Bon Appetite!

Tonight, Hubby and I ended up throwing an impromptu dinner party.

While shopping for butter earlier this afternoon (to make snicker-doodles don't cha know), Hubby noticed that beef roast was on sale for $1.99 a pound. It was too good of a deal to pass up, so we threw it in the cart and brought it home for dinner.

I was planning on a casual dinner with Hubby- eating my food while finishing a reflection paper for class. You see, this weekend I have to write a reflection paper and final research paper for my class and two exams that are part of my masters comprehensive exams. Studying is definitely the order for the weekend and not fine dining.

Around 4ish however, Hubby's mom called to see what we were up to. You see- we used to live in Hubby's parent's house right after we were married. They graciously allowed us to build a cute one bedroom apartment in their basement. When we lived there, they gave us a lot of space, but we still talked to them just about everyday. Now, we live down the street (it is very Everybody Loves Raymond- believe me) and it is not uncommon for Hubby's mom to call up and see what is going on.

Much to my surprise (note- not chagrin), Hubby invited his mother over for dinner. Immediately, my mind went to planning sides and such. Then somehow, I went from throwing together sides to planning a fun, candlelight dinner for three. I pulled out my harvest tablecloth, a few candelabras, my nice dinner plates and matching silverware (big time is when all of the silverware has the same pattern). I even decided to pull out the etched wine glasses that Hubby's uncle bought us for our wedding.

It was only then that I realized that we didn't have wine in the house. So, it was off to Aldi where I bought some bottles of Winking Owl wine (red of course), dinner rolls and salad mix.

When I returned home, Hubby was on the phone with our sister-in-law. I guess our little nephew had lost his mitten at our house earlier in the day when we were babysitting (except all along- the mitten was really in his diaper bag. Go figure). While he was on the phone, Hubby decided "the more, the merrier" and he invited them to dinner too.

In the end, we had more than enough food for the five of us (six if you count the plate that was sent home for Hubby's brother). We had the beef roast, cooked to perfection at medium rare and a yummy horseradish cream sauce to go with the beef. We also had mashed potatoes, glazed carrots, roasted carrots with garlic (carrots two ways because Hubby and I each prefer them cooked differently- can you guess which was my choice?), dinner rolls, and a spring green salad with goat cheese crumbles, Honeycrisp apple slices and walnuts- dressed with a strawberry balsamic vinaigrette.

The food was absolutely delicious and the ambiance was perfection with the candles and a little Sinatra in the background. None of our guests were expecting such a fancy dinner, but I think it made them smile.

I really enjoyed the dinner myself. It is nice to go above and beyond every once in a while. It was especially nice to create such a warm atmosphere on such a cold and blustery day. Now, I am ready for bed- stuffed with hearty food and with nary a paper completed...

There's always tomorrow. Say a prayer for me- will you?