Party at My House

I love throwing parties. Sure, they can be a bit of work, but who cares about that once the food is served? Other then under seasoning the potatoes (my fault!) , everything was super delicious. My husband manned the grill with his bro cooking up some delicious Italian sausages. I also got to make beer can chicken -- loved it!


Hot Italian Sausages : We started off with some of these delicious sausages. They were spritzed with lemon and accompanied by grilled panini bread and tzaziki.


Mussels : My mom made these - for the first time ever! They were steamed with wine, garlic, tomatoes and onion. The juice was great for bread dipping too.


Mushrooms: I added onions, bell peppers and red chilies. They were further flavoured with salt, pepper, garlic, olive oil and balsamic vinegar.


Salad : Mixed greens, peppers, onions, tomatoes, etc.


Zucchini Fusilli : A simple pasta with zucchinis, and a homemade sauce made of plum tomatoes and spices.


BBQ Potatoes : These poor guys were under seasoned. Woops.


Meat : T-Bone, Prime Rib and Strip loin steaks, and pork chops. Wicked.




Beer Can Chicken : My proud moment that day! It is best right out of the oven, but it was still delicious when company arrived. I used a Montreal chicken rub for the marinade.

Unfortunately, dessert was forgotten, picture wise. I will make up for that the next time around.

Paella

My brother surprised us to a dinner invitation, which of course, we could not refuse. He said he was going to make paella for the first time. At first I was jealous, because I wanted to make paella but never got around to it. That night jealousy turned into pure joy, as it was one of the best meals I ever tasted. He got the recipe from a food show called The Main, and also referred to the recipe on the paella pan's packaging.


He first seared some chicken thighs, which were seasoned with salt and pepper.


He removed the chicken and sauteed garlic, onions and tomatoes with olive oil.


The chicken was then added back to the pan, along with the rice, some bay leaves and white wine. (My husband splashed some beer in when my bro wasn't looking!) Cumin and safron (American grown) were added for some great taste.


Ok, lost some steps here. I just couldn't take pics of all the steps that night. I was just enjoying the compilation come together. Basically, the pan was placed in the oven for a bit, and then the seafood (lobster, mussels, shrimp and scallops), were added, and then back in the oven for a short period of time. It was then topped off with parsley.

I can't wait to try this myself. believe me : it was AWESOME!