Learning to cook & hosting a dinner party...at the same time

Learning to cook and hosting your first dinner party for your brand new boyfriend (now fiancee) and another couple is a daunting experience to say the very least. Three years ago I decided to step up to the plate and give it a go, I mean how hard could this be, I've seen my mom do it a million times. I decided I would make baked rigatoni for the main course (I'm half Italian, can you tell) and an angel food cake (boyfriend's favourite) for desert. With some much needed help from my parents the entree turned out delicious; the cake, not so much. My mom, God love her, is not a baker which means I have not picked up any baking skills over the last 25 years. She told me once the cake is cooked you need to flip it over a pop bottle so it settles and cools. Well I didn't have a 2 litre pop bottle laying around so I used the next best thing, a Perrier bottle. Warning, do not do this at home! The cake fell to the counter crumbling into a million pieces. Needless to say, Michael (fiancee) is not marrying me for my baking abilities!

The moral of this story, no matter how lousy of a cook you may be and how daunting the experience is, people notice your efforts and appreciate them!

Stay tuned for the baked rigatoni recipe in a future post.

I don't have a picture of us from that night so I thought I'd post another of Michael and I to introduce you all to him!

Side note, who was your favourite on Idol last night? I have such a tough time picking a favourite, they're all great. My top 3 favourites are Paul, Casey and Scotty.... Pia too!

Enjoy the Party :)