I finally got a new set of dinner plates, plus a slow cooker, so hosting a southern style dinner was the natural first step! Surprisingly, I didn’t run out to KFC to grab some fried chicken. Actually, fried chicken wasn’t even on the menu. I decided to be ambitious and have the main course be fried catfish.

Besides a little snafu where I mildly electrocuted myself, I’d say things went pretty well!

The menu:

• Cornbread (thanks, Mindy)
• Dirty rice (aka rice with sausage & other stuff, courtesy of Andrea)
• Cheddar & jalapeno grits (a la Frances)
• Fried corn (Daniela’s concoction)
• Mashed sweet potatoes
• Classic Southern Coleslaw – which, of course I forgot to put out on the table, so no one got to try it except when I pulled it out at the very end of the night and made everyone grab a fork and at least take a bite
• Pork chops – slow cooked with gravy in my new slow cooker
• Fried catfish – which I gave up on halfway and made Andrea finish cooking
• Mac & cheese – mine ended up “cajun style” (aka burned), but luckily Georgia came with a dish of this as well!

And of course there was sweet tea. And sweet tea vodka. And wine. And beer. And Andrea’s specialty cocktail.

The tunes: no party is complete to me unless the atmosphere is right. That means great friends, plenty of alcohol and the perfect playlist! Admittedly, I didn’t quite have enough time to refine the playlist completely, but here are some selections

• Ray Charles – I’ve Got a Woman, George on My Mind, Hit the Road Jack
• Al Green
• The Isley Brothers – Make Me Say It Again, Contagious
• Stevie Wonder – Lately
• Otis Redding – I’ve Got Dreams to Remember, I’ve Been Loving You Too Long, These Arms of Mine

Be on the lookout for the next themed dinner party soon!