Bar Party!

So two of my good friends, Brian Christensen and Kari Baardson (They're #1) took the Utah Bar exam on Wednesday, so we decided to throw a Bar Party for them. Amy Norton and Julia came up with some very clever ideas for refreshments. We had candy bars, lemon bars, a salad bar, an open bar (so to speak. Stocked with such Mormon-friendly drinks like lemon-lime soda, juice, and sparkling cider), some Law & hors d’oeuvres, a time to grill (hamburgers and hotdogs), The Firm (jello), and twelve angry cupcakes (a spoof on the movie twelve angry men. I haven’t seen it, but I’ve heard that it’s pretty good).

I helped out by making some of the hors d’oeuvres and the twelve angry cupcakes (complete with little cardboard jury box and racial diversity). I made two kinds of savory cream puffs, and mushrooms stuffed with zucchini (from my garden!), shallots, garlic, and little shrimp with a mixture of mozzarella and gruyere cheese on top. I was a very picky eater when I was a child (what child besides myself didn’t like French fries!? Weird) and never thought much of either mushrooms or shrimp. I volunteer for Chef Jim Light up in Salt Lake every now and then, and he has helped to expand my culinary horizons a bit. He has made both shrimp and mushrooms that I have really enjoyed, so I thought I’d give it a shot myself. It turned out pretty good! Some people REALLY liked them. I’d still have to say that it’s not my absolute favorite thing in the world (no pork-products involved, after all. Though bacon would make just about anything taste better. I might have to throw some in next time J ) Amy made these little things that were basically little squares of puff-pastry with some mozzarella, homemade pesto, and half of a grape tomato baked in mini-muffin tins. I couldn’t get enough of them! One of the cream puffs had chicken and almonds, a bunch of spices, and a touch of worcestershire sauce. The other ones were rosemary with a little bit of gorgonzola, and a whole lot of mozzarella and gruyere cheese on top. It was a first for me to make cream puffs that weren’t sweet. I think they turned out pretty good, but there are things I would do next time to tweak them a bit. They flattened out for some reason, especially the ones with the cheese. I probably put way too much on there, but I love cheese! Especially gruyere. Gift Idea: If any of you are around for my birthday in November, you can just get me a block of the cave-aged gruyere from Costco. It would keep me a happy camper for weeks! Yu-ummy!

Many people came to the party and we had some great times talking. Rob graciously offered to grill the meat for us, but was wearing a new shirt, so he took it off to avoid getting it messy. Watching other people watch him was one of the highlights of my evening, I must say! Good times! Rob never fails to liven up whatever situation he finds himself in.

Well, it was fun. Congratulations one more time to Brian, Kari, and anyone else who survived the taking of the Bar Exam this week!