The Party!!! and the morning after...

I think it went off swimmingly - and not just because we had bi-valves and sea bugs galore, but because they turned out oh, so tasty, and there was plenty to eat - AND there were plenty of people to sit and talk to for the evening.

I woke up yesterday and immediately started picking crab and making my crab and avocado salad (which wound up on wheat thins and eaten by the bushel). I then relaxed for a bit and chatted with Ally and Fae. It was a really pleasant day of puttering around the kitchen getting things ready. I marinated peeled shrimp in Paul Newman's Parmesan and Garlic salad dressing for a few hours, then took the ham I purchased and wrapped them, skewered them with a toothpick, and baked them for about 10 minutes in a 375 degree oven. They turned out OH! so nummy.

Made devilled eggs, with chives and a mild dosing of horseradish. They were, as usual, gone in a flash...

I also had picked through all the mussels and clams and made sure what I had was alive vs dead. I then took leeks and chopped them up, lay them on the bottom of a large roasting pan with some garlic, and fried up the chorizo to lay over that... The clams and mussels went over it, white wine and dill was over THAT, and then the whole thing was popped into the oven at 400 degress to steam until done.

I re-heated the rest of the crab in some water with Old Bay seasoning in it, and served up what shrimp was NOT skewered as a scampi - which went over REALLY well. I also did bay scallops in butter and fresh sage. NUM.

Like I said - LOTS of food, and lots of people. The clams and mussels came out mildly spicy and quite tasty - we had a HUGE bowl of them (you know the large mixing bowls you can get at the store, the ones that you look at and think "that would work for a trough for popcorn"? Yeah, one of THOSE bowls) and there was still lots left over later.

There was, in fact, so much food that I totally spaced serving up the dessert that Lil purchased for us all (BAD MERRIPAN!). So, I still have two pies, a pumpkin and a marionberry, to eat... Not to mention the chocolate and vanilla ice cream.

After everyone left, Ally called some other friends over, and we sat chatting for a while longer. Fred had to go to bed at 9-ish, as he had to wake up for work this morning, so I stayed up til around midnight, and then went to bed.

This morning, I woke up to have the immediate question from Speedboy as to whether the clams and mussels were still good (what was left had been sitting out all night). I said no, which caused him to trot back into his room and remove them from his lunch. I have found that Speedboy takes the easiest route when it comes to packing his lunches, and when thwarted, he's then at a loss as to what to pack. He stood there for several seconds just staring at the kitchen, not doing anything, until I told him to make a sandwich for lunch. He then asked if he could take soda to school (we've gone over this several times - after his behavior significantly deteriorated in school when I purchased soda for him, we told him no more soda - period - for school). Further, the soda was not mine to give permission to take with him. So, I had to tell him no, which then caused him to sulk on the edge of his bed until he was due to leave for school. I swear...

So, now I sit here, contemplating what I should eat for breakfast, and not looking forward to the upcoming fight with the laundry, which needs to happen today as I am out of pants and undies. *sigh*

~M