No Pain No Gain

We're living on borrowed time here. My internet has decided to cut out after about 8 minutes of web-time and it won't come back unless I restart my computer. Calling AT&T is on my list of things to do along with experimenting with shortening (I've always been a real butter girl)...and only one of these things is getting done tonight. Bear with me if this is short and disjointed.

I threw my first holiday dinner party over the weekend. It was a relatively safe foray into the holiday entertaining world but a challenge nonetheless. My husband criticizes me for being a food snob but honestly I just think things are better when homemade. Don't you agree? I did second guess this sentiment after spending 9 hours running around my kitchen, burning out my KitchenAid stand mixer and frightening my dog Swayze. But in the end, it was so worth it. Here's the menu:

Spice rubbed pork tenderloin

Mashed sweet potatoes

Roasted brussels sprouts and pancetta

Glazed carrots and thyme

Cornmeal buttermilk biscuits

Maple brown butter semifreddo

Guests were sent home with double chocolate biscotti, apricot cranberry granola and honey vanilla marshmallows. This is why I haven't had time to blog. Or call AT&T. Happy Holidays.