Dinner for 6

Oh MAN was that ever cool!!!!

Tiffany & Josh, Ben & Betsy & Chloe came over and having such interesting people all in one room... I wanted to just sit and talk all night. Now those are people I would go camping with. Or on a cruise (am I cruise people? not sure on that) or take on a rafting trip if I knew how. We talked and laughed and I acted doofy and they laughed. We had wine & caviar! Just like adults.

Here's some of the menu:

The Chicken Pot Pies are from Bon Appetit and you can see the recipe by clicking here. (God bless the folks at epicurious.com.) It was a very fun recipe. I loved dismantling the chicken- like some kind of a science show, even if I had no desire to eat any of it.

Baked Artichoke Dip
5 tablespoons grated Romano (about 1 ounce)
3 tablespoons light mayo
3 tablespoons light sour cream
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram (I didn't have any- I think I put in some Oregano)
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 14-ounce can artichoke hearts in water, well drained & chopped into 1/4 inch pieces

Whisk up everything but the artichokes. Mix in the arties. Transfer to ramekins. (You can make this a day ahead. Love that.)
Bake at 375 until heated through (20-30 minutes, depending how cold it was to start.)
If you wanna be real fancy, top with a little more romano and a dash of Paprika and stick it under the broiler for a couple minutes.

Lemon Cream Phyllo Tartlets (Tartlet!!)
1 cup lemon curd (sounds fancy, but you can almost always find it in the jelly section)
7 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
3 teaspoons grated lemon peel (I used mineola peel for color. Also it's what I had, people.)
1/2 cup whipping cream

box of 15 1 1/2 inch frozen phyllo shells

Combine all the soft stuff except the whipping cream and whisk until just about smooth. Beat the cream until stiff peaks form. (God also bless the folks who invented the Kitchenaid whisk attachment.) Fold the whipped cream into the lemon mix. (You can do all this a day ahead, cover tightly & friggerate.)

Spoon lemon cream into phyllo shells. I think next time I'll pop the shells in the toaster oven for a few minutes first, just to get them nice & crispy. If you wanted to be SUPER fancy, you could top them with a little star of whipped cream from your handy dandy frosting bag cake decorator thingy.

But to do that, you'd have to be wearing an apron and a beehive. Next time...sigh.