December Dinner Club

Dinner Club was small and cozy this month. Lyndon and Katie couldn't make it due to their little guy being ill. Bruce also had a work Christmas party so it was just us, Nellie, Frank & Erin.
Frank & Erin brought over a tasty appetizer. It consisted of mango, avocado, red pepper, basil, honey, grapefruit juice and lime juice:

Erin sliced up a baguette, brushed the crostinis with oil and then toasted 'em:
It was just what an appetizer should be: easy to eat, delicious and lots of flavor to wake up your palette:
We ate the appetizer while huddling around the breakfast bar so that we could hang out with Mikey while he cooked.
Once dinner was ready, we moved over to the dinner table (affectionately called the "big kids table"):
Having red plates, red napkins & a red tablecloth as my everyday get-up makes setting the table for a December themed dinner party easy peasey!

Due to the small crowd for dinner, we tweaked the menu at the last minute. Mikey made Curried Shrimp :
Nellie brought Turkish Lemon Pudding for dessert:
It was like a sponge cake made with semolina flour. After the cake came out of the over, Nellie poured a bunch of simple syrup over the top and the cake doubled in size! Then, she drizzled a homemade pomegranate & cranberry syrup over the cake and garnished it with pomegranate seeds. I love trying new foods- it's the perk of dinner club! Dessert was served with coffee. Perfect combination!

Just as we were finishing up dessert, Bruce arrived just in time for the photo sesh:

Erin & Frank:

M&M:
Lyndon and Katie will be hosting in January.