A big party…

Every year I host a big meal for Chinese New Year meal for my side of the family. This year my mom gave me some money for take outs so that I don’t have to up cook up a storm (like what I did here). Well, I had planned the menu so that I can prep some, cook some and reheat some. It’s no joke cooking for 30 people, but glad everyone enjoyed the meal. I say this every year, not sure If I’m able to pull this one again next year.

And for dessert…homemade red bean dessert with black sesame tang yuan…

Here’s the menu, with auspicious names of each dish.

A big feast…

Finally got around to my family’s CNY dinner. It’s pretty late this year to accommodate everyone’s schedule, but hey, better late than never. Yes, all 32 people showed up! Since I was thinking about this meal a month ago, whipping this up wasn’t stressful at all. The most stressful about it is that Mr. Piggy got sick (stomach virus) during this time, so not only did I lose help, I had to send the boys to check up on him to make sure he wasn’t neglected! LOL.

I didn’t make this in one day, thank goodness! I made dumplings (using my homemade wrappers), marbled (tea-leaf) eggs, pumpkin (gold coin) buns, etc. ahead of time.

Beef tendons, cow stomach, and beef shanks were all homemade to fill this what used to be candy dish. I love this plate!

Got these frozen green Australian abalone from Costco when they went on sale (two weeks ago $34.99/dozen). I prepared these the night before the meal. Thank goodness for instant pot for helping with the tenderizing. After defrost, I removed the shell and gave them a good clean bath. I tossed them with (homemade) seafood broth in the instant pot for 30 mins. They were perfectly tender. I saved the shells and chuck the abalone back on  for presentation. Make sure to soak the shells in boiling hot water for a few minutes to that they’re thoroughly cleaned). I was pretty happy how this turned out.

And some more tables on the table…

Tonight we passed out the red envelopes to the kids who were all waiting patiently.

A full house…

I invited my nieces over for dinner tonight. Being a weeknight means I had to sneak out early for work to make all this! It took 3 hours but wasn’t bad.  I couldn’t decide what to make, so I made a little bit of everything:

• -Vietnamese spring rolls
• -Korean Bulgogi Japchae
• -Indian style Tumeric Basmati rice with grilled chicken pineapple skewers
• -Thai Tom Yum soup and
• -Japanese Gyoza

As always my boys enjoy the Girls’ company. They even held a special private concert for them. LOL. They sang, danced, and laughed. Just like that, 3-1/2 hours flew by.

A fancy party…

Looking back at old posts, I realized this is my third time hosting a get together for my middle school friends at my place. After middle school, some of us went our separate ways, but 17 or years ago, we connected. We’ve stayed in touch ever since. These gatherings act as a haven for some of us who needed to share our personal problems, good and bad ones. We talked about pretty much everything, most of the time at a very deep level. Most of the time we would go out to restaurants, but don’t think there are any restaurants who can serve us for that many hours.

With time permitting, I offer to put something together for them. Coincidentally, Ah Lo has basketball games today, so I had the entire house to myself. I made a fruit salad, shrimp succotash, roasted garlic brussell sprouts and mushrooms. We talked for hours. It was lovely each got to share and learn from another. Cheers to our 36 years of friendship!

p.s. I love this opportunity to host a fancy gathering for the perfect sized party.

A Christmas party…

It’s super tiring hosting back to back, from clean up to cooking, glad my boys all pitched in to help, especially Mr. Piggy. For my family, I offered to make everything (yes, I really enjoyed cooking that much).

Here’s the menu:

• grilled vegetables (eggplants, red bell peppers, zucchini, yellow squash, corn, portobello mushrooms, green beans and broccolini)
• mixed green salad (with oranges and pomegranate kernels, sprinkled with pistachios and crumbled feta cheese, homemade orange honey salad dressing)
• beef flanks with salad (made that for Mr. Piggy’s Thanksgiving meal)
• BBQ pork sliders
• garlic butter with brussel sprouts (wreath)
• Chicken
• my sister made clam linguine

Wasn’t sure if I had the time to bake a cake, but I managed to squeeze some time in! This is a chocolate cake and I had so much decorating it with my nieces. Everyone enjoyed it and good thing we didn’t have too much leftovers!

Let the unwrapping begin!

A Christmas feast…

Today Mr. Piggy’s family is coming over to celebrate Christmas. Everyone brought side dishes and I’ve asked to prepare primarily the meat/entree. Thanks to instant pot, I made the ribs and impressed everyone at the party. His family was never a huge fan of my food (because our palettes are very different). This time, with limited choice, I guess they had no choice but to eat everything. LOL

Another plate of cookies…

Another batch of sugar cookies for upcoming parties! I think I’ve met my quota for sugar cookies this year! Woohoo…totally satisfied!

An utensil holder…

We’re hosing two parties back to back this Christmas. I’m sure I’ll be very hectic the next few days, especially I will be cooking for 30 people on Christmas day. Therefore I’m trying to finish up the little details for the party. One step at a time…

A baby shower….

Today, we were at a baby shower. I didn’t have much time to decorate the cookies. A bit sloppy, but still happy to manage to get a few ones in.Made a gift card holder, just for fun.There was so much food at the party, I had to split a slice of cake with the boys because I was so stuffed. Can’t wait to meet the little one in November.

A family gathering…

My sister hosted a BBQ on this warm labor day Sunday! Besides enjoying great company and delicious food, it was great for the kids to run around. I even got them to sing a song. I’m so happy that Dai Bee can play the guitar which makes it a lot more fun to teach.