And let the wedding planning begin!

With less than 6 months to go, the Mo and I have some final planning to do before we get hitched in August. The crazy planning freak  in the both of us have agreed upon most of our vendors.

We chose the Andover country club because it offers an upstairs inn with rooms for our drunk guests to stumble to after the party.. oh yeah and because its pretty too.

So far, we have booked the venue, entertainment, photographer, hair & makeup and florist.  (Update, we booked our cake!)  We even have most of our honeymoon planned that we would like to take in November, 3 months after the wedding. I was actually surprised that my boss accepted my 18 days vacation request!  Most of the other important dates have been set, bridal shower in June and bachelorette party in July.  We’re going to Miami bitch!…well at least the girls are… the guys are going to Toronto.

Wedding attire has been purchased but I have yet to find shoes and finalize accessories.  Royal/Cobalt blue is our main color and the bridesmaids have narrowed down their selections to some exciting options.

The guest list… yeah.. that’s still a battle… we’re going back and forth with a handful of “questionables” so its anywhere between 210-225 guests right about now.

Tonight we had our tasting at the club.  I must admit, they put on a spectacular tasting event.  I did prefer this to a private tasting as we were privileged to try almost everything on the menu.  Although it wasn’t free, ($25.00 a person), it was worth the experience.  I’ve changed my mind on many of the menu items that I previously selected.

We were seated at our own guest tables that were decorated with centerpieces and linen provided by different vendors advertising their goods and services.  If budget was not an issue, I would definitely have been interested as they were beautiful displays.

During the first hour, they had a cocktail reception in the smaller trumpeter’s room where they offered house wines and delicious passed hors d’oeurves.  I keep going back for more wine (to get my money’s worth haha) and enjoyed the canapes that I wouldn’t have imagined that I would like.  I loved the presentation of the trays and the stations.

Delicious Risotto crabcakes

Mini Cuban Sandwiches

Mozzarella tomato Crostini

Cheese Display

Delectable coconut shrimp

During the cocktail hour, there were a handful of cake vendors with beautiful eye catching displays.  Its amazing with some of these bakers can do.  The detail work that goes into some of these works of arts are incredible.

After a very filling cocktail hour, we went back to our tables in the Andover room where they had a buffets with 5 different stations that offered entrees, salads and side dishes.  Although it was really difficult to continue eating, we attempted to try everything offered.

They had one dedicated seafood table that offered delicious stuffed shrimp, grilled swordfish and baked haddock just to name a few.

There was a variety of carving stations including prime rib, sirloin, filet mignon and turkey.

There was one table dedicated to all of their chicken dishes along with sides.  The portions were cute as they were cut to a size small enough to enjoy but not to overwhelming.

Sample plated chicken oscar with sweet potatoes and vegetables

We nibbled on eat seafood, meat and side dish that we had on our plate.  I hate to say it, but we did waste a lot of food.  We didn’t intend to, but we were just stuffed.

First plate with haddock noella, baked salmon, stuffed shrimp, grilled swordfish with kiwi -pineapple salsa

Second plate, sirloin, chicken oscar, chicken avignon and chicken verdicchio with sweet potatoes, roasted potatoes and twice baked mashed potatoes

 And as if we weren’t already stuffed enough, there was a large offering of desserts to end our meal including additional cake from the vendors and a banana foster station.

French Macaroon display

I tried to get a tasting of each sweet and my eyes were bigger than my stomach.

Dessert tasting

I ended up sneaking it out in my purse.  I have no shame.  The Mo was appalled.  He was right, he knew I wasn’t go to end up eating it after all.  The good thing is that I did share it among friends.

I actually have my real cake tasting today so I will keep you guys posted on how that goes.

Cheap and Easy Pork Dumplings

.25 cent dumplings that we indulged in on our past trip to Chinatown NYC 2011

Unless you are at Tasty Dumpling in New York’s Chinatown, you probably can’t find 5 pork dumplings for $1.25 or less at a local joint but you can prepare your own for almost the same price.  Although I’ve never really made any dumplings from scratch, they are easy to prepare and serve.  I prepared 15 dumplings for less than $3.00 including the sauce.

The delicious delight has different variations and names that isn’t limited to wontons, “pot stickers” Peking raviolis, and “Giozas” (Japanese).  The outside layer can also vary from a thin starchy paper to a thick dough-like consistency.

The most common dipping sauce that I’ve seen served with this popular dish, is a ginger-soy dipping sauce usually garnished with sesame seeds or scallions.

While shopping at HMART today, I picked up 3 bags of frozen pork dumplings for $10.00.  There were a few different varieties but I opted for, pork and chive, pork and shrimp and plain pork dumplings.  ($3.33 each)  If HMART is out of the way, they sell different brand of dumpling varieties at Costco’s, Market Basket, Hannaford and local Asian supermarkets that can be prepared the same way.

