You know, everyone should hope to have a close group of friends that stick together through life’s ups and downs.  Luckily, I have been blessed with this for many years. I have a very tight-knit group of friends that have been hanging out for almost 20 years. We have been there for one another through all the good stuff in life, as well as life’s inevitable  heartaches. It’s always fun every time we get together because we relive the stories of our youth and and catch up on the current going-on’s in all our lives. Last night, my wife and I went to see the gang. It was great to catch up! It had been a couple of months since our last get-together and a lot had happened in all our lives since then. Within the group, some of us are long-time members and some of us are newer additions, which includes my wife, now a 5-year veteran of the group, and my buddy Lou’s wife, who is our newest addition (she has been great for him, and it’s truly nice to finally see him happy).

Nikki and Joe are the stable couple of the group and have had that relationship everyone should strive to have. Nikki has jokingly always been the “dude with long hair.” She is a beautiful woman that has been “one of the guys” as long as we all have been hanging out. We have some other friends that have come and gone. Some passed on, some just left, but the core group remains.  Soon, you will read a blog where we rally all the friends and do one hell of a get-together. All right then! On with the dinner. . .

First, before my wife and I left the house, we made a quick drink so I was able to make sure I had something to blog about today. You know how it goes: get around your friends, few drinks go around, and then you forget to take any pictures.

Asian Peach Cocktail

Serves 1

Ingredients

1 Ounce Spiced Rum

1 Ounce Peach Vodka

1 Ounce Sake

1 Ounce Pomegranate Juice

Lime Twist

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients in a shake with 1 cup full of ice.
2. Shake vigorously covered.
3. Pour into a long stem fluted glass.
4. Add a twist of lime.
5. Enjoy!

Be careful with these! They pack a wallop!

When we got to the house, the gang was already rolling and going with dinner. We were told before our arrival that it would be a Tex-Mex-style dinner, and, man, were we in for a treat! The dinner started with two wonderful appetizers. 

Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp & Cream Cheese Stuffed, Bacon-Wrapped Jalapenos

These two dishes where great! Each had a unique, robust flavor that heated up the senses, without setting them on fire.

The shrimp were wrapped in bacon and pan fried, which allowed for the crispness of the bacon to meld with the shrimp. While the cream-cheese-stuffed jalapenos were oven baked, they held up well with the cheese really mellowing out the intense heat of the jalapenos. The stuffed jalapenos were such a hit with EVERYONE that a two-second lapse in judgment (and a really fast dog) resulted in a very large Mastiff now being carefully watched after ingesting 8 or 9 of the said delcious jalapenos.

The main course was a buffet-style extravaganza of fajita-style offerings. Tex-Mex being one of my favorite foods, I was delighted to see that all the good stuff there.

Buffet-Style Fajitas

When serving a large group, buffet-style anything is the way to go, and it worked well here.

Pan-Roasted Chicken

Skillet-Seared Flank Steak

Homemade Guacamole

Sour Cream

Tomatoes, Onions, Peppers, Salsa, Lettuce, and Cheese (the cheese really makes it Tex-Mex).  What a brilliant dinner! It had me so stuffed, they would have had to roll me out the door to get me home. But wait, there’s more. Just because my stomach was filed to capacity didn’t mean there wasn’t still one more course to go.

While digesting dinner, some funny conversations ensued about ’8Os movies that had been seen or not. Being from the Atari (then Nintendo) youth, we’d seen a lot. We were all surprised to find out Bonnie (Lou’s wife) had hardly seen any. She grew up in the country, where they did real things, like went outside and played (can you imagine?!), so she missed a lot of the movies the rest of us “inside kids” had seen.

It now become the group’s mission to help Bonnie experience the movies she missed out on in her youth. She probably has a better head on her shoulders than the rest of us because of it, but we aimed to remedy that. To begin the journey, we finished off the night with dinner and the movie, “The Never Ending Story.” Can anyone hear themselves yelling “FALCOR!” I sure did!

Strawberry Dessert

This dessert was phenomenal! It was a cake with a  light, fluffy texture and a wonderful strawberry topping. I definitely ate too much and was completely miserable on the drive home.  However, it was still great and well worth the misery.

What a great time and a great dinner. The group has decided to be more regular with our get-togethers and try for once a month. Everyone is excited about the blog and even considering  sharing some favorite dishes to put on the blog.  Thanks to all of you that follow this blog.  Because of you and the comments and feedback you leave, it inspires and motivates me and my wife to continue to enjoy and share Good Food, Good Drinks, & Good Friends!

Cheers!

The Manly Hosuewife