Sunday, November 20, 2011

Beaujolais Nouveau Day Came and It Was Good

As you may recall, a week or so ago, I had the sudden realization and subsequent panic surrounding the fast-approaching Beaujolais Nouveau Day.


For the love of the wine.


After writing that post, I finally decided Beaujolais Nouveau Day and, more importantly, the spirit behind my annual celebration, was something I needed to do even if I didn't feel as though I had the energy to do it. Which I really didn't.

O and the Gothfather capturing the spirit of the night.

It turns out, that post was something of a subconscious plea for assistance in putting together a night of debauchery when I couldn't muster the strength to go it alone. My friends rose to the occasion beautifully and gave me helpful suggestions along with offers to both host and cook if necessary. As O put it, he was willing to "take one for the team".

Maggledy and O...part of my "team".

So, with a keen awareness of just how little I had to give to the planning and execution of the evening, I chose to invite a very small group of people and asked them to help me by taking the burden of preparing most of the food off my plate (heh).

Cheese, gerbera daisies, wine, and chocolate served with a side of friendship. My favorite things.

That, quite possibly, was the best idea EVER!

O brought his spectacular gumbo.
Maggledy brought the richest, cheesiest, most delicious artichoke dip I've ever had.
Ms. C brought delectable delicacies from Buffalo Doughboy Bakery.
Acr0nym brought homemade soft pretzels, homemade European-style butter, and homemade limoncello he'd set back in July.
The Gothfather brought his mad cleanup skills and his shirtsleeves rolled up.

Ms. C unable to decide which sinful delight to partake of first - limoncello, chocolate, or wine.

For my part, I baked a brie en croute with Primo Raspberry Habanero Preserves (I used MouCo ColoRouge cheese instead of brie) and set out a pre-packaged vegetable tray and a plate of dark chocolate from Northern Chocolate Co.

Acr0nym's pretzels. Oh my! Tasty. Especially with the butter.

We each contributed a bottle of the Guest of Honor - Beaujolais Nouveau - from a variety of vintners.

Our gathering was intimate and merry - chattering and laughter ringing throughout The Grotto, capturing the attention of the Belfry Bats who would wander down and welcomed warmly. Modchen lent her costuming creativity to the festivities by dressing as a bacchante.

Our beautiful bucchante

We drank way too much wine and gorged ourselves on the richness and riches of both food and friends.

The last guest - #himself - departed at nearly 6 a.m.

And, even though today I'm exhausted, dehydrated, and feeling every single one of my 40 years, I am also happily satisfied and glad I did it...

With a little (lot) of help from my friends.

Le beaujolais nouveau est arrivé! And it was good.

EDITED TO ADD: A special thanks to Acr0nym for his fabulous photographs. He's now my official blog photographer.

7 comments:

Gavin said...

Thank you for hostessing, Miss Jane. We appreciate your above-and-beyond efforts in a time of limited energy. Into the holidaze we go!

The Shiftless Wanderer said...

I love these stories of your friends and gatherings and road trips. I have something to aspire to! In fact, now that I think of it, perhaps I was unknowingly inspired by your adventuresome self to step out of our traditional Thanksgiving Day routine this year. My husband and I are joining a group of folks that supposedly are a bit on the wild side. I felt like I wanted to step out of my comfort zone and do something different. I had to tug at my husband a bit to get him to agree. And we're going! Anyway, loved this description of Beaujolais Nouveau Day!

Just Jane said...

I'm happy to know you've found inspiration here! And I do hope you'll let me know how your wild side Thanksgiving turns out.

alienbody said...

Sounds like a lovely event. I love 'tasting' gatherings. We hosted two beer events (my hubbypants is a craft homebrewer) to raise money for my daughters cheer team. Our guests loved discovering how good GOOD beer can be. Cheers!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for using MouCo Cheese...sounds so yummy..

MsSparrow said...

I love the picture of O. That pretty much sums him up.

alienbody said...

So, what are the recommendations? Which one do I need to buy and try?