Warm dates with walnuts and parmigiano-reggiano and Almond bacon cheese crostini.For dessert, yummy Sour orange pie.Always fun. Thank you, Merrilyn, for always hosting us.

Always a fun time. Crostini with ricotta, bacon and honey and Sausage-stuffed mushrooms.For dessert, Brownie peanut butter cup cheesecake!

Stuffed mushrooms and Maple bacon crack:Cracker Pie by Merrilyn, who had this recipe publishedin this cookbook:

at Arlete’s. Merrilyn hadn’t seen my house yet, so today was the day! Leek and pancetta tarts:Ham & cheese crescent spirals.No picture of dessert (my contribution) because I chickened out on making a black raspberry baked Alaska and served only ice cream with a blackberry syrup topping. I have since been reassured that a Pyrex pie plate will not break when it goes from the freezer to a 400-degree oven.

I think Merrilyn called today a Tartapalooza. She made Tomato Gruyere Tart on a pie-crust base. I made Artichoke Feta Tart and a variation with roasted red peppers and black olives on puff pastry.For dessert, Phyl made Oreo Mousse Parfaits. Because our usual photographer (Merrilyn’s husband Bob) wasn’t back from his errands in time, we took multiple pictures of us in pairs. I will have to show Merrilyn and Phyl which button to press to take a picture because this is the only picture that was on my camera (lol):

Savory pecan cranberry cheese bites, mushroom-filled crescents, and of course, wine.Merrilyn made a boysenberry tart for dessert.Another special Thursday at Merrilyn’s (on a Wednesday)!

One sign of a great hostess: our wine glasses were filled with the exact amount of ice each of us wanted.Happy Hour Mushrooms and Artichoke Nibbles – both yummy.For dessert, Walnut Date Cake crumbled over vanilla bean ice cream.Note: the cake had to be crumbled (instead of beautifully cut into thin slices like the picture that made me want to make this recipe) because when I took it out of the tube pan, this happened:Gasp! I pushed it back together as best I could. Oh well, it tasted great. It made a huge amount so I decided to save it for the Throwdown next Sunday. No last minute baking – yay.

Delicious food!!! Baked brie with cranberry sauce and walnuts AND Brown-sugared bacon-wrapped pineapple. I’m smiling at the wine glasses. From left to right: Arlete with a medium amount of ice, Phyllis with mostly ice, and Merrilyn with NO ice. And that’s how we roll.Dessert – Chocolate caramel macadamia nut tart – incredibly wonderful.For those who have been asking (thank you, faithful blog readers!), here’s the green fringe vest:Thank you Merrilyn for hosting this always-fun get-together!

The second bloom of a Christmas cactus:Always great food. Today, potstickers and veggie bars, margaritas (yum!) and wine.For dessert a tropical bread with pineapple, coconut and macadamias.Great friends and conversation – the perfect way to start the new year!

The first thing I did when I arrived was to tell Phyl she was going to kill me for choosing Thursday at Merrilyn’s instead of going for an x-ray of my left hip. This gathering was just too important to me, I’ll go tomorrow morning. She rolled her eyes and gave me the finger wag! Delicious appetizers: Apple Gruyere Tarts, Sausage Crescent Rolls, Chicken Wings!Merrilyn’s Banana Bread for dessert:Always so fun much fun! Dave and Phyl loaned me a cane – what a difference it has made in my ability to get around.