Little Spark: Ambitious and Delicious

Last Saturday night marked the first Full Belly event when dinner was not the main attraction. Instead, the star of the show was a flight of Belgian beers (some of the best in the world!) accompanied by chocolate, tasty sammies, and finger foods. We also experimented in terms of how many folks we could accommodate in our apartment. We wound up hosting 17 folks, which was just about perfect. Only the Summer BBQ event was attended by more... and that was outside so seating wasn't an issue. I wasn't sure we could pull it off, but give people some high-octane beer and they become very easy to please!

We also expanded the guest list significantly... there were a number of first timers among us, including some friends from work (and their dates) and a long lost pal from high school who found out about us on "the Google". I got to give a spiel about each of the beers I had painstakingly researched (thanks Wikipedia!) and about Women for Women. It was nice to feel like we're expanding into new pools of caring, generous people.

We kicked things off with a serving of Duvel Golden Ale

Silvio, Meredith and Diane enjoying a Duvel toast

Calvin, Kyle and (headless) John enjoying the second round: Bornem Dubbel

Dinner intermission included cornichons, crisps and two kinds of grilled cheese sandwiches... some with roasted fennel and others with caramelized pears. I couldn't help but try dipping the crisps in the curried mayonnaise (which sounds like overkill until you actually try it!)

Surprise guests Jenny and Kyle. Jenny and I went to high school together but hadn't seen one another for a dozen years. She RSVP'd mysteriously so I didn't know who to expect until she rang the buzzer!