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.
Layered Chocolate Mousse– a layer of crunchy chocolate, a layer of black chocolate mousse, and a layer of white chocolate mousse
Panna Cotta with Raspberry Coulis
Palmiers– homemade, of course!
And finally, some good ol’ fresh Mangoes!
We had a really great day and everything went well. Great company and great food- what could possibly go wrong, right?
If you want me to share the recipes of the dishes I mentioned above, don’t hesitate to leave a comment.
Next hosting at home date is next Saturday. I can’t wait! 😉