I love to entertain, but there are occaisions when time is at a premium and I want to look like I went to all kinds of trouble, even when I didn’t.  On this particular evening, I had invited three young families over so that they could enjoy some quiet adult only time, before the busy Christmas season.  D and I took the little ones downstairs for chicken fingers and fries while watching animated seasonal specials on the big screen.  Shopping at Sobey’s for an event like this is an absolute pleasure.  From the moment that I got out of the car, without having to fish for a coin for a cart, I know that I have come to the right place.

I went right to the deli section and was out of there in 20 minutes including the check out,  where there were enough staff on that I was in a line with only one person in front of me and they were just finishing up.  I could stand and chat with the cashier, instead of heading to the end of the conveyor belt to bag my own groceries.  In addition, she was free to visit with me as there was another person in charge of bagging  up my  purchases.   And the best part was that even though I had brought my own groceries bags, there is no charge for Sobey’s bags so if I had forgotten, I  would not have had to run back through a busy parking lot to retrieve them from the car.

Previously, in the deli, the helpful staff made suggestions of taste combinations and allowed me to sample items that I was considering purchasing.

As a result, I bought all kinds of goodies that I had never purchased before including this savoury sausage encrusted in Parmesan cheese.  So  everybody wins: my guests, the store but especially me!

I had the choice of a number of raw mozzarella brands and styles and in the end, selected the discs which means that the assembly of the caprese salad was virtually instantaneous.

Feta is one of my favourite nibbles and Sobey’s offers a number of light varieties.  This way a bevvy of olives can be indulged upon.  So too, they carry a light artichoke and asiago dip which I served up with veggie sticks and a gorgeous variety of crackers.

Bothwell cheese is a local brand that our family is crazy about.  My personal fav is  black truffle which is so deep and rich tasting that I simply put it out in little, pea size bites.  I also made a baked brie topped with apples, cranberries, pecans and lots of brown sugar and butter and then wrapped in phyllo.  That was the most timing consuming dish to make it took all of 4 minutes.

I know that the adults enjoyed themselves but not more so than D and I who were got to snuggle up with three adorable little guys and kick off the Christmas season.

Kath’s quote: “The art of keeping a good table, consists, not in loading on a variety at each meal, but rather in securing a successive variety, a table neatly and tastefully set, and everything that is on it, cooked in the best manner.” –Catharine E. Beecher

Love-that is all.

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