We went with a lot of simple recipes that each had a small number of ingredients. It seemed like it was the best way to cook that much food at once and not have to end up serving dinner at midnight. I also started well in advance to make sure that I wasn’t rushing around last minute (like I am wont to do).

While I made about 10 different recipes, I’m only featuring one on here for now. I would put up more, but I can’t guarantee that I followed the rest of the recipes to the letter, and Katie mentioned to me that she kept adding honey to things, so I don’t want to put up inaccurate recipes. To give a better idea of what I did though, I’ll list out some of the stuff I made. I mixed a batch of sangria with red wine, spiced rum, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries and oranges. To make things easier, I had a lot of food that was good served room temperature: sliced chorizo, roasted asparagus, mushrooms sauteed with garlic and rosemary, manchego cheese with browned honey butter sauce, melon wrapped in speck and/or prosciutto, and spiced almonds. I also made a platter of meatballs and chorizo braised in red wine (omg so good!).

The recipe I’m going to share is best served room temperature or cold, so it’s perfect to make ahead for this type of party. It’s incredibly versatile as well and can easily be adapted to any type of cuisine to fit into any menu.

Tortilla Espanola (Spanish Tortilla)

1.5 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, par-boiled and diced.
1 medium onion, diced
1 medium red pepper, diced
1 medium green pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
10 eggs, room temperature
1 cup sour cream
2 cups freshly grated Manchego cheese
1 teaspoon Spanish paprika
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons good quality olive oil

Heat oven to 400 F. Heat olive oil in a large pan until shimmering. Add in the onions, peppers and potatoes and cook for 5 – 6 minutes, stirring frequently. Add in the garlic and continue to cook for another 3 – 4 minutes until fragrant and everything else is soft and golden. Take off the heat and set aside. Beat together the eggs, sour cream, cheese and salt and pepper. Add in the vegetable mixture. Grease 9 x 13 pan and then add in the egg mixture. Sprinkle paprika evenly over the top and bake for 18 – 20 minutes until top is golden brown and the eggs are set. Let cool completely and then cut into squares. Serve the tortilla espanola room temperature or cold.

We served ours with a chipotle aioli that Katie made, for the sake of presentation and for an extra pop of flavor. The aoili is absolutely not necessary and I enjoyed the tortilla with and without it. Next time I want to play around with the ingredients and add something else in there, maybe some chorizo or some other meat. Thanks to Tapena for all the fun party favors and the inspiration for this party!

Well… maybe I don’t always make it the same way. Last night after everyone left, the husband said the chili was good and asked if it was for the blog. I thanked him and said yes it was, to which he replied he thought so, because I put whole chili peppers in there instead of diced and it seemed more bloggy. This was an adorable [and true] observation on his part, and it reminded me of what a good decision I made in keeping him around six years ago. Which was actually pretty easy: I just had to buy him a meatball sub and he was all mine!

And now that I’ve made everyone want to vomit with our cuteness, on to the food!

Chili of Doom

1 1/2 lb ground sirloin
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, with juice
1 can (14.5 oz) crushed tomatoes, with juice
8 oz beef broth
8 oz dark beer
12 oz tomato paste
1/2 cup brown sugar, loosely packed
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
2 chili peppers, whole
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large stockpot. Add the onions and cook until translucent. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant; add in the ground sirloin and brown the meat. Add in all remaining ingredients except the tomato paste. Bring to a boil, then let simmer for about two hours over medium-low heat. Before serving, remove the chili peppers and stir in the tomato paste. Serve garnished with cheese and/or sour cream. Serves 6 – 8.

I have to say, this is pretty awesome chili. It’s not the hottest chili on the block, but it’s got a nice, smoky heat to it and has plenty of savory flavor. All the sweet ingredients add a nice depth of flavor, particularly the cocoa powder which is such a great pairing with any dish containing chilies. I tripled the recipe for yesterday’s poker game and there was nothing left at the end of the night. It’s definitely a crowd pleaser!