Aug 19, 20172 min read

Hosting at Home #1 - Baby Girl's Birthday with Family

Hey, you! I love hosting lunch or dinner at home! What about you? What are some of the things that you like to do?

Last Sunday, August 13, I invited my sister, my brother-in-law, my niece, and her husband for lunch at our house to celebrate together Baby Girl’s birthday. I also invited my nephew, but he decided at the last minute to go to Bruxelles to visit his girlfriend. A fool in love. LOL.

I love inviting guests at home simply because I love cooking and entertaining. I like sharing with them what I love to do. Plus, it’s probably the only time when my house is 100% neat. I gave up the idea of having a perfectly neat house 24/7 when I had my child. 😜

But it’s not as easy as it looks. I need everything to go exactly as I want them to or else I start stressing. I finalize the menu 2 weeks in advance, make a plan (sometimes I start cooking 2-3 days ahead), prepare the non-food stuff I need, set a theme, power clean the house, and then cook, cook, and cook!

Here’s what I prepared:

Starters

Filipino Empanadas– flaky puff pastry stuffed with meat and vegetables. I prepared this 3 days ahead, stored it in the freezer, and then baked them for 20 minutes on D-Day.

Fried Spring Roll– made with ground pork, vegetables, and vermicelli. I actually make about 50 pieces once a month and store it in the freezer for quick dinners. I decided to include them in the menu because this is the only time my family will eat some.

Baked Stuffed Mushroom – stuffed with garlic and herb cheese and topped with parmesan. This is delicious and really easy to make!

I also added in the menu Cherry Tomatoes and Cheese Puffs.

I rarely ever prepare a special drink for my guest, but I have a mini-bar full of alcohol. Vodka, Rum, Whisky, Picon, Porto, and Ricard. I make sure to also have orange juice, coke, beer, water, and ice cubes. I also have a bottle of champagne in the refrigerator all year long just in case. In the summer, I also buy some Panaché. We ended up having Screwdrivers (orange juice + vodka).

Main Dish

Paella is always a good idea.

Cheese and Salad

(from top to bottom) – Cheese: Brie a la Truffe d’eté, Cantal entre deux, and Tomme lait de chevre cru, Green Salad, and a wonderful glass of Red Wine.

Dessert

I decided to make not 1, not 2, but 3 desserts! These are some of my specialties and Baby Girl’s favorites. I also served fresh mangoes, which is her favorite fruit too.