Open House Goodies

Opting to attempt an eat-at-home weekend (a welcome choice for the budget's sake), Zed and I decided to have some friends over on Sunday evening to celebrate the completion (minus a few touch ups) of our renovations.

We had already decided after our chocolate tasting at The Cocoa Room on Wednesday, that we would have to put out chocolate for everyone. This included some of the Patric and Bonnat Asfarth bars and the bark from Wednesday, as well as a Bonnat Java bar (65%; dark milk), a Domori 70% bar (Madagascar), a Francois Pralus 75% bar (Madagascar) and some Mocha Meltaways that I picked up on Friday. Beyond this, we decided to hunt for the savory bits at the Sobeys on Jasper after our yoga class Sunday afternoon.

Upon arrival, we came stumbling in upon a shelf full of some hefty looking sweet potatoes, and remembering a recipe I had seen on the Foodie Suz blog the other day, we picked up a couple for some sweet potato fries. We grabbed a couple limes, their zest headed for a bowl of popcorn, then made our way over to the bakery side of things. There we picked up a couple baguettes, containers of hummus, baba ganouj and tzatziki (I know its awful not to make these dips, but we were looking for something quick, as we still had a good bit of cleaning to do before everyone's arrival). A jar of salsa, a couple bags of tortilla chips and a bottle of orange and cranberry sparkling water completed the food portion of our trip.

Next we headed over to deVine Wines to satisfy the promise of beer we had made to our guests. Our fridge already stocked with the Anchor Brewing Company's 34th Annual Christmas Ale, we decided to pick up a six pack of Sleeman's Honey Brown (a sure favourite), Zed's choice of Steam Whistle, and Paddock Wood 606, our favourite IPA from Saskatoon. Unfortunately we hadn't planned far enough ahead to arrange a chauffer, and upon deciding we wouldn't be able to walk our packages to their final destination, we were forced to hire a cab for a pricy four minute trip home.

Our first priority at home was to clean. We vaccumed and washed everything, and the fridge was given a good scrub and filled with beer. While Zed put together a newly purchased lamp from Ikea for the bedroom, I peeled and cut the sweet potatoes into wedges, tossed them in rosemary, olive oil and salt and pepper, and got them into the oven to begin their crisping. After the lamp was set up to our liking, Zed popped a bowl of popcorn in the maker and I topped it off with some chili powder, lime zest and a bit of salt, a reference to a snack available at the Sugar Bowl. We cut the baguettes into disks appropriate for dipping, and arranged the chips and salsa.

As our guests began to arrive, I set out the hot and crispy fries with a bowl of mayo with garlic, salt, and Tobasco for dipping, and placed the arrangement of chocolates on the coffee table.

Everything was enjoyed throughout the night, and our friends were duely impressed by our newly finished condo.

After the festivities were over, as we cleaned and went over the evening, we were more than happy to have attempted the at home party, with what we felt was a good mix of take away treats and homemade creations.