February 20 PARTY REPORT

Last Saturday was an incredible evening and the biggest turn-out yet. No time to write an elaborate description this week but lots of photos were taken and they speak for themselves! Here are the vital statistics anyway:

Attendees: 67
Women: 36
(17 repeats,18 newbies)
Men: 31
(18 repeats, 13 newbies)
Countries of origin: 23


Buffet highlights: Brigitte’s salad,
Philippe’s calçots, Ana’s croquetas,
my salads, tuna mornay, potatos with
aubergine dip, ham and veggie slice…

Main course: chicken curry etc… what else?

Dessert: panna cotta, fruit salad,
sponge-cake with cream and strawberries.

Thanks to everyone for making it such a fun and successful soirée, and especially to Brigitte and Philippe for their help.

THIS SATURDAY'S EVENT IS FULL!

If you would like to go on the waiting list or reserve for the next event on March 20 please email me.
EL EVENTO DE ESTE SABADO ESTA LLENO!
Para ponerte en la lista de espera o reservar para el próximo evento el 20 de marzo, énviame un mail por favor.

JANUARY 23 PARTY REPORT

Special complilation cd with original cover design by Carlos D Horta

With well over 60 guests confirmed and a waiting list of about 20 I knew this was going to be a big one! The final toll was a massive 66 people from 21 different countries of origin and 4 continents. There were 25 newbies attending for the first time and 41 repeat attenders who just love it so much they have to come back again and again! It seems the cosmosoirée is especially popular with the girls and even though I try to adjust the balance the final ratio was 38 women to just 28 guys (but I didn’t see the guys complaining;)

I was pretty well prepared for the onslaught this time… masses of ice to keep the drinks chilled… full butano canister in the terrace heater… some nice wintry dishes heating up the oven… and with the help of Brigitte and Irma who arrived a little early we had everything in place on time. Strangely enough although I felt calmer and more under control than usual, a number of people remarked that I looked stressed, hmmm...
With so many hungry mouths to feed the buffet spread stood up to the test remarkably well. The hot dishes were quickly polished off (a new addition being a good old Australian staple “tuna mornay” ) but the enormous salads proved too plentiful even for this crowd. Perhaps everyone was saving their appetites for the main course chicken curry, which was completely finished in the end after several guests came back for seconds. I will have to make even more next time! For dessert as well as the usual chocolate gateau and fruit salad I made a large panna cotta which was delicious (if I may say so myself) and obviously a big hit.
As a music highlight we were treated to a special cosmo-compilation cd by dj Carlos, and later a few crazy people got carried away dancing to Frank Sinatra…”I’ve got you under my skin” …Ahhhh…
The perfect evening gradually faded away until the last guests left just before 3am, and I went to sleep very happy with yet another wonderful cosmosoirée, they just keep getting bigger and better!

DECEMBER 19 PARTY REPORT

A year had flown by since the very first experimental cosmosoirée on the 20th of December 2008. I could barely have hoped that the events would become so popular and successful, and that this anniversary occasion would culminate in such a perfect model of my concept!
With the freezing temperatures and the pre-christmas timing it might have been complicated to draw in a good crowd… but somehow the numbers came in spot on with a full house of 60, and magically there was an even balance of 30/30 men and women! Of these 21 men and 14 women were new-comers, the rest being cosmo-repeats. There were 17 countries of origin present: a good handful from France, Germany, USA, GB, and Australia/New Zealand, a couple each from Holland, Italy and Austria, and one each from Finland, Poland, Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Trinidad and Tobago, Argentina and Bolivia. Not to mention a massive 21 local representatives from Spain/Catalunya!

In my quest to keep improving the events I invested in some new capital equipment: a freezer for mass production of ice, a giant ice bucket, new sangria bowls, and several super-sized salad bowls. Another novelty was the printed welcome cards to explain the evening’s proceedings, and I think that these developments helped to run things more smoothly with a little less work on the night. Still I always count on a couple of good friends to arrive early and help me out with those final touches, a big thanks to Brigitte and Anna!
For the buffet spread I tried a few new dishes – a cous-cous salad, lentil walnut salad, sesame brussel sprouts, as well some of the old staples - bok choy, tuna pasta, baked potatoes with aubergine dip, ham and veggie slice and a spinach tortilla. Thanks also to Brigitte, Anna and Ana for their delicious contributions to the buffet, a salad, quiche and samosas/pakoras respectively.
As somewhat of an experiment I offered a choice of main course this time, the usual chicken curry or chile con carne (sin carne version for vegetarians) and I have to say the chicken curry won hands down! So I will probably save myself the extra work in future and just stick to the old favorite. For dessert I prepared a fruit salad, honey crackles and a bigger-than-ever chocolate gateau complete with anniversary candle, which I delivered on the terrace to a spontaneous chorus of “happy birthday to you”:)
Speaking of the terrace, the unique characteristic of this party was the fact that it did NOT all happen out there! The freezing conditions would have normally been alleviated by the gas heater, but unfortunately the gas ran out quite early in the evening and almost everyone stayed indoors, only venturing out for the occasional cigarette. It was interesting to see a different, more interior and cosier party... and thankfully there was a lot less smokers’ mess to clean up the next day;)
The festive spirit was definitely in the air and we soiréed on until almost 3am. I wish everyone a happy holiday season and look forward to seeing you all in 2010!

Nov 14 a memorable evening!

I had a feeling the november event would be a quiet affair… how wrong I was! It turned out to be the most popular cosmosoirée ever, a record 55 people confirmed on facebook alone (not all of them serious of course) and by thursday night I was already turning people down (sorry). The final guestlist of 67 was eventually cut down to 62 with the (still unacceptable) handful of no shows. There was a noticeable majority of women, with 36 as opposed to a mere 26 men. A good mix of 19 countries of origin were present, the more unusual ones including Bulgaria, Poland, Japan, Mexico and Peru. Just over half the guests were first timers and 29 were cosmo regulars.

I had felt it was finally time to branch out from my usual menu and I rather optimistically prepared a main course of chile con carne with condiments, instead of my diehard chicken curry (which I could make with my eyes closed) This rather complex procedure through me totally off schedule, not helped by my determination to finally add my famous tortilla española (two in fact) to the cosmo-buffet… and I entered panic mode by 6pm! Anyway it all turned out ok, and with the early arrival of Irma and Jamie to help me out with final touches all was ready on time and slowly but surely the party began.

Other highlights on the buffet table included salad and quiche from Brigitte and Marc, Sonja’s delicious lentil salad, Ana’s pakoras, and an amazing roast vegetable platter from Philippe, who was also my right-hand-man in the kitchen all evening. For dessert I prepared a fruit salad as well as my usual chocolate gateau, and we had a special treat with Jamie's world renowned choc-chip cookies.

When I finally escaped from kitchen duties around midnight I joined the happy crowd and saw for myself it was yet another incredibly successful and enjoyable evening for everyone. However I had had to put a damper on proceedings and steer people to the door by 2:30 am… unfortunately I had a work meeting for my elusive day job at 10:30 am Sunday, OUCH!