use real butter

If you will recall, Jen’s First Rule of Entertaining is: Never try a new recipe on guests for the first time. I broke the first rule, but I more than made up for it with Jen’s Second Rule of Entertaining: Never run out of food and beverages. We had a great showing of guests with good appetites. Afterall, my theme was: Come ruin your dinner with us. They put a big dent in the food, but we’ll still be noshing party food for the next few days. I learned that my neighbor likes the same gin that I do (Bombay Sapphire), and that my other neighbors are total non-cook foodies who volunteered to be my taste testers, and that all of our neighbors are chocolate junkies. I am not a beer drinker, but I try to provide good beer when I have folks over. I picked up some Boulder Beer Copper Ale and a six of this Ft. Collins Chocolate Stout. I didn’t try the stout, but everyone who drank it liked it. I have two leftover and I must say I am excited by this fact – because stout and chocolate are two kick ass ingredients in Good Chili.

I now have five new recipes to add to my photo recipe collection.

**Jump for more butter**

We swung past 99 Ranch (chinese grocery store) to get stuff on the grocery list and I decided to splurge on a case of champagne mangoes for $9. Jeremy doesn’t like mangoes, so guess who is going to get her fair share of fiber this week!

Food Trivia
Champagne mangoes are part of the Ataulfo variety, cultivated in India. These are the most desirable in asian cultures because of the small stone, smooth and sweet pulp, and lack of invasive fibers in the meat. They turn golden when ripe and are smaller than the more popular varieties sold in the US (which turn red when ripe).

I love the longer daylight hours, but it makes for short evenings. When we think it should be about 7, it is practically 9! The weather makes me hungry for watermelon. I couldn’t find any watermelon (recalling the summer days when Ro and I would talk about buying a watermelon and eating just that all weekend long…) But I found a ton of strawberries, pineapple, cantaloupe, asparagus, snap peas – mmmmm fresh produce makes me sing! I have a nice pitcher of southern sweet tea sitting in my fridge now. I love that stuff.