‘Tis the season to stay in and stay cozy! Over the weekend my girlfriends and I got together to catch up, eat some good food and just have a good night in. We’ve been so busy lately, plus one of us lives in the States, so it was so fun getting together for some big belly laughs, good food and good wine.
3 things that made this night so fun:
1. A good spread of food
Our spread included: Spanakopita, a charcuterie board of meats, cheeses and crackers, Italian meatballs, dips, breads and this AMMMAZING Baked brie with apricot jam and pecans. Here’s the recipe:
Pecan-Topped Brie
Serves: 10-12, Prep: 10 minutes
1 13-15 ounce round of Brie or Camembert Cheese
1/2 cup of apricot jam/preserves
1 1/2 tbsp brown sugar
1/3 cup coarsely chopped pecans, toasted
Baguette-style French bread slices, and/or plain crackers
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the round of cheese in a shallow ovenproof serving dish. In a small bowl mix together the apricot jam and brown sugar. Pour and spread on top of cheese. Sprinkle with toasted pecans.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is soft and topping is bubbly. Serve with baguette slices and/or crackers.
Tip: When toasting your pecans, toast on medium heat in a frying pan and constantly stir them. They’ll sizzle just a little when they’re almost ready. Don’t burn them. Once they get hot they will toast very quickly! When you think they’re toasted, put them in a separate bowl. Do not leave them in the pan.
2. Good wine!
We had a many bottles going but everyone was reaching for the reds. We’re not picky wine drinkers… nor do we get really expensive wine.
Some affordable red wines that we tend to pick up are:
Apothic Red Blend $14.99/bottle (from USA)
Lunaris Malbec $15.99/bottle (from Argentina)
Valdepenas Reserva Anciano Aged 7 Years $24.99/ bottle (from Spain)
Mission Hill Reserve Shiraz $25.99/bottle (from Canada)
3. A Psychic/Tarot Card Reader
This was incredibly fun! Different, exciting and so interesting. Since we were a party of 6, it was $30 per person for a quick private reading with Jessica Screeton. We set up my second bedroom as the reading room with candles and dim lighting. We each had a turn to privately ask our spirits and angels any questions we had about our lives, our future and past. We got some answers to our questions and learned about our souls and the spirits that help guide us. It was eerie, but a good, positive kind of eerie! We left our readings inspired, more confident and more clear about our life’s path.
