it all started around christmas time. it was actually during our christmas get together when they told me that i should host a dinner. then i thought, well, since january is my birthday month, i just might as well do it. i haven't really planned anything out yet, until foodbuzz accepted my proposal for a dinner. when i got that email saying that my proposal was accepted into their 24, 24, 24 event, i had a reason to do the dinner.
looking back at the week that just passed, i would like to say that it was a very, VERY stressful one. let me break it down to you, i started school last wednesday, i had to sign up for 2 more classes because i didn't get into the other class i wanted, and then do all the shopping and prep work for the dinner i hosted last night. goodness gracious, just thinking about the week that just passed makes me want to pull my hair out. gah, how did i survive that. shawn's right, prep work for that dinner i had should be more than a day. he can be right sometimes... sometimes.
before anything else, i want to rant on how i can't believe i just added another year to my age. ugh. birthdays can be really bittersweet sometimes. i still want to hold on to 18, but just as a number. seriously, if i think like i was still 18, oh no, i can't even do it. it was scary, ohhh, over-gelled hair and all. oh, the younger years.
now that i can breathe, i can now tell you what had transpired this past weekend.
i just invited a few friends over, mostly the ones who asked me to host a dinner last december, it was actually very last minute, though i still asked them to dress up a little bit. so, there were like 15 on the list, i think but people cancelled because they already had plans, and earlier plans trumps later plans any day. so i was just like, who ever come, comes and i guess there's gonna be more food for everyone.
prep work started the night before, shawn was my
i woke up at 7 the next day to start on the potato leek soup, the sauce for the lemon pepper pasta, put the meats on sticks, baked the pineapple upsi... actually get everything done before everyone comes at 6 (or so).
it was a very long day. i was standing the whole day, i don't even remember going to the bathroom, which reminds me, "hey there kidneys, are you still okay?!". after all the stress of cooking a lot of food, people started coming semi wet from the rain. i love the rain, but hey rain, i'm serving hot food here!
so what was on the menu? here's a break down and the links where to find the recipe.
chive and onion dip
baked brie and camembert (brie, camembert and phyllo)
seafood salad on endive (salmon, imitation crab, mayo, celery, onions, relish and dill)
salsa fresca bruschetta
potato and leek soup with italian sausage (potatoes, leeks, cream, italian sausage)
chicken and beef on sticks
chicken parmesan
eggs in meatballs
lemon pepper chicken pasta
3 types of sausages (sweet italian turkey, chili cheese and cheddar jalapeno)
turkey burgers with sundried tomato mayo (ground turkey, basil, spices, mayo and sundried tomatoes)
chocolate cupcakes with chocolate & strawberry ganache and strawberry frosting (cocoa powder, butter, strawberries, melted chocolate and powdered sugar)
raspberry cups
pineapple upside down cake (pineapples, brown sugar and yellow cake)
blondies
oh my, i shouldn't have written all those down coz i am tired just thinking about it.
so while waiting for everyone to arrive, i filled up the little metal bucket we got at michael's with water and put 2 votives in each bucket and lit them. i was also very happy on how the table looked like after i turned on the christmas lights i put under the black sheer fabric i used to cover the table. oh and the dimmer i got at ikea worked with the christmas lights!!! so i could dim the lights on the table. i also turned off the light in the living room (that's where i set up the table to eat at) so that the only light would come from the table. it looked so pretty... well, that's what i think at least. i never got the chance to ask my friends if they liked it.
so, the night turned out to be a lot of fun, though it started out quiet, i think because everyone was just eating, or maybe they just didn't want to talk. i don't know, but whatever the reason was doesn't matter now because everyone had fun when we played guesstures! though my team lost in the game, i think we're still winners... wait, isn't that what losers say?! oh crap!
i have to tell you that, i don't know how to cook for a certain amount of people. my estimation skills are next to none, so i ended up making a spread good for an army. insead of just eating the leftovers for the next few days and maybe getting sick of it, we did what any other filipino family would, send food home with all the guests! the potato leek soup with italian sausage was a hit. maybe because of the weather, cold and rainy.
