New Year's Intimate Dinner

We had a quiet, relaxing New year's eve --
then we got lovely company for a dinner gathering
on our first day in 2008 : )














We love company of all sorts,
but not all parties have to be big ; )
Since Fishcake & Jules both love Food Network
as much as we do (high-5!!),
we spent the late afternoon watching:
The Next Iron Chef Marathon : D
It was a capturing show -- very inspiring too!

Then, goh goh made an appetizer
that hit a home-run, according to our opinions:
Bacon wrapped Jumbo shrimps
with BBQ & honey sauce *____*














An hour later,
i forced goh goh to make another of my favorite:

















GUACAMOLE!!!!! : D
[So sad, Fishcake's allergic to it : /]













Can't you see how happy i am? : D
muahahaha...













For dinner, I made:
Chicken soup with Chinese mushrooms --
learned from Chef Homer aka Fafa : )
































-Cauliflower with spicy soy sauce/oyster sauce;
- Pork chop bites & sauteed onions with garlic black bean sauce;
- Pan-fried Chicken thighs with sweet & sour peanut dip.
While goh goh made white rice with garlic & chicken broth : )













I think it's true that cooking is easier than baking,
in the sense that you don't have to be as precise & neat.
However, i'm seeing how there's plenty of room
to be creative in both arears.
Yes, I aspire to master higher culinary skills! ; D














Obviously, I won't let them leave
without sending them off with desserts.
They were excited (& probably watched too much TV)
as they exclaimed: Wow you plated it like an iron chef!
I made a marshmallow sour cream tart
(more about that in the next post),
served it with coconut sorbet & toasted peanut sauce.

Thanks for coming by, sis!
I look forward to cooking over @ your home! ; D