A's house all in one piece. there was LOTS of karaoke, board games and fun.
(but of course i forgot her gift)
just in case you needed something for your next holiday potluck, here are the links/recipes. i thought that the brie+cranberry puffs are great to bring for work, instead of your typical box of chocolates or candy canes. :)
my friend virginie says that croque monsieurs are the parisiens' version of street meat. can you imagine?
*instead of coating it with egg, i grilled the sandwiches and topped it with bechamel sauce with gruyere cheese and broiled it in the oven. make sure to watch over the oven. i burnt four yesterday and set off the smoke alarm.
no recipe link. i made it vegetarian for A...this is how i normally like my sandwiches made from fast fresh foods. in this sandwich i had sundried pesto spread, baby arugula, goat cheese, roasted red peppers. i brushed both sides of the baguette slices with olive oil and grilled them.
cranberry+brie puffs
these are really yummy! no need to slice that cheese up and place it on some type of cracker, nosiree! all you need to do is pick one little puff up and gobble it.
* when making these, you don't need to get rid of the skin, just in case you didn't know. because i didn't. :)
have a great week, all! three more days before christmas!
pearl and A.
