Mystery Meal

it was a dark and stormy night. just the right setting for the 11th SUNDAY SUPPER: THE MYSTERY MEAL. until suppertime who exactly would and would not, be showing up, and what those who did come would be bringing truly remained a mystery.

all i knew for sure is what i would be making. pasta with roasted summer veggies, a favorite dish from my mom's arsenal of recipes.

the pasta i actually brought back from a visit to Rome to my mama and papa a year and a half ago. it had been waiting patiently in my pantry and boy was it delicious.

the veggies on the other hand were quite a bit fresher, picked up just the day before at my local neighborhood farmers market up the block, a beautiful bounty of squash, zucchini, eggplant, plum tomato and onion.

and the final product!

tasted as good (almost) as i remembered it... i did a slight variation on my mom's recipe, instead of using parmesean cheese i set aside some fresh feta cheese, which i had on hand and thought the tang and creaminess of it would make a nice compliment to the rich, olive oiled and garlic infused vegetables.

and just as i topped it off with some freshly chopped parsley, friends arrived with both food and drink in hand:





the menu:

andrew's tacos in a bag
stephen's raita w/ pita chips
jason & kate's german potato salad
amanda's guacamole and corn on the cob
rachel's roasted vegetable salad w/ feta cheese
serena's crostini, ricotta, balsamic-onion chutney & vanilla peach jam

and many lovely wines courtesy of abbot, amanda, jason and kate and stephen. not to mention seriously delicious st germaine cocktails...

...courtesy of josh who once again quenched the thirsts of all the guests, and even came complete with his serious bartender 'stache!

and serena came complete with a serious necklace...

... but the night was anything but serious, a lovely, intimate and happy, happy night. this was the 11th sunday supper but the first time it felt like a supper, the gathering of just a few friends, many of us catching up after not seeing one another for many months, others meeting for the first time.

the meal is what brought us together, but the company is what kept us together.

that and andrew's tacos in a bag...