Four fun ladies enjoyed a holiday get-together a la Eric Ripert. This time: holiday cocktails and a series of canapes.
Photo by Allison McConnell. Seated left to right: myself, April of The Food Scribe, Allison of The Humble Gourmande, and Colleen of Foodie Tots.
Yes indeed. It is that time of year. With busy holiday schedules, the only time four foodies could agree upon for a cocktail party was a Sunday morning.
Some of you may find our decision to imbibe before noon-- and on a Sunday (!)-- offensive, but as you can see from the above photo, we all felt perfectly guilt-free about the decision.
You might remember that in November, several DC Foodies (myself included) got together for an Eric Ripert inspired Dinner Party. The dinner party's menu was designed by Chef Ripert himself as part of a photo contest. Not to brag, but we were one of November's winners.
Whether or not we win again, we certainly enjoyed the cocktails and the delicious canapes. If you'd like to make any or all of the cocktails or canapes you can find the recipes here at Avec Eric.
With no further ado, here were our Sunday morning treats.
While putting the finishing touches on our food, we began with a wonderful Cranberry Champagne cocktail prepared by Allison.
And then, we sat down for this delicious spread:
April made these Deviled Eggs with Creme Fraiche and Smoked Salmon. Although I am partial to traditional mayo-based deviled eggs, these were a nice twist on a classic dish.
Photo by April Fulton
Colleen made my favorite dish of the day: Portabello Fries with Truffle Aioli dipping sauce. Yum.
I was also partial to the shrimp and chorizo skewers which I prepared. The shrimp and chorizo was skewered, drizzled with olive oil, and seasoned. Simple. Delicious.
I also made these parmesan twists, which featured parmesan, pistachios, and cayenne pepper spread onto puff pastry twists.
Our gracious hostess, Allison, made hummus and a roasted red pepper walnut dip. The roasted red pepper walnut dip was was surprisingly delicious.
Allison also made delicious and crisp Lettuce wraps, stuffed with thinly sliced steak, mint, and basil. These were served with a soy dipping sauce.
Photo by Colleen Levine
Oh? Did I forget to mention the rest of the cocktails?
Colleen prepared these ginger- lemon bourbon drinks. We were all happily surprised to find out that we really liked bourbon (or at least, Colleen's preparation of it).
April made this tasty Spiked Apple Cider.
Photo by Allison McConnell
By the time church-goers were just hitting Sunday morning brunch, the four of us were saying our good-byes and moving on to our next party.
Forgive us. It is the holidays, after all.
To see more of this cocktail party, check out our Flickr Photo Group or head on over to Avec Eric for the menu and recipes.
