Dinner Party Anyone?

 No, my living room does not usually have a long table running through the middle of the room.  Nor do my couches contain so many different pillows.  This special rearrangement was for a dinner party my roommate Stephanie and I held at our home back the middle of October. 

The dinner was a farewell party for my dear friend Chitra, who was moving (has since moved) to Seattle to join her soon to be husband.  It was definitely one of those bittersweet occasions.  For as much enjoyment I had from planning the special event, to the work that went into that day's preparations, and the wonderful fellowship I experienced during our dinner; there was the reminder that this was one the last times I would see Chitra in quite some time.

We did have a wonderful time that evening.  So, many terrific memories, and friendships were formed (I had invited quite a number of my friends that didn't know each other).   

In honor of Chitra I did something I've never done before...prepared an entire Indian meal (her home before coming to Virginia to study was near Mumbai, India).  I have to say, though I spent a good deal of time prepping for this meal, and worked diligently all through the day, I did not finish the entire menu I had planned (still had plenty to eat).  Just so you're aware, Indian cuisine takes longer to cook than you realize.  I had previously made the items I had planned for our menu, what I had not done is to prepare them together as a coordinated meal.  There's something about coordinating several dishes at once that inevitably slows down the process.

The only non-traditional Indian food item, was the cake pictured above.  I call the cake my "love cake", and this is only the second time I've ever made one.  The first love cake was for my friend Laura who was also moving out of the area.  It's a chocolate cake (because nothing says I LOVE YOU like chocolate), and lettered around the cake is the word "love" in several languages.    Sorry this picture is so blurry, hopefully you can still make out a couple of the words.  With this particular "love cake" my artistically talented roommate Stephanie did the iced lettering, I just prepared the iced canvas for her...I think it was a great team effort!!

Because the time is drawing near for me to get some well needed rest, I'm going to bring this entry to a close.  Hopefully I will have time tomorrow to continue this entry with the story of how I met my friend Chitra, and our friendship of the last several years.