My spouse and I enjoy cooking and entertaining and we make a great team in the kitchen. When we have family or friends over for dinner it is not just a meal, it is an event. We want the occasion to be a very positive and memorable experience for our guests so we do not do anything half way. Most dishes are made completely from scratch. When we entertain, our typical dinner involves five courses. The meal begins upstairs in our library. Here we serve appetizers. Depending on the type of cuisine we are featuring that evening, our appetizer may be fresh bruschetta, spinach rolls made with a puff pastry, or chicken potstickers. After a time of socializing and nibbling on appetizers we move back to the first floor to the formal dining room. Here we partake of three candlelit courses: soup, salad, and the main course; each accompanied by homemade bread. After the main course, we retire to the living room to continue conversing and allowing the previous courses to digest. Finally, the evening is topped off with dessert. This often involves my favorite ingredient – chocolate...perhaps homemade chocolate mousse, cheesecake, traditional steamed English pudding, or molten lava cakes. No one leaves our home hungry.