Tuesday, September 23, 2014

International Dinner Parties: China


China Night
Lydia brought out some of her decorative Chinese hats and paintings for the night. We ate fried rice, chicken potstickers, sweet and sour chicken, and bok choy - all with chopsticks!


Welcome! Ai-ya! There is a ton of delicious food!
Potstickers are very labor intensive and I was very thankful for some extra awesome helpers. You take wonton wrappers and place the chicken mixture in the middle then fold in half and pinch the sides together. The mixture is a combo of napa cabbage, shredded boiled chicken, sesame seed oil, soy sauce, white vinegar, ginger, green onions, and chicken broth. Then you fry them - and as seen below frying can be dangerous so you might need extra protections.

The meal was a success!
A small meal since I was snacking while cooking. 

We even tried Dragon Fruit! Which tasted like a kiwi and potato - not the best flavor.
For dessert we had coconut pudding with mashed mango on top!

Overall fantastic night with great friends! We loved our visit with China. Please join us again for our next International Dinner Party!
#TraveltheWorld

International Dinner Party: Southern Cooking

We celebrated the fourth of July Southern style!
Or at least that was the plan.

Menu
Buttered Biscuits
BBQ pulled chicken
Pigs in a corn cake
Mac & Cheese
Corn on the Cob
Sauteed greens
Sweet Potato Pie



 I will confess that I have never met a food I could not make, but then I met Southern cooking. I decided to follow recipes since I was less familiar with making southern food. Not only was I out of my comfort zone, but I was also crunched for time as I had to work 11-6 that day. I tried to make the macaroni and cheese ahead of time... which means around 8 in the morning before work... and baked it when I came home. Unfortunately, it quite possibly was the worst macaroni and cheese I have ever made. And, I've made some killer Mac & Cheese before. But, that's what I get for following a recipe right? Haha. Actually I guess I just picked poor recipes to follow. I'm not quite sure how my friends felt about the meal, but they probably would agree that my weakness is cooking southern food. 

Aside from the Macaroni and Cheese everything else tasted pretty darn tasty :)

I hope you enjoyed our Southern Night, join us again soon for our next International Dinner party!
#TraveltheWorld

Friday, September 5, 2014

International Dinner Party: UK Part 2

International Dinner Party
United Kingdom
Fish 'n chips, lemon wedges, vinegar, coleslaw, and banofree pie.




The fish was made using a beer batter recipe. They were pan fried it first then baked it in the oven. 

A special British imported beer from Yorkshire.

Chips are what Americans consider potato wedges or fries. They were lightly oiled and baked in the oven.

Banofree pie is like the American version of banana cream pie, except much sweeter and richer. It definitely was better the second day than the first. I would recommend making it the day before if you choose to make it. I did make homemade whole wheat cookies rather than using digestive cookies since at the time they were not carrying them at the grocery store. 



Overall fantastic night! We topped it off with Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.

Travel the World with us! Keep up to date on our International dinner parties!