Nibblefest 2007

So the small plates dinner went great. The only real challenge was that there was way too much food and that we had stuff out for "appetizers" on the coffee table but as we brought out food for the main meal, we just passed it around while sitting on the couch. The hits of the evening were made by J - the gougeres (cheese puffs) and the endive lettuce wrap with ground chicken. The Endive lettuce wrap is so going into our repertoire. Very elegant, fairly straightforward once you make the ground chicken and totally tasty. It was incredible. Folks were less inclined to reach for the trashy dishes like the grape jelly vegetarian meatballs (grape jelly and Heinz chili sauce as the base!) or the vegetable pizza S brought (which was divine). Here's the final menu:

Union Square mixed nuts
Teeny weeny mozzarella balls with grape tomatoes on skewers
Gougeres
Grape jelly vegetarian meatballs
Endive lettuce wraps with ground chicken
roasted potatoes with garlic aoili and roasted pepper sauce
Garlic shrimp
Queso fresco lettuce wraps (brought by Pauline)
Vegetable pizza (with Hidden Valley ranch and sour cream as the pizza sauce)
Banana Bread (brought by Karen)
travel sized bottles of Grey Goose, Peppermint Schnapps, Jim Beam, Bailey's and Kalhua (courtesy of Matt)
White chocolate mousse
Cinnamon truffles rolled in sugared pistachios

Now permit me to rant on the complete unreliability of the internet when it comes to recipes. J was trying to find a good truffle recipe and the information on the internet is contradictory and confusing. Some people say that Ina Garten's recipe sux. Others say it's the best EVAH. The most erroneous bit of information on the internet was the hostility against using milk chocolate for truffles. They were the perfect consistency and their soft chocolate flavor was wonderful against the pistachio coating. The second most erroneous bit of information was to REFRIGERATE the dark chocolate truffle mixture before rolling them into balls. We broke three spoons that way. This is why Epicurious is such a great source of recipes. You get reviews of the recipes. While everyone has a different opinion, after you read six or seven reviews, there's usually some kind of consensus about a recipe. But all of this wouldn't be an issue if there weren't big fat liars on the internet banning the use of milk chocolate and refrigerated dark chocolate ganache. :P