Italian Night - Table for Four

Last Sunday I got a call from Jovan asking if I was going to his place to visit him. He and Makoy went to the dentist that day to have their teeth pulled out (lol i think they went for a cleaning session or something) and decided to head over Jovan's place for lunch. If i remembered it correctly, we actually planned this Friday last week but I thought it was a no go. When I got there we eventually decided to plan what we wanted to eat for dinner and it was awesome.

Italian Dinner - Boun Appetito

The GUESTS

When I got to Jovan's place Makoy and Devine were already there. Hahaha I dont have a picture of Makoy at the Dinner Table.

The Menu

The PASTA

Makoy's One Pot Pasta. We would like to thank The Londoner for the Inspiration. http://www.thelondoner.me/2013/06/one-pot-pasta.html

We also have Jovan's Carbonara Sauce. 

Both pasta dishes were delicious.. I would have had more of it if I hadn't munched my way to obesity while cooking. LOL.

The Meat

Pork Chops with salt and pepper

The Garlic Bread

The Drinks

The NOW "famous" Sun Cooler

Sliced apples, oranges, pineapples, watermelon drowned orange juice.

Italian Night was a blast... Ate so much pasta and drank a pitcher of the Sun Cooler. Creativity Achieved. I wonder what theme I'll co-host next. I am really rooting for either French or Japanese. Give themed dinners a try, It'll spice your weekend up.. :)

Off to my next adventure...

Co-hosted a Boodle Fight

Boodle Fight

May the odds be ever in your favor...

I have no complaints when it comes to eating but I ate so much I was about to burst. After a long day of running around the city, buying and sending Medicine to my dad and a whole lot more, I was looking forward to a long relaxing night to rest. But it did not work out that way.

A week ago, during a badminton session I inserted the idea to my friends that we have a food trip. We initially planned on eating at CnT ( A lechon place here in Cebu) but we opted not to. Today during our weekly badminton sessions I had them explore the possibility of trying out a Boodle Place near Cebu Doc. For those who are not familiar with the term, Boodle Fight is when all the food is arranged in the middle of the table under mats of banana leaves and when you eat you do not need utensils, you use your hands. So going back, we decided to host our very own Boodle Fight and talked about the menu during badminton breaks and how much we were willing to spend. This is the result. 

We spent P 150.00 each to make this work. Our Menu consists of the following:

• Rice
• Chicken Pork Adobo
• Bagoong (Bagoong lol.. its tiny tiny shrimps in salt and stuff)
• Ginataang Bangus (Fish in Coconut Milk)
• Itlog na Maalat (Salted Egg)
• Fried Fish (Fried Fish)
• Coke and Sprite for Drinks
• Watermelon for dessert ( everybody lolled when I complained why this fruit is very watery)

We had so much Fun and ate so much... I really like this hosting gig. It makes me feel happy, excited and creative. Kudos to the chefs (Dona, Erron, Madam, Banjo, Mary Anne, Bryan, Arnel and Ahem Me.. lol)

FYI, I was craving this the whole week last week so I am already good.. hahahaha..

Have a Boodle Fight your friends and/or families and tell me how it went. :)

How to Host a Themed Dinner

It has always been my dream to live like a van der Woodsen or a Waldorf ever since I watched the Gossip Girl Series. Though I am not that fortunate to inherit the looks, the body and the bank account, I did inherit something much more fulfilling, PERSEVERANCE. To "feel" a little bit like Blair and/or Serena I planned to host a dinner party at my place.

Below is a list of tips and guides based on what i did last weekend for my American-Themed dinner party

Tips:

1. Never bite off more than you can chew - Do not over and under estimate and always make sure you have a plan B (B for Blair.. teehee). Make sure you have resources and location already covered.
2. The Guest List is like the Ten Commandments - Always make sure that you do not commit mistakes when listing the people attending your shindig. One thing I learned when it came to the guest list was to never invite people that makes you scared, insecure, nervous and/or uneasy, it ruins your night and you'll be focusing more on the mistakes rather than enjoying the night with friends and family.
3. Decide on the Theme or Menu at least a week in advance - the theme is important because it sets the mood and the Menu fulfills the mood (teehee). When it comes to the menu, always have a plan B so your world doesn't end when the ingredients fall apart.
4. Clean you Place - have a general cleaning the day before so you won't have to worry about it on the day of the party.
5. Prepare everything at least an hour before - more than an hour everything gets too cold and just in time doesn't leave you enough time to take a shower and prepare yourself.
6. One of the main reason why people don't like to host dinners or party is the clean up - what i did was clean in between. If I'm waiting for something to boil, i cleaned the pots and pans that I already used.
7. One more thing... HAVE FUN... its supposed to be a gathering of friends and family... relax and enjoy.

I found that Carbon (a local market place in Cebu) is the best place to shop for meats and vegetables and pretty much everything else for a steal but if you prefer to get them from big stores like SM, Ayala, Metro Colon or anywhere else then that's fine too as long as you get everything you need.

The MENU

The Burger - Mixed Meat Patty (Beef and Longganiza, salt, pepper and rosemary to taste), Caramelized Onions, Cherry Tomatoes, Button Mushrooms, Lettuce and some Cheese

Sweet Corn (tip to make the corn more sweeter - when boiling the corn add a tablespoon of sugar)

One of the best seller for the night - quartered potatoes boiled, then seared in olive oil, butter, a dash of thyme and flat leaf parsley

Second best seller that night is the Sun Cooler. Orange Juice with sliced real fruits (Watermelon, Orange, Apple and Calamansi) - Mooon Cafe inspired

It was a Fun night and I really felt like one of the characters in Gossip Girl. Check out the blogs below to see how they felt when they got invited to my Elite (ahem) soirée.

http://theunfoldinggene.blogspot.com/2013/09/saturday-night-dinner.html

http://themoxieme.blogspot.com/2013/09/alics-simple-american-themed-dinner.html

Off to my next Adventure... Japanese, French or Zombie.. teehee.. I don't know.. What do you think? Let me know.. :)