'Twas the Week Before Christmas.....

What an amazing week it's been - chock full o' socializing and Christmas cheer. There have been lunches, dinners and even a concert with singing cows! And while I have never been so perpetually full, it has also been a delicious week.

Last night we had a date at Christmas central, the home of the fantabulous Lori and Shayne where we got to socialize with the Kraan's. Lori is kind of like the Queen of Christmas. She LOVES the festive season even more than I do, PLUS she is one of the most extraordinary cooks I know. In a flurry of last minute emails, we all decided that the most important thing at this time of the year, was to be comfortable, so we agreed that we should all attend in our pj's. I don't think I have to tell you how great it is to go to a Christmas party in your pj's.

The brilliance of last night's get-together is that it didn't feature a heavy meal. Rather, Lori put together a feast of finger foods and amuse bouche. It was both satisfying and delicious. AND we didn't roll out of there feeling like we were going to pop! And we did it all in our pj's. Allow me to escort you through the brilliance of Lori's menu. I don't have recipes, but I'm sure if you were interested, that COULD be arranged.

Why, here are our hosts now! Prepping in their jammies!

We had prosciutto and carmelized onions on focaccia.

Salami, cheese and an olive served on a sprig of rosemary.

And mini mac 'n cheeses, made in a miniature cupcake pan. Genius!

And these beautiful and tasty morsels of cherry tomatoes, bocconcini, delicately wrapped in a fresh basil leaf. (These, apparently are labour intensive, but in my opinion, totally worth it! They are both beautiful to the eye and the mouth.)

And these delectable mushroom caps, stuffed with Stilton, prosciutto, and nuts.

And then we took a break. Lori walked us through the ornaments on her gorgeous tree.

We also got to admire the fabulous retro diorama.

And then Lori brought out a spectacular palette cleanser, which was big on taste AND presentation. These are chilled spoons of mango, lime and mascarpone served up on a slab of Himalayan salt. Is this not spectacular?

Here's a close up of the Himalayan salt slab. You can heat it or chill it!

We capped it off with a cappuccino. Note the sweet heart shaped sugar on the side......

What a brilliant menu it was. And we got to all leave with a doggie bag of red velvet cupcakes featuring the characters from Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.

Tomorrow, I hope to FINALLY get to the post about last weekend's running dinner which was full of love, joy and present stealing!