It was quite a number of people filling our little house last night for the "NEW YEAR'S HOLIDAY BURN THE HOUSE SALMON BAKE COCKTAIL PARTY" that we hosted. Since we moved into this new abode in June, we hadn't had the house warming party, nor the cocktail party that I'd meant to host after taking Gary Regan's Cocktails in the Country class, nor the Alaska party we'd meant to host since returning with 50 pounds of fish in September, so we rolled it all into one big bash. I think, at one point, we had twenty people in the house. The cocktail menu--provided for those who want some guidance as to what to ask for, but not limited to only those drinks--was split into four sections of two drinks each. Classics like the Dry Martini and the Perfect Cocktail (Laird's AppleJack and pineapple juice), Champagne drinks like the Champagne Cocktail (sugar cube soaked in Angostura bitters, with 1 part cognac and 5 parts champagne) and the Kir Royale (creme de cassis and champagne), Creamy drinks like the Toasted Almond (amaretto, Kahlua and cream) and the White Russian (vodka, creme de cacao and cream), and some Non-Alcoholic drinks for drivers and the underage such as the Shirley Temple (ginger ale and grenadine) and the Sparkling Grape (white grape juice, dash of lime juice, and sparkling water). With the exception of not having tonic water (which neither J or I care for, but we should have had at least one bottle for those who do enjoy a gin and tonic) and no maraschino cherries (J was holding out for these jarred black cherries that we had over Christmas but couldn't locate in the Whole Foods here), we seemed to have a drink for everyone. For food, we cooked the 12-pound whole salmon and made Texas Caviar (black-eyed peas with onions and peppers), while guests brought hummus and desserts and several welcome bottles of wine and champagne. We even received an orchid for our house, which I'm afraid of killing aleady (J may take that one to work, as her co-workers may have greener thumbs than we do). We toasted in the New Year after receiving confirmation of the time change from Rob Vamberger on Hot Jazz New Year's Eve on WAMU.

Our thanks to all who could make it, and looking forward to more drinks and more fun in 2006!