Mexican Dinner Party

Tonight, we had a dinner party for the entire Gordon clan. As expected, I was dashing around like a mad woman because I didn't give myself enough time to make everything before our guests arrived. I even had to abandon a dish entirely (Mexican Wedding Cakes) due to lack of time. Furthermore, we didn't have enough chairs so we had to borrow some from Kristin and Simon and make seats out of end tables. Aside from the time crunch and lack of supplies/seats, it was a great success!

Theme: Mexican

Location: Our house

Num. of Attendees: 10

Beverages: Corona and some white wine Kim brought.

Appetizer: Kristin's Famous Bean Dip - Unfortunately, Kristin has been very sick the past few days so Laura, Ryan's mom, made the dip and it was just as delicious as we all remembered.

Salad: Bean and Corn Salad with Creamy Dressing - Laura made this great salad that was very tasty and a perfect start to the meal!

Soup: Mexican Corn and Bean Soup - I've made this several times before and love how quick and easy it is. The soup is spicy and brothy yet easily made into a main dish if you add some bread to accompany it.

Side: Mexican Rice - This rice was a real hit. I was worried that the rice was too wet after the 20 min simmer but I didn't want to overcook it. So I set it aside which I tackled the rest of the meal and happily, it dried to the perfect consistency.

Entree: Spinach Enchiladas - This was a bit time consuming since I had to blanch many batches of spinach and blacken the poblano chile peppers over an open flame. SO WORTH IT. The dish was very rich (thank you cheeses and creams) and well spiced. I skipped the step where you soften the tortillas in oil and it really made no difference. Will make again for special occasion.

Dessert: Double Layer Chocolate Cake - Laura brought this cake over and it's amazing that no matter how ridiculously full you are you can still find room for chocolate. Yum yum yum.

Note: I made all the recipes vegetarian by substituting chicken broth/boullions for veggie equivalent

I really meant to take pictures of the food but I was so busy I forgot! Oh well, next time I'll be sure to have some visuals.