Neighborhood COOKIE & BEER EXCHANGE PARTY - Sausages/Beer Cheese Soup and Cookies!

This is one of those, "Don't you wish you lived in my neighborhood" posts...

But first the set up. I am a foodie, I love to have "event" parties... but, I am not gay. Not that there is anything wrong with that; just sharing. Having said that, I see all you wonderful ladies sharing your cookie making and organizing little cookie exchange parties. I was pondering attempting to organize one of those for my friends and neighbors, when it dawned on me that for me to bring up the idea, it would sound a bit like Rock Hudson was hosting this bash. So, I spent a bit of time pondering how to "butch" the event up a bit.

Let the "foodies" share their cookie exchange, and at the same time, let the "butchies" share a HOLIDAY BEER EXCHANGE! Same rules as a cookie exchange (except no leftovers to take home, and best to have this as a neighborhood event, no driving!). Bring enough of a seasonal or personal favorite brew to share...

And just to butch the night up a bit more...

BEER Cheese Soup, served with BEER simmered grilled Sausages (those incredible Cherry Chipotle Sausages I bought a few days earlier from my new local candy... er, I mean butcher shop (Click HERE for those details). Funny, but the other real cook in our group who happens to also be a guy, and happens to not be gay (not that there is anything wrong with that) was over compensating as well, and brought a spectacular batch of CHICKEN WINGS to share...

If any one is considering a move, there is a house for sale in our neighborhood... Honestly, don't you wish you were invited to this party!!!

Every party should have a theme... Beer in the soup...

Beer braised sausages...

And the party started with beer as an appetizer...

Click the picture of the beer above to enlarge... My contribution to the exchange was HE'BREW. A round of their Messiah Bold – "The One You’ve Been Waiting For’’ as an appetizer, and the gayest/butchest (not that there is anything wrong with that) party I ever hosted was off and running...

I will be blogging individual posts about the meal, as well as a cookie post in the next day or two. But, the above picture shows Jackie and my contributions to the night. Jackie made a recipe from her grandmother, those peanut butter thumbprint chocolate star thingies in the upper left. Drop a comment of encouragement, and I may get her to guest blog that recipe. I made a Chocolate Kahlua Shortbread Cookie, dusted with powdered sugar and Orange Zest, and a Pecan Lace Orange Zested Buttercream beauty (Pecans are a very versatile nut, au gratin potatoes and cookies are enhanced by this nut). Both of these are bastardized versions of other blogger's recipes, and I will be Posting my experiences with them soon.

Above is my neighbor, Herme's contribution. By the time we finished our meal, and the guys (and a couple of the ladies) had finished sharing their beer exchange, we all had comments to make about (as she called them), HERME's PEPPERMINT NIPPLES. The ladies all said they tasted great... The (by this time) slightly drunken guys all made different comments.

Didn't get a name or recipe for these, but look at all the effort to make them so festive!

So, there you go... A night that will live in infamy around the neighborhood. My very first HOLIDAY COOKIE/BEER EXCHANGE. Everyone had a fun night. Everyone has a plate full of different cookies to take to their inconvenient day jobs and pretend that they made all these different cookies themselves (isn't that the point to these exchanges???).

Ladies, don't leave your spouses out of your holiday exchange parties. With the right type of party, they will have an amazing time!!!

...But, as the say in Star Trek: the Next Generation, "All Good Things"...

It was pretty easy to tell when the night should end. No matter how festive the look, no matter how funny you think it is, decorating with beer bottles just is not as good of an idea the morning after...

I am so ashamed of this picture

This post is lovingly dedicated to my best friend Jim. Jim was such a kind soul, who loved life and was a joy to be with. He happened to be gay (not that there was anything wrong with that). he passed away three years ago, and while I was preping the event, I really missed him.

He would have loved this party.