The Inevitable Dinner Party

I had Homemade Lemon Verbena Ice Cream in the freezer. There was no stopping it. A dinner party was inevitable.

Invites were made for Sunday night. Invites were accepted by Kristin (the archaeologically-inclined one), Laurel and Christine. Even my hairstylist Mark, along with his beau Michael, RSVPed positively, since they would be apartment hunting in the area.

A top-notch crowd who liked to eat. Perfect.

Menu was determined. Menu was reworked upon a visit the Greenmarket. Three pounds of raw, peeled extra-large shrimp was ordered from FreshDirect. (Yes. It's true. After a two year hold-out, I decided to give them another try and have been pleasantly surprised.) And, I even made a run to the liquor store on Atlantic Avenue, since the one on Henry and Clark was out of Pimms. (I was set on stirring up a pitcher of Pimms and Lemonade, as a cooling extra in addition to my air-conditioning unit.)

This was gonna be one nice dinner...or so I thought. Well, actually, it was a lovely dinner, except for one misstep in the kitchen - the overbrining of the shrimp - resulting in perky, but extremely salty specimens. Must admit that my guests were delightful about the whole thing - some even consuming 14 briny babies in the Fusilli with Shrimp, Cherry Tomatoes, Lemon and Fresh Basil that I whipped up. (Pictured above.)

Of course, I kept harping on my error and my guests moved on to all the other tastes that I offered on the table - from Baby Arugula Salad with Cashel Blue Cheese, Toasted Walnuts and White Asparagus to Sauteed Zucchini with Mint and Red Onion.

Even the next day, I couldn't help but be fixated on my foodie failure.

And then Mark and Michael made my day with an honest to goodness "thank you" card. (Thought those went away with the advent of the Internet!):

Thank you SO much for the delightful evening in your home. The meal was delicious and it was so evident that an extreme amount of time and thought went into its preparation and presentation. Your guests - Laurel, Christine and Kristin - were delightful and we both enjoyed meeting them. As always - a perfectly planned evening in all respects and we had a great time.

Next time at our place - where ever that may be...

So, really I had no business rubbing salt into my wound. My guests had a great time. And, you know what? So did I.

I think I'll even live to brine again!