I've Acquired a Fiance!!! - My Engagement Ceremony

!!!

With a fiance comes a lot of planning. When I set out to plan my traditional Vietnamese engagement ceremony, I got a lot more planning than I bargained for. To start, how was I supposed to fit my HUGE family in my tiny house? I had to fit around 60 guests, so using the backyard was a must. Luckily, I have a decent sized yard with a lot of open space. I measured the space and then played around with it to see what table configuration would be best to fit everyone. I even set up a few tables and chairs to measure how much space is needed between the tables or the table and the wall in order for everyone to feel comfortable.

It looked like I needed an 18' x 20' area to be covered, because my engagement ceremony is in July, and the heat was promising to be tremendous. Renting or buying a tent of that size was not an option due to cost reasons, so we decided to construct our own tent, circus style. We bought a giant tarp with UV protectant to cover the whole 18' x 20' area. How it was constructed is a whole post in itself, so stay posted. I must warn you, I will get pretty technical. =P

It turned out so awesome I wanted it up forever! What helped was that my super awesome bridesmaids showed up to help me decorate it! Fellow blogger: SanJose. Love (check out her blog! It's listed on the left) jokingly suggested we could do a maypole to decorate the center pole. Which I took seriously, to everyone's cautiously intrigued dismay. 1.5 hours later, et voila!! See below:

The twists got a little flat overnight due to the dew... (and not of the Mountain variety, either) Not sure how to fight that though.

Like my lanterns from Vietnam? I KNEW they would be useful one day. Unfortunately, I found out they are kinda one time use...

Another thing I haven't bargained for was testing out my seamstress abilities. We had to set up a fancy altar, which we don't have. So, we made our own out of my fireplace, a makeshift shelf and some satin fabric. My mom and I cut and finished the edges of the fabric. The store where we rented all the altar stuff didn't have the right wording on any sign, so we had to buy the paper words and I had sew them to the fabric so that it would hang above the Moon Goddess.

My mom was in charge of picking out the food, and she chose so many dishes from so many different locations, it was crazy. We had to pick up a lot of it the morning of and be back at my house by 10.

So how were we able to do that? Again, I'm so lucky to have such helpful bridesmaids. I paired them and my brothers up into teams. I then divided 2-3 locations for each team by location. I thought it would be fun to make it sound like a mission, so I wrote out mission letters to each team with the directions, order of the pick ups, and what they are picking up. Also, I included the cash plus $20 needed for each location, in case we got the price wrong, or whatnot. The morning of, as each team arrives, I handed them each an envelope containing the letter an the cash. I must say, it went pretty smoothly and I was able to not worry about the food and focus on beautifying myself.

The most important thing is to give yourself a lot of time and relax. Don't be afraid of taking a day off the day before to do things at your own pace or delegate things that need to be done. Looking back at the pictures, I realized that everyone, including myself had fun, and that's what's important.

Nostalgialicious Potluck PahTAY

This will be a pictureless post, as it was inspired pretty much at this moment when my boyfriend insist I look up Schoolhouse Rock videos on YouTube while we munch on saltine crackers and Easy Cheese. It could be the Conjunction Junction song, but I think it's more my drawing happy faces with the Easy Cheese on the saltine crackers that got me thinking: "Dude, what if we had a potluck where people bring in their favorite snacks when they were kids?" RIGHT???

For some reason, thinking of all my childhood delights thrills me, making my heart beat a little faster in anticipation. It takes me back to a time when nothing mattered, except the next adventure I would partake in. Everything was an adventure back then...except chores. =P I think any party that could capture that particular spirit of childhood would make a good party.

So here it goes:

THEME: Revisiting your childhood, being nostalgic

FOOD: Make your favorite childhood snack and ask your guests to bring theirs as well. Some of my favorite snacks when I was a kid include: (you guessed it) Easy Cheese and saltine crackers, Laughing Cow Cheese with bananas, and toasted sliced bread with condensed milk...yum. The more unique the better.

DRINKS: Keep with the childhood theme. Ovaltine, Hawaiian Punch, Tang. It would be interesting if you challenge your guests to make a good alcoholic beverage out using one of those drinks. If you're really productive, you can even hold a contest with judges and prizes. Or, the prize can be winning itself. You can also prepare Jello shots, which are in keeping with the whole theme.

