With spring finally in full swing I had my friend Cat over for a fun catch-up dinner. The menu was very simple and may, seriously, be my favorite meal ever! (At least for spring!)

Although I originally intended to stagger the meal into courses, hindsight allows me the opportunity to say that it really was better all together! To start I made an Asparagus and Gruyere tart with very minimal adaptations of this Martha Stewart recipe served with a very light baby-arugula salad. The only major change is that I only used 1 sheet of Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry, which makes a 10″ square and only requires 1.5 cups max grated cheese and 1 bunch of asparagus. Cat and I both agreed that Gruyere is the perfect cheese for this tart – I would avoid any substitutions if at all possible!

The main we shared is one of my favorite dinner party dishes – mussels! I just love sharing from a communal bowl and the fun that slightly-messy eating with your hands can bring! My standby recipe is another of Martha’s, which I accompany with lots of good crusty bread to eat up all the amazing broth!

Although we certainly didn’t need any more food, we finished the meal with the most delectable treats from The Sullivan Street Bakery that were devoured before we could remember to take a picture! Such a simple and easy (not to mention affordable) dinner that felt like an incredible extravagance – can’t ask for much more than that!

Actually, how about the world’s best leftover’s the next night? Even better!