The Most Epic Dinner Ever.

The next nine posts are dishes from an epic 9-course dinner that lasted over 6 hours. We decided to do an evening of small plates, but still following the guidelines of a traditional meal. We started with finger foods, moved on to appetizers, then salads, a few main courses and finally dessert. Everything is pictured in the order we ate, except we began with a snack of spiced almonds and blue cheese stuffed olives. We kicked off the night with champagne to pair with the smoked salmon, then matched a different wine with each ensuing plate. I haven't listed the wines because frankly I don't remember any of the names, especially towards the end. It was epic. Enjoy!

Potato Pancakes w/ Smoked Salmon

The potato pancakes were light with a trace of scallion running through them. They were topped with cold-smoked salmon, creme fraiche and dill.

Hummus. 5 Ways.

1. Sweet pea and avocado with pumpernickel triangles

2. White bean, parsley and garlic dip with crostini

3. Sun-dried tomato and chickpea on endive

4. Black bean hummus with plantain chips

5. Classic hummus with pita chips

Baked Goat Cheese on Lentil and Walnut Salad

The goat cheese was covered in panko bread crumbs and baked at 400 degrees until slightly browned. The salad was made with prepared lentils, chopped walnuts and chives. It was dressed with red wine vinegar and walnut oil.

Caesar Salad in a Parmesan Bowl

This light version of Caesar salad was made with romaine hearts and a dressing of egg, lemon juice, anchovy paste, Worcestershire sauce, garlic and olive oil. It is served in a bowl made by melting freshly grated parmesan cheese and then forming it over a bowl while still pliable. The salad is garnished liberally with fresh cracked black pepper.

Mushroom Ravioli w/ Three Sauces

The filling for the ravioli was made with sauteed mushrooms, garlic, and onion, then folded into cream cheese. The three sauces are pesto, blue cheese and browned butter with sage.

Grilled Shrimp w/ a Fried Polenta Cake and Apricot Barbecue Sauce

The shrimp were grilled indoors using a cast-iron grill pan. They are served next to a piece of polenta that has been fried in olive oil until crispy on both sides. The accompanying barbecue sauce is made with apricot jam, molasses, cider vinegar, and liquid smoke. The spinach was wilted in sauteed scallions and garlic with a little lemon juice.

Pan Seared Scallop w/ Truffled Israeli Cous Cous

The scallop was seasoned with salt and pepper and seared in bacon drippings. The Israeli cous cous was cooked in a little butter, shallot and chicken stock. It was topped with a drizzle of truffle oil.

Roasted Pork Loin w/ Grilled Vegetables and Fig Sauce

The pork loin was roasted at 425 degrees for about twenty five minutes. It was simply prepared with olive oil, salt and pepper- as were the vegetables. The fig sauce was made with dried figs, chicken stock and a number of spices including cinnamon.

White Russian Milkshake and Chocolate Chip Cookie

The milkshake was made with vanilla ice cream, vodka, coffee liqueur and chocolate liqueur. The cookie was thin and slightly crispy on the outside with a chewy center.

I hate Reunion.com!!!

I apologize if you got a stupid email from me saying I wanted you to join reunion.com. That is not the case. I hate reunion.com and hope that everyone involved with the website gets what is coming to them.

Here's what happened. I got the same email from my uncle that you got from me. I hadn't talked with him in months. I'd also moved recently. I thought that he was trying to contact me to get my new info. He's a busy guy, so I thought signing up quickly for the website would help him. Unfortunately, I now realize he got duped in the same way I did.

The website asks for your email information to match you with your friends/family already registered on reunion.com. What I didn't see in small print was that it also sends an email inviting the rest of your contacts to join. F@ck You, reunion.com!!! Do you really think I wanted to invite my boss to your stupid website? Or the dozens of business contacts in my address book? I'm sure Jim Rome was real happy getting that email.

The worst part is that now I have to explain this over and over again. So I'm wishing for a plague of sorts to befall the offices of reunion.com. I hope you're all reunited in the ICU. Again, sorry to everyone for the email. Please delete it. Thanks.