A Dinner Party

I hosted my first dinner party on Friday night! Due to a slight mis-communication between my roommate and I, it ended up just being myself and two of my friends. However, just having the two of them over turned out to be absolutely great! After a half-day at work, I stopped by some grocery stores to pick up food and alcohol because I wanted to make some fun cocktails.

Trader Joe's, $18.72

• Mango & Sticky Rice Dessert (forgot about dessert, so didn't eat this yet)
• Pita Crackers
• Cilantro & Jalapeno Hummus (delicious... my new favorite hummus! The center tastes like chutney)
• Bacardi White Rum (I had a $2-off coupon)

Ralph's, $13.29

• Orange Juice
• Pineapple Juice
• 3 Chicken Kabob Skewers with Vegetables

For vegetables, I already had all the ingredients. I marinated two sliced zucchini with about 1/2 cup of Italian dressing and a few teaspoons of oregano, thyme and basil for 5 hours in my fridge. It's from this awesome recipe and I grilled them up on one side of the grill while the chicken kabobs grilled on the other. Pre-grilled zucchini:

[my own image via Blackberry]

We had the hummus and pita chips while we waited for the grilled items to finish, and I made some brown rice in my rice cooker as well. The food was delicious and so were the Mai Tai's that we made! Dark rum (already had), light rum, pineapple juice and orange juice. I might've enjoyed them a bit too much! ;)

My friends stayed until midnight and we just sat around the small dining room table eating and talking. It was a great night, even if it was a bit more elaborate and expensive since I bought everything... but they had hosted me for the final World Cup game so I was more than happy to return the favor! Plus it gave me a reason to try a new recipe and the grilled zucchini is definitely a keeper, and I was able to work on some hostess skills.