"Almost all my middle-aged and elderly acquaintances, including me, feel about 25, unless we haven't had our coffee, in which case we feel 107." ~ Martha Beck

When BITE got together recently, it was at our host Chris's home. Chris chose the most unique theme - coffee! Now - I had it easy as dessert was my course.  But appetizer, side-dish? Now there was a challenge. It's fair to say however that all participants rose to that challenge with aplomb! 

First up was Ellen's appetizer of Grilled Grits with Shrimp and Bourbon Coffee Glaze .  Oh my! These were absolutely delicious!  I brought two home for Bruce to try and he enjoyed them enough that he had me make them for his poker group!

Ellen decided to do a second appetizer as well, and this one was equally unique! Chocolate Chickpea Spread tastes essentially as it sounds - a chocolaty hummus -  served with fruits and veggies as a dip.

Tierney's side-dish, Wild Rice with a Dark Influence, won high marks not only for its wonderful taste, but also for its fabulous presentation!

For our beverage, Chris served up Espresso Martinis. I'll take my coffee like that any day!

Chris's entree was a real treat - Coffee Braised Pot Roast with Caramelized Onions. We don't eat a lot of red meat in our house these days, and the succulent, melt in your mouth roast was a welcome delight!

Lastly came my dessert.  This is where I confess that I have never, in my 57 years, baked a cake from scratch. You have heard me say on several occasions that I am not much of a sweets eater, and therefore do not do much in the line of baking.  Well, BITE has provided me with many firsts - first pie crust, first lemon tart, first cake!  Coffee Cake: Literally, was my selection. Talk about dense! This cake was like cutting a Tootsie Roll, and talk about sweet! The others seemed to like it very much, but I did not finish my slice - it was just too rich for me. We were all in agreement though that this was the one dish that tasted distinctly of coffee. The others just had it as one of many ingredients, where it played a starring roll in the cake.

A wonderful evening with wonderful company!  Next month - Oktoberfest! 

Just a reminder that my BITE page is acting up at the moment.  I have lost many pictures, and none of the links are active. It will take me awhile to sort it all out, but I'll let you know when it is up and running again!