Since we had a big breakfast and planned on skipping lunch, I thought I would make us a snack before our late dinner.  That’s the best part of these Asian delights, they store easily in the freezer and can be prepped up in 10 minutes or less for snacks for two or appetizers for a large gathering.

They can be served as finger foods or served as entrees boiled in chicken broth with noodles.

Directions for appetizer version
(Makes 15)

Ingredients:

• 15 frozen any choice pre-made dumplings, meat or vegetable ok (roughly 1/3 of the 24oz bag)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 5 cups of water for boiling
• Optional Ginger Soy Dipping Sauce- Homemade or store bought
• Optional Sriracha Sauce

First boil 5 cups of water in a sauce pan or wok
Once water boils, add in the frozen dumplings
Once the water boils again and the dumplings float to the top, time it for 1 more minute
Be very careful not to overcook the dumplings or the flour will breakapart and become gummy
strain the dumplings in a colander or strainer

(I try to use the least amount of pans as possible in the kitchen so I resuse the same pan again.  Rinse out the pan and use a paper towel to dry and return to burner)

Once the pan heats up, add the vegetable oil and turn the temperature to medium heat.  Give is 30 secs to heat up.  Add the strained dumplings. Be very careful of the oil splattering.  This is caused by any excess water left on the dumplings.

Let the dumplings pan fry for a few minutes on each side until golden brown.

Serve with the ginger soy dipping sauce and optional sriracha hot sauce.

PS. I usually make my own ginger soy sauce from soy sauce, fresh ginger and sesame oil but I already had a premade bottle from my last trip to Trader Joe’s.  If you don’t feel like making your own sauce, I recommend theirs as its thick and not too salty as other brands on the market. All the “Asian” influenced    products are labeled under “Trader Ming’s”, thought that was cute.

Trader Joe’s / Trader’s Ming Gyoza dipping sauce

A Spanish Soiree!

 So this post is almost two weeks overdue, but please forgive me, I’ve been busy celebrating my 27th birthday for the past two weeks.

Nat’s Seafood Paella

Since my friend Lisa K. and I share a similar group of girl friends, we decided to do a joint shindig for our birthday at my house.  After coming up with a few ideas and themes, we settled on doing a Spanish Tapas Affair.  As the hosts, we would provide sangria (both red and white), paella, and few other tapas and ask our guest to bring their own tapas to share.

Birthday Divas

I have to admit, I was a little overwhelmed since the party was on a Sunday and I would be away all day Saturday until Sunday AM, leaving myself only a few hours to prep for the party.  Thankfully, we were only responsible for a few things and my good friend Nat helped make the seafood paella.

Also, since we had a snow storm on Halloween, the city of Lowell decided to move Halloween to the date of my party.  Since some of my guests are moms, we had to move the time of the party so they could participate in the Halloween festivities and also so we wouldn’t have random kids ringing the door bell every few minutes.

(Address Removed for Privacy)

Here is a spread of all the delicious tapas we had.
I’m an awful host, I forgot to take a picture of Kea’s delicous spicy fried shrimp, you can kind of see it in the photo below.

Tapas Station

Spicy Chourizo on Toasted Baguette

Spicy Squid and Shrimp with Lime and Cilantro

Bacon Wrapped Dates

Alice’s Homemade Tortellini

Fiif’s Seafood Ceviche served with Pita Chips

Breanna’s Stuffed Spinach Mushrooms

Mera’s Chicken and Homemade Salsa on Pita

Brie and Veggies

Angel’s Tortilla Espanola

Lemar’s Clam and Artichoke Hearts in a White wine sauce

Amsi’s meat and plantain

Nat’s Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus

Amsi’s Beef Empanadas

Tiffany’s White Mousse Dessert

White Sangria

Red Sangria

Mo’s Birthday Feast" "Surf & Turf"

Mami Eggroll’s Baked Stuffed Lobsters

The Mo didn’t want to have a big extravagant bash for his 30th birthday party but I still wanted to do something nice for him.

Instead of spending tons of money on a fancy dinner in town, I attempted to whip up a Surf and Turf meal on a budget.  I was inspired by this idea by Market Basket since they were running a special this week on lobster at $4.99 a pound.

Tonight we feasted on baked stuffed lobsters, Delmonico steak, homemade crabcakes, seared scallops drizzled in lobster bisque, and Cesar salad with fresh parmesan cheese.

I also was going to bake fresh rolls, but I forgot to with all the other dishes I had to prepare. I finally realized I forgot the rolls as we were sitting down for dinner.

The cost of this meal was about $60.00 including a cheap bottle of wine.  I still could have save some money if I substituted some of the ingredients but I didn’t want to trade off quality and flavor.  I looked up the prices of lower end seafood restaurants for comparison purposes and our meal at a decent restaurant would have set us back $120.00 minimum.

