2007 Food Network Party - Part 2

Hosting a party is a lot of work, from the prep work, to the party day, and to cleaning the next day, it takes a lot of effort.  However, the fun to be around so many good friends is like an addicting drug.  Since some of my friends couldn’t come for the monthly wine events, I really wanted to have a year-end party for them.

I have hosted many parties, so I know how to plan one but this year I wanted to do it a little bit differently which drove me to come up with the crazy idea – Food Network Potluck Party.  What was even more exciting is that my crazy Potluck idea, which asks people to bring a dish from the online recipes I choose, has won me an award from MaoBao’s website called Dream Party event.  It was a wonderful surprise and gave me some great encouragement.

The day before the party, I used wine corks with a small wood block to make a dish nametag stand for each dish.  I printed out all the dishes on paper, stuck them to a red paper and then glued it on the cork.  I then placed them next to each dish. This 2007 Food Network Potluck Party turned out to be a great success – totaling 27 dishes, 9 bottles of wine with 35 guests.

I thought I should have an easy night and enjoy the party since I am only making 2 dishes, which was the reason why I wanted the party to be a potluck-style.  I was wrong, because I need to take a photo of every dish before serving them.  Now, every one came in the door one after another so my shutter never stopped.  The serving table was not big enough to serve 20+ dishes at once, so I had to watch and exchange empty plates with a new dish. I feel so sorry that I was so busy that night and didn’t even get a chance to taste any food.  However, the good news is that there was no food left over at all which also made me happy because it means all the food was great!

I really appreciate seeing so many people up for the challenge and playing along with my crazy idea.  Thank you everyone for your participation.  You guys are brave because this time you are making something totally new and you should be proud.  Please share your thoughts about the recipes you tried, was it easy to understand the process, did any problem occur, or would you suggest any changes, etc.  I think this is the best way to test 20+ recipes at once.   

Thank you all.  I hope you all had a wonderful time that night, not only meeting new people but also enjoying the great food that everyone prepared.  I can see this is a great start for the New Year. 

Happy New Year to you all!

ps. To see all the photos, please click HERE.

- 2007 Food Network Party Potluck Final Menu -

DRINKS

Santa's Sleigh Cocktail   - Delia & Julio
Holiday Mulled Wine Cider - Mark E.

SALAD

Holiday Salad   - Amy & Doug
Pear, Stilton, and Chicory Salad with Crispy Chestnuts  - Jonathan, Dianna, and Matt 
Five-Spice Chicken Salad in Wonton Shells  - Min & Bill   
Orange Juice-Braised Sweet Potatoes    - Julia & Jason
Eggplant and Mozzarella Roll-Ups   - Shira & Jory
Crab Salad with Ginger and Dried Orange Peel    - Pamela & Luke
Parmesan Cheese drizzled with a honey infused truffle oil  - Delia & Julio
Tomato, basil,and mozzarella kabobs   - Delia & Julio

LAMB

Lamb Meatballs with Mint  Mark E.
Leg of Lamb with Caper Sauce   Jonathan, Dianna, and Matt 

BEEF

Beef Stew with Belgian-Style Pale Ale   Linda & Greg
Beef Yakitori with Eggplant   Sabrina

PORK

Spicy Pork Kabobs with Moorish Flavors   Heather & Eddie

CHICKEN

Herb-and-Cheese-Filled Chicken Thighs   Annie & Chi 
Honey, sesame and ginger chicken   Sabrina

SCALLOP

Seared Scallops with Tropical Salsa   Anita & Michael
Scallops in a Saffron and Rioja Wine Sauce   Julie & Harry

SHRIMP

Shrimp Marinated in Lemon and Olive Oil    Tao & Anders   

DESSERT

Apple Coffee Cake    Catherine & Bruce
Orange Cardamom Cookies   Tao & Anders
Tapioca Pudding   Linda & Greg
Berries with Balsamic Vinegar   Anita & Michael
Ginger Bread House   Laurel & Howard
Wine  Michael Wen
Wine Bob Brooks

Comments

[StockholmBeijing]

Thank you for organizing the party Mark & Sabrina. We had a great time!