Thursday, July 7, 2011

Stags & Independance

Last week (I think) I read a great Blog Entry about preparing for outdoor parties easily. I loved the ideas. You can read her entry here. At the end of the summer I will be hosting an outdoor BBQ for friends and international students. This will be the perfect trial run for the easy party prep kit that I made yesterday.


Here is how mine turned out:


Friday night I am hosting a friends Stagette sleepover at my house. There will be food, drinks and a lot of fun! I’m pretty excited. I think Stagette’s are an amazing opportunity to send a friend in to marriage knowing that they have friends around them that love and support them. Specifically, great girlfriends. I know, personally, that my stagette weekend was amazing. I felt so loved and enjoyed. It was great.


Plus, I love to feed people.


For Kathleen, I wanted to make sure to serve her favorite foods. We will be having baked ham, cheesy mashed potatoes and roasted veggies. She also loves “Sex in Pan” (tasty and bachelorette themed, haha), which her fiance’s sister will be bringing. We picked her favorite girly drinks (sour puss raspberry and sprite) and snacks that she will love. Every guest is brining $10 towards the food (instead of paying $20 out at a fancy restaurant) and a gift for Kathleen. I think it will be a great night!

Last weekend Paul hosted Prakash (Kathleen’s fiancĂ©)’s Stag at our place. First Paul, Prakash and the other groomsman went on a camping hike Friday and Saturday. Then they arrived back at our house Saturday afternoon for a BBQ with a bunch of guys from church and Prakash’s work.

Now, my lovely husband Paul does not love to cook. When he was single he made food to live. He likes to eat. He enjoys good food. He does not enjoy cooking. (That’s why we work well together as I love to cook and HATE doing dishes…and he doesn’t mind dishes!). So with Kash’s Stag coming up I wanted to make sure Kash felt very loved. Prakash LOVES to feed people. He loves to feed people well. He cares about hospitality. Prakash has also been a great friend to me, as well as to Paul. I wanted to make sure the food at his stag was AMAZING.


I decided to help Paul out with the food (something he was and is still VERY thankful for). Thursday I did a big grocery shop for both the Stag and the Stagette. Friday I spent the day (with Kathleen’s help) prepping all the food for the party. The menu was gourmet burgers (cause men love to BBQ in the summer), Honey Garlic Chicken Wings, Chips (Guacamole Flavour and Havanero Flavour), and Potato Skins. Kathleen and I marinated the Wings. We prepared all the toppings (cheese, lettuce, pickles, jalapeno’s, guacamole, bacon, tomatoes, etc). We cut up onions and mushrooms and put them in bowls with becel and seasoning for Paul to grill up the day of the BBQ. We baked potatoes and turned them in to skins ready for topping and baking on Saturday. I left step by step instructions for Paul on how to prepare all the food. I cleaned the entire house and made a giant mud pie (thanks to this link for the recipe); layer of oreo crumbs, fudge icing and then chocolate cookie dough ice cream with chunks of brownies. And sprinkles on top to make it girly, haha. Paul says the mud pie was much raved about. AND he managed to get everything out for the burgers and only forgot the lettuce. That is a huge victory. All of the food was polished except some of the pickles and a bunch of tomatoes (which re purposed made a great tomato boccocini salad the next day).

Monday was the 4th of July and I wanted to make the day special for my special American. I also invited our friend Candace over (also American) to celebrate. I decorated and cooked and then enjoyed great company. The decoration ideas are thanks to the many American blogs I read with very creative women!


I made “Chicks on a Stick” (found here), double stuffed potatoes and roasted veggies. Here’s how it turned out:

 



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