Yum-O Party

This weekend, I hosted one of those dreaded direct sales parties. Yeah, one of those; where you invite your family and friends and they feel compelled to buy overpriced items. I did it as a favor for my sister in law, and although I hate hosting these parties, I must admit that the food was incredible. I outdid myself in the kitchen, courtesy of Rachael Ray.

In the past several months, I've become obsessed with her website. Not ::boil your bunny:: obsessed, but any opportunity I have to sit down and look through the recipe archives, well, you know where you'll find me. I love that she takes a 'whole food' approach to cooking. With few exceptions, her dishes begin with whole, recognizable food in it's natural form with no additives, preservatives, etc. And she's getting away from the elitist chefs of the past...think Julia and Martha. I can't pronounce half the ingredients they use, let alone name of the dish. I like simple, earthy, delicious food and that's why I've enjoyed Rachael's website so much. Oh, and the giveaways! Not that I *ever* win anything. Ever. A girl can still dream, right? Here's a link for you to enter too.... http://www.rachaelraymag.com/big-deals . But now, if you win, you're gonna share, right?


So anyway, back to this product party. For the most part just a few family members showed up as everyone else was out and about enjoying the beautiful spring weather. But the food, oh the food, it made the day worthwhile. I made open-faced ham sandwiches with pineapple-jalapeno salsa, salad on a kebab, spinach-artichoke spread with baguette slices, *real* cheesecake and pomegranate-ginger ale punch. If that wasn't worth the short drive to my house, what would be??? And with the exception of the cheesecake, all the recipes came out of the recipe archives on the Rachael Ray website.

I don't mean to brag, but I've got connections LOL. Kate Smyth, a lovely and helpful member of the *Every Day with Rachael Ray* team just sent me a slew of new recipes. Most of them are grilled dishes, and I cannot wait to try them! We just uncovered the grill and filled up the tank, so I'm psyched to get started on some new, simple, inexpensive dishes. Friday is grocery day, so I'll pick up the necessities to make Top Round with Peppers, Onions and Crispy Potatoes. Sounds good, huh? I'll post next week to let you know how good it is. Or if you're in my neck of the Catawba Knobs, drop in and try it for yourself.