overall, it was a success. the exhaustion was worth it, though it didn't seem like it during the process of making all the food. i had my friends over who were had been there since i moved here to the states. they're all great an i am thankful to have them! also, i got a coffee shaped dessert (maiya) and gift cards (see's-janelle and macy's-andrew) out of it, so it was even better! it was a really wonderful birthday celebration, even though a few couldn't come since it was so last minute and some i didn't get the chance to invite because, again it was so last minute. but next time i will make sure to have everyone over, in batches though. seriously if i have another party with a lot of guests and i make everything by myself (or just with shawn) i would go crazy. so yeah, i think it'll be by batches next time!
goodness, this is such a long post. i guess i just want you to feel like you were there. i hope you did, and i'll give you a few recipes from the party. i'll post the others in the future because if i did it right now, this post will be very long (as if it's not already)!
okay, here are the recipes.
onion and chive dip
for those moments you just want to munch on something
what you need:
1 box of cream cheese (16 oz)
3 heaping tbsp of sour cream
3 tbsp minced onions
2 tbsp minced chives
1 tbsp of hot sauce
salt and pepper
what to do:
just put all of them in a bowl and mix well, serve with crackers or put on bread! it's that easy!
lemon pepper pasta
what you need:
for the chicken:
2 chicken breasts ( i used skinless and boneless)
1/4 cup lemon pepper
2 tbsp paprika
2 tsp salt
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp oil
for the pasta:
1 lb of penne (or whatever pasta shape you like)
1 tbsp butter
1 small onion diced
2 cloves garlic minced
1 lb jar of alfredo sauce (i used ragu)
1 cup cream (i used milk and it's fine)
2 tbsp lemon pepper
salt and pepper to taste
what to do:
the chicken:
1. mix lemon pepper, parika and salt in a bowl and then cover the chicken with this mixture.
2. heat up a pan over medium high stove-top, melt the butter and cook the chicken. maybe about 3-4 minutes on each side, depending on the size of the chicken breasts. once cooked, set aside and do not discard the drippings on the pan
the pasta:
1. cook the pasta according to package directions. set aside
2. with the drippings in the pan (if there's a lot of burnt solids, strain it into a small bowl and put back the oily goodness into the pan and throw away the burnt stuff, that oil has a lot of flavor!!!)
3. melt the butter into the oil.
4. cook the onions and garlic until the onions become translucent.
5. put in the alfredo sauce and cream.
6. add the lemon pepper. cook for about 2 minutes or until it starts forming bubbles.
7. dice the chicken you cooked and add it into the sauce, after a minute add the drained pasta into the pan (if it fits) and toss everything together.
raspberry cups
what you need:
6 layers of phyllo dough
1 stick butter melted
1 box of cream cheese (16oz)
3 tbsp raspberry puree
2 tsp sugar
zest of one orange
juice of half a lemon
what to do:
1. butter each layer of phyllo pastry (there's normally directions on how to do this in the box)
2. cut a 2 1/2 inch square, or enough to mold a little cup + overhang (just like the picture above) in a mini muffin pan.
3. bake it in a 350 degree over until brown. set aside to cool.
4. for the filling mix the cream cheese, raspberry puree, sugar, orange zest and lemon juice.
5. with a piping bag or just fill a ziploc bag and cut a small piece of the tip, fill the phyllo cups. top with shaved chocolate or a white chocolate chip.
6. make sure you don't finish this yourself!
i know that this post is very bandwidth hungry so sorry for that. and i want to thank shawn for making this event possible and for being such a wonderful boyfriend and randall for eating all the crumbs on the floor. i love you guys!
oh, and shawn's not taller than me, i am slouching on this photo because my feet hurt... a lot!
i will also update this post to put a video montage of the event, but that will have to wait because i have school tomorrow. ugh. oh and if you want to see the photos, here's a link to the album.
again, thanks everyone for making this possible even though it was so last minute!
and...
get ready for a barage of photos!!!! here they come!!!
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