Had a wonderful evening with friends last night.  The neighbors, Noel and Mike (roommates, not a couple) came with BA, Mike's aunt, and Rob, Noel's dad.  Also there was the Jakester, Angelo's 16 year old son.  Once drinks were poured, Angelo and guests noshed on fried artichokes and aioli as well as a wide variety of olives.  BA, who was once a caterer, helped me prepare the serving dishes in the kitchen.  The menu consisted of roasted root veggies and brussel sprouts, roasted potatoes, and a tenderloin cooked to perfection and served with horseradish and au jus sauce.  I was going to make a Bearnaise but I just couldn't be bothered, by the time the guests arrived.  Dessert was Zabaglione and fresh berries topped with homemade whipped cream.  All in all a wonderful success as there wasn't a bit of anything left, to include the ginourmous bottle of wine.

But the evening wasn't without some tension.  Halfway through the meal, New Jersey's property taxes were mentioned, which led, eventually, to government and politics....uh oh here we go!  The  conversation turned into a debate with Angelo and Rob on the far right, BA and Noel on the far left, and Mike and me floundering back and forth in the middle.  Of course, when someone made the statement of Obama being Muslim (and I will not name names) it became a free for all.  When Newt Gingrich came into the discussion I had to defend the Right as I have learned quite a bit about the man, and respect his intelligence and knowledge of the workings of politics and government.  Then there was the Middle East where some people took offense that I said they had a sheep mentality.  All in all a lively bit of discussion shared by all!

How no one got indigestion is beyond me, but the more heated the argument, the more the wine flowed (not sure if this was good or bad).  Dessert was served with coffee and loud debating with the lawyer winning most arguments because he was the the most verbose person at the table.  But the rest of us were usually able to get our points across without violence erupting, a major miracle there!  Poor Jake was caught in the middle and I'm sure he would've preferred the conversation to take a completely different turn to sports or something.  However, with the tension that ebbed and flowed throughout the political conversation, we were able to depart as friends.

At least I think we were friends....