Aah, the second holiday party of the season was a success! It was my turn to host Girls Night, so I turned it into a "Holiday Girls Night" - with a few more additional guests than usual, and a festive menu. And cute take-home gifts I made: glittered champagne cork ornaments!

     One of my friends requested I make my marinated olives. I served them along side goat cheese "logs" rolled in either garlic and herbs or a sundried tomato seasoning - mmm! So, here is recipe number one from the evening:

An Olive Marinade

1 six-ounce can large black pitted olives, drained
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tbl. chopped fresh oregano or basil (I used dried)
2 cloves garlic, mince
1 Tbl. balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp. salt (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a zippered storage bag and shake to coat.  Refrigerate at least two hours and up to one month, serve at room temperature.  Before serving, transfer to serving dish.

I served a "girly" salad of mixed greens, sliced pears, Gorgonzola crumbles and glazed pecans with a mixed berry vinaigrette - oh my! The main course was super-simple yet very tasty; Bruschetta Chicken.  I think I found the recipe at www.kraft.com, if you want to check it out...I made a double batch, just in case my girlfriends were REALLY hungry...

Bruschetta Chicken Bake

one 14 1/2-ounce  can diced tomatoes, undrained
one 6-ounce package Stove Top Stuffing mix for Chicken (I used the Cornbread version)
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 tsp. dried basil leaves
1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 400.  Place tomatoes in medium bowl.  Add stuffing mix , water and garlic; stir just until stuffing mix is moistened.  Set aside.  Place chicken in a 13 X 9 baking dish; sprinkle with the basil and cheese.  Top with stuffing mixture.  Bake 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

And for dessert, I made the most decadent thing I've ever served to guests; my Grandmother's "Gook", or sometimes referred to as "Goop". I really don't know it's "real" name, but "Gook" is what my family calls it.  It's absolutely "to die for"!   One of my girlfriends said, after tasting it, "where has this been my whole life?" I apologize for the crappy photo, I almost forgot to take one at all!

Gook (with special thanks to Edna Leatherman Alexander Troyer)

one 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
one "small" angel food cake (I ended up using 2/3 of a "normal" sized cake I made from a mix)
one 8-ounce container Cool Whip
1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used pecans)

"Caramelize" the can of condensed milk - put enough water in a pan to cover the can and boil for three hours. Add more water as it evaporates, so the can is always under water (it can explode without it's water bath).  Let cool.  

This is what the milk looks like after 3 hours...

Cut up cake into bit-sized pieces (I tore mine, which worked beautifully). Mix milk, Cool Whip and nuts in a bowl.  Pour over cake pieces and toss to coat. Do not over mix, or the cake will start to fall apart. Chill before serving.