wine log: Wine-Soaked Housewarming Party

I managed to squeeze in my housewarming party in February, the same month that I moved into my new apartment. In my humble opinion, I think the company was fantastic, the food satisfying, and of course, the wine superb. :-) I even provided some beer as a goodwill gesture (ha!) and some Voyant chai liqueur for my cocktail-loving sis. It was truly heartwarming to have so many people from different parts of my life to my first-ever Wooster party! (Well, since my 18th birthday.) Some of the several wines opened include a 2007 S.A. Prum Essence Riesling (Mosel), 2007 Educated Guess Cab (Napa), 2008 Pascual Toso Malbec (Mendoza), 2005 Le Pousseur Syrah (Central Coast), and 2009 Crios de Susana Balbo Torrontes (Argentina). Sadly, I did not get to taste them all, but I was a huge fan of the Torrontes – beautifully crisp with a touch of sweetness. I got to serve the wine in my gorgeous new Schott Zwiesel wine glasses, thanks to my awesome boss! I also want to share the recipes that I used, as I think everything turned out well for the most part. The only item I wouldn’t make again is the Marinated Feta and Olive Skewers, as the feta is too crumbly to slide onto a toothpick! Or perhaps I wouldn’t marinate it again. The only other glitch was the the power went out (for 3 hours!!) while I was baking the Low-Fat Banana Chocolate Chip Cake, but fortunately, it cooked all the way through! Thankfully, the power came back on in plenty of time for the party, so that we didn’t have to hang out in the dark and cold. I also made Sundried Tomato and Goat Cheese skewers (great combo!), Spicy Spinach Dip with Pine Nuts (yummy and healthy!), Warm Brie with Wild Mushroom Fricassee (the recipe calls for camembert, but brie works just fine), and some AMAZING Oatmeal Cream Cheese Butterscotch Bars. My mom also contributed some deliciously rich brownies with Ghirardelli chocolate-caramel squares sandwiched in the middle! Afterward, a few of us headed to the Wooster Inn Pub for a drink, just in case we hadn’t had enough already. All in all, a fantastic day!