The Hunt is Over

We have new neighbors.

And, with summer now over, 

there are just a few of us 

left on the lake for the winter.

Sounds like a perfect excuse to.....

have a party to welcome them to Snowbank Lake.

 

We set out to make the front as welcoming as possible,

 using what we could find in the yard to make a fall vignette.

 The theme of the party was 'the hunt is over', as

our new neighbors searched for five years before finding

their new home in the woods.

Sister-in-law, Martine, is visiting from Alaska, and

volunteered to help with the food prep and decorating.

She is our guest tablescaper this month, and came up with a 

beautiful fall themed arrangement for the hors d'oeuvres spread.

She scoured my stash and employed pears, acorns, pine cones, 

pheasants, and antlers that echo our forest in the fall.

Juicing the limes for the shrimp cups.

 Mushroom caps stuffed with Boursin cheese, topped with

shaved Parmesan, and dried oregano.

 

The backdrop for the food..... 

 

The bar service area where hubs makes his guests feel welcome.

  

A turntable for the drink 'extras' takes up less space

and is more convenient.

 The finished stuffed mushrooms.

Pear and brie crostini with a drizzle of a balsamic vinegar reduction,

 topped with dried cranberries.  Because, in

our small town, ripe pears were not available, we sauteed the underripe pears in

a dab of butter to soften them up - I think it was even more delicious.

 Alaskan salmon atop cucumber slices and a schmear of dilled cream cheese.

Chicken and gorgonzola stuffed tortellini were coated with panko and baked,

then served with a marinara sauce.

A great appetizer for a hungry crowd were these ham and swiss spirals

with a mustard, honey, poppyseed glaze.

In the background are the shrimp cups, using baked wonton wrappers.

We lined the bottom of the cups with organic arugula, then an ancho dusted shrimp

topped with lime sour cream, finally garnished with lime zest.

To avoid a riot of discontent, MIL Barbara provided

the deviled eggs for this party, as she does for every neighborhood party.  

We surely don't want the natives getting restless.

 

We made merry and all got acquainted -

and everyone agreed that, 

even though they looked great on Pinterest, these chocolate caramel pops 

were absolutely horrible.  

We haven't had new neighbors in 15 years, so I hope to

come across a better dessert recipe before anyone else joins our neighborhood.