Goat Cheese & Beet Crostini, Salmon & Spinach Salad, Lemon Pudding Cups

Am I crazy or what?  2 Dinner Parties simultaneously!  Girls night in; we are all back together once more!  Weather forecast is blue skies; and of course good food is key! Due to diet restrictions kept it simple.  Great night; it was so good to reconnect and to share our hearts.  Such joy to see someone you love glowing because she did not settle and followed her dream!  She did so at 60!  An inspiration and a reminder:  You are only as old as you feel!

Now as I did not want hubby, after coming off  a crazy insane work week (shift work and overtime) to feel like he was being kicked to the curb; called our friend Lou... did he have plans for Fri night?  No.  Good, cause K is coming over to dinner.  I'll cook.  Ok.   Then I ran into Donna, another good friend.  Whacha doing tomorrow night?  So I invited her to dinner with the "boys".  Lou laughed later; as Donna came up to tell him she was invited..  needless to say we are all good friends.   And as luck would have it; Lou rec'd some very good news at approx  5pm that was worthy of a celebration of life!  

So... I made enough food to serve all of us; my girlfriends and my friends who were gathered 3 doors down!  Yes, a good time was had by all!  After the girls left, went to party #2 for coffee & baileys and sharing stories until midnight.  Rec'd rave reviews!  Yes, a good night was had by all!  

God is good :)  How often does one get to experience the best of 2 worlds!

Appetizers:

Goat Cheese & Beet Crostini

Combine:

1 6oz package of light goat cheese

1 T mayo

½ t dry fennel (as a substitute for tarragon)

1 garlic clove, crushed

Cut a French baguette into approx. 24 slices

Top each slice with 1 t of the cheese spread

Place 3 pickled beets on top of that and serve

I served along with sliced Italian bread and jarred antipasta and some fig, proscuitto and manchego cheese sandwiches.

The Main:  Grilled Salmon and Jamie’s cranberry Spinach salad

Ingredients:

1 T butter

¾ c almonds, blanched & slivered

1 lb spinach, rinsed and torn into bite sized pieces

1 c dried cranberries

2 T toasted sesame seeds

1 T poppy seeds

½ c white sugar

2 t minced onion

¼ t paprika

¼ c white wine vinegar

¼ c cider vinegar

½ c vegetable oil

Directions:

In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.  Cook and stir almonds in butter until lightly toasted.  Remove from heat and let cool.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sugar, onion, paprika, white wine vinegar, cider vinegar and vegetable oil

Toss with spinach just before serving.

In a large bowl, combine spinach with the toasted almonds and cranberries.

Courtesy of:  All Recipes.com

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/jamies-cranberry-spinach-salad/

Dessert:  Lemon Meringue Pudding Cups

A variation of Mum’s favourite recipe to make for dear Dad.  Sherriff Lemon Pie Mix.  Followed packet instructions; poured lemon filling into glasses.  Made Meringue as per instructions.  Lined a baking pan with parchment paper.  Scoop meringue making 4 rounds.  Baked 6-7 mins until brown.  Placed on top of pudding cups and refrigerate until ready to serve.