warmed up

A couple of Saturdays ago, we finally had our housewarming party. This the first ever party we hosted in Sydney, a far cry from the regular dinner "challenges" we had in Canberra.

Reminiscent of our old Canberra "Nakata Challenges," the menu for the housewarming party was from the club.nakata.net website recipes:

Antipasti
Olives, Artichokes, Sundried Tomatoes

Primi
Penne Alla Boca (all time favourite, penne with creamy tomato sauce)
Pesto Genovese (using the ear-shaped orechiette pasta)
Bevette con gamberri (with a cherry tomatoes, prawns and a dash of curry)

Secondi
Polpettone (aka meatloaf)

Contorno
Mixed leaf salad

Dolci
Torta Di Cioccolata
Vanilla Ice Cream (Lauren's request)

Vino
McGuigan Semillon, St Hubert Chardonnay, Crossings Pinot Noir

Back in Canberra, I normally acted as the sous chef assisting chef de cuisine Dr Shogo. This time around, I had to do all the cooking myself (with Malc washing up). Adding to the scheduling problem was my Iaido grading on the same day. So, after doing my Iaido forms trying to be as calm as a samurai (I fumbled and did not flip my sword scabbard correctly but passed anyway), I ran home to beat the clock a la Iron Chef. Allez Cuisine!

The meatloaf was still in the oven when the first guests arrived, and while the last of the pasta was being boiled, Malc entertained Khariss and Mari. Next to arrive were Susan & Narelle, then came Belinda. Last to arrive, after a cross-city phone tag, were Lauren and Staf.

And then dinner was served, but not before the perfunctionary photo.

After everyone had their fill, interesting conversation started to flow. And, as the night went on, the entertainer in Dr Malc finally emerged after a bit of Soukous music and 'some' wine!

It was nice to get our home all-warmed up, and fantastic to share a fun-filled evening with good friends. Thanks for coming, guys.