A work schedule changed and a babysitter had a family emergency, so didn't end up hiking. But, I had an adventure, despite the omission of the off trail hike at Chestnut Ridge.

Saturday night I was scheduled to attend an authentic Italian dinner with a friend of mine. I met him this spring and we dated a few times and happily decided to be friends. I was not entirely enthusiastic over the invitation as I like to meet new people one at a time and the idea of a "party" was not at all appealing to me. However, I knew this event was very important to my friend so I accepted the offer. As everyone coming makes something, I asked what I could bring. I was told there were some desserts still up for grabs and I smiled. With my affection for sweets, I was positive that regardless of the ingredients, I would be quite capable of creating an acceptable confection.

I settled on Sardinian Almond cookies and they were approved. Friday night I looked at my recipe and went to the store. I was looking for almonds and almond paste, I had everything else on the list. The cookies looked very simple. Ahh... yes... here is where life had a little chuckle in my direction... I could not find almond paste. I was frustrated but refused to give up. My father heard of my plight and went one suburb over and found almond filling for me. It turned out that it wasn't quite what I was looking for so despite my dear dad's late evening endeavour, I was still without almond paste.

With a sigh, I looked up a recipe and early the next morning headed to Aldi's. I purchased the blanched almonds I needed for a decent price. But before I could begin cooking, I also had to hunt up a food processor as the almonds had to be turned into a paste. Anyone else seeing how these "easy" cookies were a bit more complicated than I imagined?

Go ahead and chuckle, in the end though the cookies were done and they tasted wonderful. I wasn't sure what they were supposed to taste like, but I knew they would not be chucked in the yuck bucket. =-)

At my sister's, the ironing board came out and I readied myself for the night. A red blouse and a khaki skirt were on the agenda. Later driving in the car I gave myself a pep talk. Those of you who are naturally fond of large gatherings may find this unnecessary. However, I'm betting some of you understand what I am talking about. For the sake of a friendship, I was determined to enjoy myself.

Wandering into the kitchen at the Italian Club, I found my friend and a dear man making soup. I helped my friend chop spinach and prepared garlic for the soup maker. The friendly white haired gentleman making soup won my heart with talk of his late wife. I made a new acquaintance before the evening had even truly begun.

With parchment bread, polenta so good it ought to have been illegal, three kinds of swordfish and an amazing artichoke and fava bean salad, there was so much to taste it was hard to know where to start. With a smile, I tried a tiny bit of everything, making sure to save room for dessert! (Lamb, meatballs and stuffed tomatoes were not to be forgotten either.) It was an amazing Scardinian feast such as I have never encountered before.

My table of six was filled with interesting people and I enjoyed chatting with them all evening. It was a pleasant surprise. The food was fantastic and the adventure of a party mostly full of strangers was an opportunity for growth. Our next Italian adventure comes in late January... I wonder what dessert I can make?

Three cheers for delightful new experiences!