My Party

Lots of fun. We had lots of laughs--my SIL said her stomach hurt from laughing so much. I think that is the hallmark of a great group of people.

Picks and Qualifications

• Mojitos--Oh my goodness these were good. I did these the old-fashioned way: mint from the garden, simple syrup and fresh limes. Very delicious and refreshing. I will serve these again at my next casual outin.
  
• The Spicy Shrimp Empanadas were out of this world good. Horribly time intensive. In the future, I would make, bake and freeze in advance. But they will definitely be an appetizer to turn to for a special party. My son helped me with these. No shorcuts (as in refrigerated dough etc). We made EVERYTHING by hand. I will remember these for a long time.
  
• Pork Roast--Wonderful, but I overcooked it--I feared this when I saw that the roast had been cut (cut through the bone) but not de-boned and rolled. I didn't adjust the cook time down. It looked beautiful, and tasted great (flavor), but it was tough. This is always my worst fear. I should have had my remote thermometer working.
  
• Cuban Beans--wonderfully flavorful. I used canned beans, and there was no compromise in flavor.
• Pineapple/Avocado Salad--A salad to have on any hot day. Cool, refreshing and delicious. I could see just making this salad accompanied with full size empanadas and beans. In fact, I will make that as a casual entertaining meal. I had two guest help with these--a great way to visit with your guests while making last minute preparations.
  
• Cuban opera cake--the finest desert I make. Minor disaster is that though I followed all of the times for refrigeration/setting, the cake's middle mousse layer did not fully set. Just like our unset middles--it props up everything else. Serving the cake was a minor nightmare--but the taste was not compromised. I will NEVER make this cake the same day again.
• Roasted Garlic Chicken: Very easy. I by-passed the pan searing (I had no energy/time left to do one more thing) and put it directly from the marinade into the oven.
  

Pans

• Chicken Mousse--very bland. I will never make this again.

It was lots of fun. I was very proud of my son who tackled some difficult tasks (buttercream and moussed prep, rolling out empanada dough). We were both exhausted though. I've done precious little today!

I hope that you had a good holiday.