Dinner Party Planning...

The dinner party is tonight and I am still making plans.

I think we will start out with cheese, crackers & wine on the back porch. Yesterday I made a quick run to Trader Joe's. {So lucky to have Trader Joe's!} They have a great selection of cheese so I picked up some Saint Andre and Double Cream Champignon. We also have a 1/2 wheel of Maytag Blue Cheese. This combined with crackers and some red grapes will make a great starter.

For dinner we are having a salad, grilled pork tenderloin, asparagus, and heavenly potatoes. What are Heavenly Potatoes, you ask? Well... our friends Pete & Peg love to be in the kitchen and they often cook for friends. They share the best recipes! So here is a great recipe for heavenly potatoes, but I like to call them...

Pete's Potatoes

3 lbs russet potatoes, pricked with fork
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup whipping cream
3 oz Gruyere cheese, grated
3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Garnish:
chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place potatoes directly on oven rack and bake 45-60 minutes, or until easily pierced with fork. Remove from oven, cool slightly, and halve lengthwise. Grease 13 x 9 x 2 inch or 3 quart baking pan. Scrape out potato flesh. Discard peels or save for another use. Mash potato flesh with electric blender or hand mash until smooth. Add butter and milk and stir until blended. Spread in prepared pan.

Increase oven temperature to 500 degrees. With electric mixer, whip cream to soft peaks and fold in Gruyere by hand. Spread evenly over potatoes and sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake until heated thoroughly and topping is golden brown, about 10 minutes. Garnish with parsley and serve warm.

{YUM}

The great thing about these potatoes is that they can be prepped way ahead of time and popped in the oven when needed.

For dessert I think I'll make a trifle. Since blueberries are so good right now... how about...

Blueberry Lemon Trifle

3 cups fresh blueberries, divided
2 cans (15-3/4 ounces each) lemon pie filling (or make it from the box)
2 cartons (8 ounces each) lemon yogurt
1 prepared angel food cake (8 inches), cut into 1-inch cubes
1 carton (8 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed

Set aside 1/4 cup blueberries for garnish. In a large bowl, combine pie filling and yogurt. In a 3-1/2-qt. serving or trifle bowl, layer a third of the cake cubes, lemon mixture and blueberries. Repeat layers twice. Top with whipped topping. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Garnish with reserved blueberries.

I served this at book club one time and it was a big hit.

Now I just need to decide on a salad. Something simple... I think I'll call Peg and ask her.