MUSIC: Play music from when you and your guests were in elementary school. For me, it was Selena and Run DMC. Ahh, those were the days...

All in all, I think this is a fun, easy party idea that can be thrown at the drop of the hat. Impromptu soundtracks can easily be made with Pandora or Grooveshark online. Snacks are snacks because they are easy and fast to make. Also, your guests can bond or break the ice with playground war stories. Thinking about it, this sounds like a party even the Eventless Planner can afford. =P

Auld Lang...Salad?

It's a tradition for my household to host a family get-together for New Year's Eve. This year, in my quest to become a planner of actual events, I decided to take the reigns. The results? Success! The menu?

Tri Tip Salad
(modeled after Pluto's, a very excellent salad restaurant in Santana Row)

(see recipe below)

Sushi

(homemade with eel, cucumber, masago, and seaweed salad)

Liege Waffles

(the kind they make at Northstar Ski Resort)

Forgot to take a picture, so here's a link:

http://oneperfectbite.blogspot.com/2009/04/brussels-and-liege-waffles.html

(see recipe in next posting)

There were several things I've learned from this experience: don't think you can clean AND cook on the same day in preparation for a party, RELAX, and don't rely solely on texts as invitations. I found out the day of the event that only two people out of ten received the invite. Shame on my cell phone company for not letting me know something went horribly wrong!

Tri-Tip Salad Recipe-Serves 5

1 tri-tip cut piece of beef approx. 2 lbs.

your favorite cajun seasoning (make sure salt is already included)

1 box of spring mix lettuce

balsamic vinagrette dressing of your choice

(You can add any toppings you like, but I've listed what I used. My advice is make your salad loaded)

1 box grape tomatoes, whole

1/2 medium sized red onion, thinly sliced

2 boxes of sliced button mushrooms

1 small bag of stringless sugar snap peas

1 large red bell pepper, sliced into strips

1 small bag of shredded carrots

1 box of croutons

1. Light your gas grill and set the temperature to medium

2. Rinse the beef in cold water and pat dry with a paper towel.

3. Sprinkle your favorite cajun seasoning liberally on one side of the beef and rub it in. There should be an even, thin, coat. If you can't see the beef through the seasoning, you've gone too far, my friend.

4. Flip the beef over and repeat step 3.

5. Place the beef fat side up in the middle of the grill, if possible not directly over the burners. Starting with the fat side up allows the fat to melt into the meat, making it more tender, juicy, and tastier...a fact I give credit to America's Test Kitchen. I happened to see their recipe on BBQ chicken and wondered if it would work for beef, too. It did!

6. Leave the beef on the grill at medium heat for 30 minutes. You can peek to see how the beef is doing, but do not flip it!

7. After 30 minutes, flip the beef over and continue grilling for another 20-30 minutes depending on how you like your tri-tip cooked.

8. If you would like a crispier crust to the meat, you can turn up the heat to high and place the meat directly over the heat source for a few minutes on each side.

9. Remove the beef from the grill and let it rest for 10-15 minutes.

10. Cut the meat into thin slices going against the grain using a serrated knife. Serrated knives are better for cutting cooked meat. So how do you know if you're doing it wrong? There's long lines going across the pieces of meat. It's not too important to cut against the grain, but it does help make the meat more tender.

11. Plate the salad and place the slices of meat on top. Enjoy!

Notes

-I prepared the salad while the meat was on the grill.

-I roasted the red bell pepper on medium high in extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkle of salt, pushing them around the pan occasionally until they were limp.

-I also cooked the mushrooms in a pan with extra virgin olive oil on medium high.

-In a large container with a lid, I added the spring mix lettuce and all the toppings minus the salad dressing and croutons. Be sure there's still some space after placing the lid on for tossing. I waited until the guests started arriving before I added the balsamic vinagrette dressing, because the less time the salad is mixed with the dressing the better (no sogginess).

-The croutons were excluded until right before eating because they would get soggy.

-I also served extra lettuce, toppings, and dressing, in case my guests didn't like all the ingredients in the salad, so they have the choice to build their own.

-I'll hit you guys back with the story of the liege waffles soon! Promise!