?In this new weekly Voracious column, yours truly has undertaken the incredibly difficult task of reporting on what the uber-foodies of our city serve to their guest when they throw parties. All of these shindigs will have two things in common: they’ll have good food and they’ll be hosted by those you have come to know in the local food scene, whether they be bloggers, chefs or restaurateurs. Of course, the challenge will be getting myself invited to parties in order to eat for free, with only the Seattle Weekly as my Gold Card.The last thing I ever feel like doing is cooking, so last week, I happily accepted an invitation to have dinner at the West Seattle home of Susan and Bob Neel, co-owners of McCrea Cellars.Anyone who knows Susan knows she is an exceptional cook; the kind of person who orders cookbooks on Amazon months before they’re on bookshelves; the kind of person who has about 15 aprons and who is rarely spotted without donning one. Susan is also the type of hostess who takes every dinner seriously. Every dinner party is a chance to make new friends and spur interesting conversation amongst (oftentimes) strangers. There is always a tablescape dotted with stemware, bottles of wine, a spit bucket, candles and fresh flowers. There is also a good chance everyone overstays their welcome because they are so comfortable.It was a Tuesday night. It was raining. It was cold. I was cranky. As soon as I stepped foot into the Neels’ home, it all went away. Primarily because the first thing I spotted was Bob pouring glasses of Bugey-Cerdon, perhaps my favorite sparkling rose in the world. Susan and Bob had invited a small group of friends to join them that night, including Craig Hetherington, the exec chef at TASTE, and Dante Rivera of Dante’s Inferno Dogs. On the menu: Pizza buns that looked like cinnamon rolls (pre-baked), filled with sausage, cheese, mushrooms and marinara sauce. Oh, and olives. Susan found some huge black Cerignolas at the local Thriftway. “I ate every single one that didn’t go into the pizza buns,” she told me the next day. Before the pizzas, we were treated to homemade chorizo meatball-and-lentil soup and a salad decorated with citrus wedges — both served in antique dinnerware. Dessert was slices of apple pie that Susan had baked the day before using no spices, just sugar, butter and a simple pastry crust. Wow. It went great with the Molly Moon’s pumpkin-and-clove ice cream she had in the freezer. After dinner, Bob broke out more than a dozen bottles of bourbon (from his bourbon bar) for some of the boys to sample. Dante sipped his soda while I continued to sample through the array of McCrea half-bottles still on the table. I didn’t find a single one I didn’t like. My favorite, however, was the 2007 Mourvedre.The gang and I left full and happy, and hoping we get invited back again.