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    The Great 8 Gathers...Our First Dinner Party!

    December 12, 2020 by Anna 2 Comments

    Our first dinner party was a Christmas theme, which meant the decorations were easy and the food was decadent and delicious!

    A dinner invitation.

    Wow, 22 years ago this month we gathered for our first dinner party.

    We started as a "gourmet" group; but since none of us are trained chefs, it soon turned into more of a foodie group. And what fun we've had!

    When we started we were not friends, more like acquaintances. The four of us ladies were volunteering at our kids' school, working on the same fundraisers and in our kids' classrooms.

    So we knew each other, but we had never met each other's spouses or hung out together. Perhaps because of this we didn't have any expectations of one another.

    It was a mutual love of cooking and an interest in entertaining that brought us together.

    [Wishing we had more pictures from that first Gr8 Dinner...We never thought we'd be doing a blog when we started!]

    Close up of fruit, cherries, pear, and grapes.

    Our husbands, of course, were a little skeptical (maybe a LOT skeptical!), but after the first dinner, they were each more accepting of the idea.

    They actually all got along! And they realized that these were not going to be stuffy gourmet dinner parties, but just a group of friends getting together for dinner. (Check out our "party outlines" to learn more.)

    Our Gr8 Dinner themes revolve around countries and cultures, favorite celebrity chefs, holidays, cities, even rock 'n roll...you name it, we've probably done it!

    Four men in western wear standing at a bar.

    The husbands really like when we do sports themes or fun things like our "Wild West" dinner.

    The invitation for that first dinner was modest compared to subsequent invitations. I did a simple card printed on my home computer. To make it special I sewed the envelope out of organza.

    This sounds like a lot of work, but remember we only have to make THREE! (I knew my middle school sewing class would come in handy!)

    Crown Roast of Pork surrounded by fruit.

    Since the date was the beginning of December, I chose a holiday meal theme and used my best dishes.

    And the decorations were easy; because it was Christmastime the house was already decorated. I didn't have to think about any special decorations at all.

    (Gr8 Tip: plan a Christmas dinner party for friends at the beginning of December and after you've decorated the house and half the work is done!)

    ~ Menu ~

    Assorted Appetizers and Cocktails

    Spicy Assorted Nuts

    Citrus-y Olives

    Dried Fig, Walnut, Cheese Spread

    Prosciutto Wrapped Figs

    Salad

    Butter Lettuce Salad with Pomegranate and Apple

    Main Course

    Crown Roast of Pork with Spiced Fruit Chutney

    Broccoli à la Kyle

    Farinella's Wild Rice with Mushrooms

    Dessert!

    Jurga's Cranberry Apple Pie à la Mode

    Wild rice with mushrooms.

    We never dreamed that these dinner parties would continue for so many years or that we would become the best of friends.

    I think it's because we kept it pretty simple, one of our main rules is that you don't have to try recipes ahead of time, if it doesn't work out, we'll order out! And we've NEVER had to do that.

    So gather a group of friends, plan some dates and start your own group!

    Remember ~ Gr8 Food, Gr8 Friends, Gr8 Fun!

    Four ladies.

    Christmas Dinner Themes

    Almost any theme can be adapted to Christmas, unless it's truly seasonal. So be cre-8-ive. These are two more dedicated Christmas themes that we've enjoyed.

    • An Olde English Christmas Mystery Dinner
    • Christmas Dinner Danish Style
    Edited from original post date of December 24, 2015.

    SaveSave

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    « THE Cherry Manhattan Cocktail Recipe
    Pomegranate Apple Walnut Salad »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

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    1. Anna

      December 24, 2015 at 12:30 pm

      Thanks for being a Gr8 friend and joining us!

    2. Brenda Perlin

      December 24, 2015 at 7:44 am

      Thank you for inviting us into your homes!!!

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