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Monday Dinner Parties
by Emma Criswell
published: 02 Sep 2009 | Comments
I have always loved to cook, but could never try anything new out at home because my Mom is very picky about trying new things. After I moved into my new apartment here in Athens, I made it my mission to begin cooking for my friends. So began the tradition of the Monday night dinner party. But I don't throw these parties just to try out new recipes - I also have an ulterior motive. Don't get me wrong. I love the food and my friends enjoying it with me, but my covert operation at these dinner parties is to expose my friends to wine and help all of them realize why I love it so much. I'm still referred to as an "alcoholic" by a few friends who just don't get it; the rest lovingly call me "queen wino."
Here is how it normally goes: First, I'll post what I'm making that week in my Facebook status, and send out text messages to friends. Dinner is always at 9, so that my other roommate can enjoy a hot meal when she gets home from work. If they ask, I always encourage my friends to bring wine, knowing they will choose white zinfandel or a similar sweet white. I'll let them have that first and then taste the wine I am drinking just to "see if they like it." If they do, I will enthusiastically pour them a glass, then ask them how it tastes, what they recognize on their palate. I'm impressed with the progress I've seen - my roommate, Kyleigh, has gone from telling me she smells alcohol in the wine to saying she picks up some melon. Even if they don't get much else, they at least learn to appreciate why I find wine so interesting. My dance has been evolving for a while, theirs has only just begun.
I even find new pairings that I enjoy on occasion. My last dinner party of the summer consisted of wheat penne with chicken and vodka cream sauce, a Mediterranean salad, a strawberry chardonnay cake, and some wonderful company. A friend brought over a bottle of white zin for the rest of the guests to drink; I had some Argentinean Malbec I needed to finish up, so I brought it out with dinner as well. I was really surprised by how well the Malbec went with the pasta. I of course poured all the girls a sip and none of them liked it. (That's okay. It took me awhile to enjoy the dryer reds, too. I'm patient.)
For me, the real beauty of wine is the company it brings. It's easy for me to see how much people care about me when they are willing to listen to me ramble on about something they know nothing about, and they are willing to taste something they don't like just because I've described it so enthusiastically. Emma will always oblige me and take a sip when I say, "You have GOT to try this, it's amazing with the pasta!" She'll then make a sour face and tell me that it's just not her style. It means so much to me that they do this, and by the end of the year I hope to see all their eyes light up when they try RED Zinfandel with pepperoni pizza and tell me how well it works with the spicy food.