Of course you don’t get the ambiance and waiter service of a restaurant, but I thought the savings was worth it.  We can use the $60.00 towards my birthday meal or our anniversary meal.

Baked Stuffed Lobsters

Canned Crab Meat (Found in the seafood department) roughly $13.99 for 1 lb

2 Sleeves of Ritz Crackers

Crushed Crackers for Seafood Stuffing

Combine Crabmeat, crumbled crackers and seasoning

Steam lobsters and split in the middle (without going through)

Stuff lobsters and place on broiler pan and bake for 15 minutes at 375 degrees

Garnish with lemon and fresh parsley and serve with drawn butter

Mami’s Crabcakes

Same base as seafood stuffing but add onions, egg and mayonnaise

Pan fry lightly on each side for 4 minutes, serve with horseradish sauce

Easy Caesar Salad

Romaine Heats, Cherry Tomatoes, Garlic Croutons and Fresh Shaved Parmasean

Seared Scallops 

Blanched Baby Spinach

Legal Sea Foods Lobster Bisque (Can be found in the seafood department)

Sear scallops in butter for 2 minutes on each side then serve on a bed of spinach. Drizzle with lobster bisque

Delmonico Steak

Marinated with Montreal Steak seasoning, soy sauce and olive oil

I forgot to take a picture of the after product, but pretty much I seared the steak for 2 minutes on high heat on each side then placed it under the broiler for 6 minutes.  If the weather was warmer, I would have grilled it outside.

I also cheated and bought the single baked potato from Wendy’s for a little over $1.00.  With so many dishes to prep, I didn’t have the time to spend on baking a single potato.

I had the steak and the lobsters both in the oven at once.. gotta love the double oven.. one was on broil and the other was on convection bake.

Oysters

Oyster Party at Matt & Nat’s House

Another one of those things.. you either LOVE them, or you are disgusted by them. My belly loves them, my wallet… not so much.  Luckily for us, our friend (name undisclosed for his protection), has connections with a local restaurant and he orders them by the hundreds.  We make an oyster party out of it, the girls cook, and the guys shuck. It’s a win-win situation, we get our oyster fix without breaking the bank.

If you don’t have a friend that can get you cheap oysters, here are some other great deals found on Yelp…

I vaguely remember Moonstones in Chelmsford having a special.. but I cannot find it on their website.

My Recommendation
Minado– VERY CLEAN BUFFET establishment, variety of sushi, Japanese entrees and appetizers, Shellfish, and green tea ice cream.
If you are going to eat the Oysters, the $31.95 is well worth the price.

Photo Credit: The Passionate Foodie Blog

I like my oysters, “Minado” style, with a little bit of lemon juice and a soy-ginger sauce topped with scallions,
How do you like yours?

Mary and the Two Boys

Bloody Mary’s are an acquired taste.. some either love it, or some absolutely hate it,  but I only LOVE it when its made to my liking.. and that is usually only  when I make it.. not too much horseradish, not too sour and not too peppery.. just a good blend of tomato juice, horseradish, salt, pepper, lemon, and lots of vodka and a dash of Tabasco sauce with an olive garnish. I also have to be in the mood, it’s not one of those drinks that I get drunk off of since its a bit on the heavy side.

When we have tailgating parties for a Pat’s game, one of my customer’s is known for bringing the best home made Bloody Mary concoction.  She signs up every year to bring it and it takes her a good amount of time to prepare the mix which she later fridges for 24 hrs. The crowd loves it!

During a weekend getaway to Martha’s Vineyard, we stopped for a late lunch at the Fishbone’s Grille and Waterfront Cafe before catching our departure ferry. It wasn’t the best Bloody Mary that I had, actually a bit on the salty side, but the jumbo shrimps were colossal and they made for a nice photo. I also wished they served this $ 12.00 drink in a glass cup and not a plastic cup.. just sayin…

“Mary and the Two Boys”

Phad Thai, Eggrolls, Noodles Galore!

Southeast Asian Cooking

Although I was born in the states, being born of Cambodian decent, I’m pretty much required to know how to cook the typical staples of Southeast Asian Cusines. Here are a few of my common dishes that I like to make

Beef Loc Lac

“Mee Ka Thung” Fried Wide Noodles

Hoisen Braised Pork Spare Ribs

Banh Hoi w/ Eggrolls, Shrimp and Pork

Calamari and Fried Jalapenos

Spicy Cilantro Chili Chicken Wings

“Mee Cha” Fried Noodles with Shrimp

Fried Salt and Pepper Shrimp with Head

Fried Spicy Shrimp with sweet chili

“Lhort Cha” with Sunny Side Up Egg

Beef and Seafood Noodle Soup

Lemon Grass & Kaffir”Krueng” Chicken

Shrimp and Pork  “Garden roll”, “Summer Roll” “Naim Chow” “Goi Cuon”, “Spring Roll” So many names for this well known dish.