Breakfast at Tiffany's or Dinner at Michelle's? Well, if you answered Breakfast at Tiffany's, you obviously don't know Michelle...
Fashionista and fellow lover of dresses, Crafter Extroardinaire, Green-thumb Gardener, Wearer of hats, my Jewelry Twin, All-Around American Beauty, and in the case of last night...the Hostess with the Mostest.
Take a gander at her beautiful deck, mostly decorated with refurbished thrift store finds (see adorable yellow puppy statue below).
Also...see actual adorable puppy below.
I showed up a bit early for the dinner party (I had to be in town for a job interview. Yeah! More information to come about that) so I got to help out with all the pre-party planning fun. And Michelle definitely knows how to have fun.
Coctail Concocter...you can also add that to her impressive resume. Cool Tequila Cucumber Lemonade anyone? Why yes, I'll take two please.
Ok so Tequila wasn't really on the dinner menu...but hey...I wasn't about to argue :)
Ok so Tequila wasn't really on the dinner menu...but hey...I wasn't about to argue :)
A few pre-party drinks and it was time to get down to business....the menu.
(Here we have Michelle finding some jams next to her handsome hunk of meat)
And here is her actual handsome hunk. He, like the rest of us, is pondering the jicama,the strange root vegetable that was called for in the Korean Lettuce Wrap recipe.
We left him to ponder (He's pretty much an all-star cook, so we were confident the jicama would be just fine in his hands), while we went into craft mode.
We left him to ponder (He's pretty much an all-star cook, so we were confident the jicama would be just fine in his hands), while we went into craft mode.
Apples from the tree outside and brown paper bags made perfect place cards and silverware holders.
Yes, we chose a vintage American picnic theme for our Asian-inspired dinner. Now, this normally might be the point at which I would say something about how our decision was meant to foster the acceptance of many different cultures and our underlying message was about unity and world peace...but really we were just taking advantage of the free apples in her yard.
Regardless, it turned out pretty darn lovely if I do say so myself.
Regardless, it turned out pretty darn lovely if I do say so myself.
20 minutes later, it was back to the kitchen to check on Sam.
That's his "How do I chop this?" face.
Don't worry he figured it out (as evidenced by the perfectly sliced spears below). We knew our confidence was not misplaced.
That's his "How do I chop this?" face.
Don't worry he figured it out (as evidenced by the perfectly sliced spears below). We knew our confidence was not misplaced.
Turns out, jicama is delicious...crisp and refreshing, it tastes like a cross between a carrot, a pepper, and an apple. Just try it, trust me.
Sam also expertly grilled and sliced the pork. Did I mention Sam is pretty much an all-star chef?
By the time the rest of the guests (my sis and her hubs) arrived, we were starved. We grabbed our lettuce wraps and stuffed them full of fresh veggies and pork and spicy dipping sauce...
And then we stuffed ourselves!
Unfortunately...it started to sprinkle and we had to take the party inside. Fortunately, that's where all the food was, so we were all ok with that anyways.
Now I don't have Michelle's Korean Pork Lettuce Wraps (which were amazingly delicious and healthy)...but I CAN share with you the Thai Peanut Spaghetti Squash.
Spaghetti Squash is an all-star when it comes to whittling your middle. It clocks in at just 42 calories per cup (compare that to 221 calories for a regular cup of cooked spaghetti) and also provides a modest amount of vitamin A, vitamin C, and dietary fiber. And like most squash, if you plant it in your garden, you'll end up with way more than you can eat. Which is what happened to my neighbor, who generously gave us four, count 'em, four giant squashes. Since that is quite a bit, even for a squash enthusiast like myself, I took one up to Michelle on the day of her dinner party, and that's where the inspiration came to turn our spaghetti squash into an Asian-inspired side dish (not featured above, btw, because we ate it all up too quickly!!)
The recipe was a bit improvised, so you can adjust the flavors to suit your needs, or simply follow your own favorite recipe for peanut sauce. Here's what you'll need for the Molly/Michelle version (which I recreated at home the following day because it was so good)
Thai Peanut Spaghetti Squash
1 spaghetti squash
5 tablespoons peanut butter
Juice of 1 lime
1 teaspoon sesame oil (or 1 tablespoon tahini)
1 tablespoon hot chili garlic sauce (available in almost every Asian food isle)
4 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon honey (or sweetener of choice)
1 clove chopped garlic
Garnish:
1/4 cup toasted almonds (or nut of choice)
Cilantro
1. Chop the squash in half and scoop out the seeds in the middle. Place the squash cut side down on a plate and cook in the microwave for 8-10 minutes (depending on size of squash...ours was large so we needed the full 10).
2. Allow squash to cool and use a fork to pull apart the flesh of the squash into long "noodles." You can put these in a separate bowl, or just leave them in the squash as I did in the picture below.
3. Mix together all of the remaining ingredients into a sauce...taste and adjust to your liking. (ground ginger or siracha sauce also make good add-ins)
4. Top the squash with toasted almonds and cilantro if desired and serve with the peanut sauce. If you have left overs (you probably won't!) then simply store the squash and sauce in the fridge separately (if you stir them together, the salt in the sauce might draw out the liquid in the squash and cause the noodles to become soggy).
Spaghetti Squash is an all-star when it comes to whittling your middle. It clocks in at just 42 calories per cup (compare that to 221 calories for a regular cup of cooked spaghetti) and also provides a modest amount of vitamin A, vitamin C, and dietary fiber. And like most squash, if you plant it in your garden, you'll end up with way more than you can eat. Which is what happened to my neighbor, who generously gave us four, count 'em, four giant squashes. Since that is quite a bit, even for a squash enthusiast like myself, I took one up to Michelle on the day of her dinner party, and that's where the inspiration came to turn our spaghetti squash into an Asian-inspired side dish (not featured above, btw, because we ate it all up too quickly!!)
The recipe was a bit improvised, so you can adjust the flavors to suit your needs, or simply follow your own favorite recipe for peanut sauce. Here's what you'll need for the Molly/Michelle version (which I recreated at home the following day because it was so good)
Thai Peanut Spaghetti Squash
1 spaghetti squash
5 tablespoons peanut butter
Juice of 1 lime
1 teaspoon sesame oil (or 1 tablespoon tahini)
1 tablespoon hot chili garlic sauce (available in almost every Asian food isle)
4 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon honey (or sweetener of choice)
1 clove chopped garlic
Garnish:
1/4 cup toasted almonds (or nut of choice)
Cilantro
1. Chop the squash in half and scoop out the seeds in the middle. Place the squash cut side down on a plate and cook in the microwave for 8-10 minutes (depending on size of squash...ours was large so we needed the full 10).
2. Allow squash to cool and use a fork to pull apart the flesh of the squash into long "noodles." You can put these in a separate bowl, or just leave them in the squash as I did in the picture below.
3. Mix together all of the remaining ingredients into a sauce...taste and adjust to your liking. (ground ginger or siracha sauce also make good add-ins)
4. Top the squash with toasted almonds and cilantro if desired and serve with the peanut sauce. If you have left overs (you probably won't!) then simply store the squash and sauce in the fridge separately (if you stir them together, the salt in the sauce might draw out the liquid in the squash and cause the noodles to become soggy).
Voila. A healthy, tasty, and satisfying meal. Your welcome :D