Our first theme Fiesta! was held. We had a brunch that began at 1pm on a Saturday afternoon. It seems that a recent happening with Fiesta! is that the weather has been great, and for an April afternoon before Easter, it was warm and sunny. Baseball was getting into swing and wiffle ball was on our roster for Fiesta!. Our only shortcoming was one family could not join us. Usually we would reschedule, but the family who could not make it requested that the day not change.
Our menu included:
Smoked salmon with bagels
seasoned cream cheese, lettuce, tomato and red onion available
Scrambled egg casserole; ham and vegetarian
Fresh fruit
Assorted danish and muffins
Coffee, Bloody Mary's, Mimosas, a great strawberry-vodka concoction
We did have a special set of popsicle stick for the theme that included the categories listed above.
It was such a nice day that the kids were kicked off of the field (read: backyard) for an adult only wiffle ball game: males v. females. The rules, girls start with a lead and boys hit from their weak side. Girls won! Imagine that! The big downfall; we all needed pedicures since we played barefoot.
The day extended into the evening and another meal was needed. Hamburgers, hot dogs, and sushi. Another run to the liquor store and it became the longest Fiesta! thus far.
Then the crash:
As clean up was going on and we were getting our things together, I was putting my two Pyrex 9 x 13 dishes into a bag. Crash! Both dishes went through the bag and onto my feet and floor. Good thing the alcohol kept me calm. Luckily, only a minor cut and broken toe. I still wore heels for Easter!
No stress, just fun.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Chocolate on the Wall- Fiesta IV
Wow, it took us a long time to schedule our last Fiesta! Many of us were in the grips of basketball season and our schedules were busy. Since our last dinner club, we added another family to the group. Their identities are:
State Police Detective
Drug and Alcohol Counselor
The menu changes in that instead of a soup or salad served, we have both served. Just what we needed: more food!
Once again, we had a remarkable day. The weather has been unusually warm for March and we have been having sunny days. Our hosts decided that they also needed to serve clams on the deck as an additional appetizer. I really think it was an offering to the sun gods. I hope it worked, we can use more sun in our lives.
The good weather allowed us to spread out onto the deck and the yard for the kids. Naturally, with 17 kids, it was not without injury, but nothing serious. Dinner was cooked on the grill. Yum, first grilling of the season. Our menu was:
Steamed clams
Stuffed mushrooms
Bacon wrapped scallops
Crab bisque
Spinach and strawberry salad
Filet Mignon with hollandise sauce
Scalloped potatoes
Hot dogs and (homemade) mac and cheese
Chocolate fountain with a variety of items to dip
I was excited about this fiesta! because I was in charge of dessert. I own a chocolate fountain. Nothing elaborate, just a home version, but I needed an occasion to get it out again.
As the fountain was getting started, the kids were excited. I was able to hold off the older kids until the little ones got settled with their plates. Then, since the older kids are more coordinated, they were able to dip for themselves. By the end of the night, the older boys were just sticking spoons in the chocolate and drinking it. Very sanitary!
When mostly all of the dishes were cleaned and the table from the chocolate drips were cleaned, a few of us remained with our cocktails. And then, our hostess, noticed the wall behind the chocolate fountain. Spots of chocolate on the sage green walls! Fortunately, not on the curtains that are close by. Also fortunately, she is a calm person and it did not rattle her. Remember: no stress, just fun!!
I never checked the floor...but it is not carpeted, so should have cleaned up easily.
State Police Detective
Drug and Alcohol Counselor
The menu changes in that instead of a soup or salad served, we have both served. Just what we needed: more food!
Once again, we had a remarkable day. The weather has been unusually warm for March and we have been having sunny days. Our hosts decided that they also needed to serve clams on the deck as an additional appetizer. I really think it was an offering to the sun gods. I hope it worked, we can use more sun in our lives.
