Okay, I’m over my annoyance.

Last night was Ryan’s birthday party. Jon and I made lots of food. Jon made guacamole, crepes, ham and cheese sandwiches, and pesto. I made blackberry-rosemary syrup, basil-lime syrup, onion dip, salsa, chicken liver pate, mini twice-baked potatoes, and goat cheese stuffed basil leaves. Ryan, even though she was the birthday girl, made mojitos and raspberry coulis.

Yes, all right, the onion dip was a package of soup mix and sour cream. I’m evil! The potatoes were a variation on the original recipe, using pesto and monterey jack cheese instead of cheddar and green onions. Jon thought the pesto ones were better. I’m not convinced yet, although I do agree that the pesto was magnificent. I would link to his recipe, if only I could remember where his neglected blog lives.

We had a recently-pregnant lass at the party, which is why I made the syrups, so she could have fun drinks in a non-alcoholic way. The new one, the blackberry-rosemary syrup, I think needs more sugar. It was very… subtle. The rosemary was much stronger in flavor than the blackberry, which was kind of an afterthought. I might try it with raspberry next time. Wow, was it a pretty color, though. Veryvery pretty.

We did kind of run out of food, although we made a TON. And I was exhausted. Seriously, I fell asleep on the couch as people were heading home. I had to stay over at Jon and Ryan’s that night because I wasn’t sure whether I could make the ten minute drive to my house. It was kind of nonstop cooking from after work Friday until the party Saturday night.

And then, on Sunday, I made stock and cookies. Why not? I’d like to try making fish stock next. Or beef stock.