Dinner was generally successful. The only dishes we haven't tried before were the pomegranate chicken and the fig pseudo-newtons, both of which were pretty good. I've had a request to post the chicken "recipe." I've only made it once, and it was pretty experimental, so I will suggest a few modifications. I take no responsibility for unforeseen consequences :-)

Pomegranate Chicken
1 large chicken in pieces
2 15-fluid oz bottles pomegranate juice
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup fresh treyf mint leaves, chopped
8 cloves garlic, minced
pinch of salt

1. In a saucepan, combine juice, honey, mint, and garlic and bring to a boil. When the mixture reaches a full boil, add salt and reduce flame until it bubbles gently while uncovered. Continue to cook until the mixture is reduced to a thick syrup. (Note: I cooked the sauce for half an hour, at the end which it was still pretty thin. It tasted fine, and there was enough sauce for the chicken and a half that I was preparing, but the thick glaze called for by the recipes I've seen would probably have been better.)

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash and skin chicken. Place in roaster pan.

3. Pour sauce over chicken pieces and bake covered 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until juices run clear.

Heretics that we are, DH and I never turn our chicken. You can flip it over halfway through baking if you wish to adhere to the letter of the law.