The good weather allowed us to spread out onto the deck and the yard for the kids. Naturally, with 17 kids, it was not without injury, but nothing serious. Dinner was cooked on the grill. Yum, first grilling of the season. Our menu was:
Steamed clams
Stuffed mushrooms
Bacon wrapped scallops
Crab bisque
Spinach and strawberry salad
Filet Mignon with hollandise sauce
Scalloped potatoes
Hot dogs and (homemade) mac and cheese
Chocolate fountain with a variety of items to dip
I was excited about this fiesta! because I was in charge of dessert. I own a chocolate fountain. Nothing elaborate, just a home version, but I needed an occasion to get it out again.
As the fountain was getting started, the kids were excited. I was able to hold off the older kids until the little ones got settled with their plates. Then, since the older kids are more coordinated, they were able to dip for themselves. By the end of the night, the older boys were just sticking spoons in the chocolate and drinking it. Very sanitary!
When mostly all of the dishes were cleaned and the table from the chocolate drips were cleaned, a few of us remained with our cocktails. And then, our hostess, noticed the wall behind the chocolate fountain. Spots of chocolate on the sage green walls! Fortunately, not on the curtains that are close by. Also fortunately, she is a calm person and it did not rattle her. Remember: no stress, just fun!!
I never checked the floor...but it is not carpeted, so should have cleaned up easily.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Children are not reliable: Fiesta! III
I, and I think my cohorts in Fiesta! have just two rules for the kids when it is Fiesta! evening: 1) Don't get sick, and 2) Behave. Should be easy enough, right? Well, not really.
Our youngest member, at almost 4, was in the ER the evening before Fiesta! with croup. Needless to say, that meant that one couple was staying with their child. The husband did stop for a little while to bring the dessert (could have been covered by someone else) and to offer his usual good cheer and slight sarcasm. He also offered ice skating on the pond at a later date.
Since most of us are going on vacation together, we decided that we should try some summer drinks before the vacation. We will probably just drink our usual drinks, but what the heck! We tried a punch called Barbados Bowl from a book titled Boat Drinks. Everyone tried the punch and commented on an index card. It was very tasty, but a little heavy (it had mashed bananas in it.) It also had a lot of rum and a few of us have "rum issues". Perhaps not a punch that will be served regularly, but definitely tasty.
For our meal we had:
Shrimp cocktail
Taco dip with chips
Pepper Jelly spread and crackers
Arugula Salad with cranberries, bleu cheese, and candied walnuts
Shrimp Scampi over Rice
Three types of garlic bread
Lemon cake
The kids had pizza, ham and cheese stromboli, cheese steak stromboli, doughnuts and cookies.
Back to rule number 2. My four-year-old decided to have her third meltdown of the week. I was not happy. Sometimes these little people need to know that you will interrupt your good time as a discipline tactic. So, I took her home- away from her friends and away from mine.
It is up to the Fiesta! participants to comment and fill in whatever I missed.
Our youngest member, at almost 4, was in the ER the evening before Fiesta! with croup. Needless to say, that meant that one couple was staying with their child. The husband did stop for a little while to bring the dessert (could have been covered by someone else) and to offer his usual good cheer and slight sarcasm. He also offered ice skating on the pond at a later date.
Since most of us are going on vacation together, we decided that we should try some summer drinks before the vacation. We will probably just drink our usual drinks, but what the heck! We tried a punch called Barbados Bowl from a book titled Boat Drinks. Everyone tried the punch and commented on an index card. It was very tasty, but a little heavy (it had mashed bananas in it.) It also had a lot of rum and a few of us have "rum issues". Perhaps not a punch that will be served regularly, but definitely tasty.
For our meal we had:
Shrimp cocktail
Taco dip with chips
Pepper Jelly spread and crackers
Arugula Salad with cranberries, bleu cheese, and candied walnuts
Shrimp Scampi over Rice
Three types of garlic bread
Lemon cake
The kids had pizza, ham and cheese stromboli, cheese steak stromboli, doughnuts and cookies.
Back to rule number 2. My four-year-old decided to have her third meltdown of the week. I was not happy. Sometimes these little people need to know that you will interrupt your good time as a discipline tactic. So, I took her home- away from her friends and away from mine.
It is up to the Fiesta! participants to comment and fill in whatever I missed.
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