Thanksgiving 2013

the lead up to Christmas has brought about an array of friends coming into sg... so time here has been busy busy hanging out with them.
first was Denny then it was my old babysitter, ce pat

we checked out the black swan's grand opening with Inga, her bestie

it was great having her here and I do dearly miss her

this year for thanksgiving, ce pat was really sweet to make time to come join us at home as we squshed and ate and drank the night away.

ivan was really smart this year and arranged things differently with food served on the side so it provided him with a carving station

this year's 8.3kg turkey was named Fred and I think for future, I'll stick to turkeys around 8kg and slightly less.

menu consisted of:

roasted cauliflower & leek soup

bruschetta

laksa & thai basil pesto dip

garlic & chilli pesto dip

turkey

Roast Beef (scotch cut, 2.8kg, hand carried from Aus which made it so worth-it)

Stuffing

corn on cob

roasted veg

what was supposed to be pasta stuffed with squash and spinach became a dish of just squash and spinach in tomato sauce due to the pasta not coming out

mash

this year, I outsourced desserts to gina and Jeanette - they made choux, tofu cheesecake and banoffee pie

at the end of the night, ivan organized a round of white elephant which was hilarious, given what was being opened

I got timing a lot better this year, onward and upwards I say :) with things improving year by year, hopefully by the 4th next year, all I need to figure out is where to fit the people! I need to remember to keep to 2 proteins, 1 carb, 1 soup, 2 veg, stuffing & desserts formula

 

Martha's Thanksgiving Guide

I know that it's past thanksgiving, but I just came across this link - http://www.marthastewart.com/274851/thanksgiving-appetizer-recipes/@center/276949/everything-thanksgiving#1035236

loving the new inspirations for next year!

Highlights of 2nd half of 2013

lots have happened in 2013 and as the year draws to a close, it's nice to just recap what had happened 2nd half of this eventful year. I just hope that 2014 would be less dramatic as this whole age thing catches up and my knack for finding trouble slows :)

august is always the birthday month for me with both Sarah's and Ivan's birthday all happening within a few weeks

first up was s' birthday and we had a fabulously long lunch at jaan, then dinner at st pierre and drinks at woo bar, W hotel

then it was Ivan's quarter century birthday at the newly (at least to me) closed to cars club street

October somehow rolls along with Halloween... usual suspects at the white rabbit for a night of madness

 

40 is the new 18

just as I quit my job, I was persuaded to hop down to Melbourne to meet up with the usual suspects and celebrate Wilson's 40th... Marn was amazing to pick me up bright and early and brought me to get corn fitters near south melb market :)

then it was off to get sustenance for the holiday home

it was a weekend of just gorging, drinking, dressing up as villains and heroes, more drinking and mahjong

it was a great weekend with everyone all dressed up for sat nite madness

restaurants I tried:
Trunk - great burgers and hot dogs

 

Gorksi & Jones

Cassa Ciuccio

 

Panama Room for happy hour oysters

 

Epocha for an amazing birthday lunch

 one day for lunch jojo brought me to his local jap... very cute, quaint and good food

 but by far my favourite find was hammer & tong... yummy last brunch with sham, claud and jo

 *missing the melb crew loads especially this holiday period

till my next trip or while I wait for them to come back in town to play again