Guess who is super handsome and is celebrating a birthday today?
This guy!
Post-run it was time to get ready to celebrate something else - my wonderful husband's birthday. We had a few friends over for a fun dinner, plenty of drinks and some impromptu guitar playing and singing. My kind of night. I made a bunch of foods with no discernible theme other than they are Tim's favorites:
I made bruschetta, a big salad, Thai chicken satay with a spicy peanut sauce, veggies and pita with hummus and a massive plate of sushi. (Homemade brownies and cookies and cream ice-cream for dessert!) I'm not going to lie - I wasn't sure if the food would be well received by everyone. Turns out everyone loved it. A few people tried sushi for the first time and were fans!
Today after a breakfast of Nutella crepes I gave Tim the gift EVERY husband wants for his birthday. You know what I mean.....a table saw. Oh yeah. We went to Home Depot to get it and then stopped in at Old Navy to get hubby a new pair of jeans. I picked up a new sweater too, apparently the one I was wearing with elbow patches is unfashionable? Whatever. I rock it.
So hostesses with the mostesses (run with it, I know it's not a word) - do you prefer to make simple food for parties everyone likes or try something new?
Normally I say stick with stuff everyone already likes, but I really wanted to make Tim's favorites last night. It worked out though, thankfully!
What is the sign of a better party - beer in red solo cups or glasses of wine?
I started out with sauvignon blanc but ended with beer in a red solo cup...it was one of the those nights. AKA - hangover today!
Happy Birthday to Tim! That food looks great! How do you make Chicken Satay? I have never tried it on my own!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday to Tim! Birthdays always involve the favorites of the birthday boy/girl. I am a very minimal drinker, but I'd pick the beer.
ReplyDeleteI try to mix it up a little- at least something that I know can please most people (which is why bread and cheese or chips and salsa are often great options) but I like to have a little fun and add some other options as well. I have very adventurous eaters as friends though - so I'm usually not too concerned that people won't like what I make.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday to Tim! Glad you guys had a good celebration!
Happy birthday to Tim!!!
ReplyDeleteWe rarely have parties (last one was during the world series in October), but when we do it's Dominoes Pizza ALL THE WAY. And beer. Wine is for sippin' while chillin' on the couch during the week. Beer is for partyin'! :) And go ahead and break out the tequila while you're at it. haha
Happy birthday to your husband!
ReplyDeleteI can't say "red solo cup" without singing that Toby Keith song. He's ruined it for me.
Happy Birthday Tim!!!! Sounds like a great birthday all the way around!!!
ReplyDeleteI'm a big fan of making lots of appetizer things so people can have whatever they want/like. I usually try to make at least one thing I know each person will like (ex: Sally likes nanchos and Bob likes hummus and Mary likes nuggets - then I'll make nanchos, hummus, and nuggets for sure but then I might also make 2 or 3 other things that I don't know if they like but that I like so if they don't . . .more for my hubz and I)
I'm not a beer drinker so for me wine glasses - but I can have a blast watching my hubz drink beer with his best friends so . . . that usually makes for a pretty good time!
Happy birthday to Tim! Sounds like a great time.
ReplyDeleteWhen we have parties, we do potluck style, so then I only have to make one or two things. I'm tricky like that.
My friends are wine, Mike's friends are beer and solo cups, so we have a little bit of both.
happy birthday to hubs! sounds like a great day :) I'm not risky, so i stick to the basics for parties. I'm not a huge beer or wine fan, but I like drinking any drinks out of red solo cups. I'm so classy, I know
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday to Tim! All that food sounds really good! I like wine, but red solo cup type parties are usually funner!
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday Tim!!!
ReplyDeleteI like wine...white wine!
for parties...we need basics...usually now there are several guests under 10...they need basics!!!!
Glad you had such a great time.. happy happy birthday to your hot hubby!
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday to the hubster!! The food looks fantastic. We make lots of different dishes so that everyone is happy.
ReplyDeletehappy happy bday to hubby!! but the REAL gift for him is that he has the pleasure of having ur awesomeness around for yet another year. ;) i think nutella crepes only further instill that fact. :)
ReplyDeleteI am terrified of making food people don't like because people constantly make comments about the weird food I eat at work so I usually stick with the obvious...pizza, chips and salsa, etc. I say both have their place at different but both wonderful types of parties. You can't beat a glass of wine on Friday night after a tough week but you also can't play beer pong or flipcup with it.
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday to your hubby!
ReplyDeleteI usually go as all out as possible when we have dinner guests. I'm really looking forward to having access to normal grocery stores here in a few months so we can really do some serious entertaining! You'd be up for driving a few hours down south for a dinner party, right?? lol
Happy hubs bday! I tend to make a lot of different things just to make sure that if someone doesn't like something, they have options. Yes..I am Capt People Pleaser...
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday to hubby!!!!! Sounds like you treated him well! I am never a hostess BUT I think I would stick with the basics mostly because I'm not the best cook. I like very simple dishes. I feel sorry for my future guests! No beer or wine for me. Best party will have tons of water and if I'm feeling crazy, maybe some iced tea or root beer. Oh yeah. I'm a wild one ;)
ReplyDeleteHappy Belated Tim and vanessa you look super sexy in that last pic ;)
ReplyDeleteand Neither Colin, nor I drink beer but we're weird and have a stock supply of "house beer" for guests. We always have wine and hard liquor....b/c we don't drink much. Although as you know I drank on the weekend lol
Happy Birthday to your hubby!!! I love simple fun food so I think you did great.
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday to Tim! You cooked up a serious feast for him - I'm impressed by the sheer number of cuisines represented!
ReplyDeleteI will happily take either red solo cup beer or a glass of wine. Or wine in a solo cup. Because I'm kla$$y that way ;)
Happy birthday to Tim! I like doing a mix of some basics that anyone will like and then one or two more creative dishes. I also love hosting when I get to do a bunch of apps, I think that is way more fun than a formal dinner. And I'm more of a wine drinker….but nights with a red solo cup are normally a good time too!
ReplyDeleteIn high school it was a dream of mine to wander around my future college campus in a turtle neck and jacket with leather patches on the elbows. What?
ReplyDeletehappy birthday to your hubby!!! the food looks delicious and i am always a fan of solo cups ;)
ReplyDeleteI always make whatever the boyfriend likes for his birthday and there is no theme. He likes wantons, he likes curry, he likes Italian, he likes sushi, he likes lemongrassy stuff, he likes MEAT. He gets it all! :)
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday Tim!! Looks like a fun celebration to remember!! I usually end up with red solo cups by the end of the night - I believe I was drinking out of one all of New Years actually...classy :)
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