Cocktail Party!

When culinary minds meet like they did at my house last Saturday, big things happen.  By big things I mean this kick-ass cocktail party we orchestrated. Get excited.

The day started out as awesomely as it began; with a hike around Cranberry Lake preserve.  Behold the wonders:

Now on to the food!  The only thing we made that had an actual recipe was this peach crumb pie a la Pat and Gina Neely.  I love making a Neely recipe because it allows me to say "brown suga" about a zillion times, without irritating anyone I can assure you.

The peach filling and the crumb topping.

Pre and post-baking.

We also had a peach flavored cocktail.  Where we took this opportunity to finish some flavored vodkas we had lying around the liquor cabinet.

On to appetizer number one: jalapeno poppers in won-ton wrappers.  The filling was cream cheese, cheddar cheese, and canned chopped jalapenos.  We fried these in a pan and they were the talk of the town.

Moving along to appetizer number 2, polenta cakes.  These polenta rounds were topped with yellow squash, red onion, black beans, salsa, and cheddar cheese.  That massive bowl is filled with some guacamole.

Appetizers number 3 and 4 were brie en crute (that an attractive yet unbelievably tasty looking stuff to the right) and stuffed clams (these were of the frozen variety).

What an evening it was!