Shortcuts for an Instant Dinner Party

Sisters

 

My sister Goldee is the prettiest girl in the whole wide world and she just turned *beep*!!!

For her birthday and also for my parents' 38th wedding anniversary, we had a simple family gathering at home. 

A few SHORTCUTS when throwing a party (that worked for me):

1.  Get appetizers from Santi's. The deli platter I got was worth P1,500 and was enough for 20 pax. They also have a smaller platter for P1,000. The nice thing about this is if you're pressed for time, you can just lay out the entire platter in the middle of the table. If you're feeling Martha Stewart-y, it would be lovely to lay out various cheeses (Gourmet to Go in Rustan's also has a great selection now) and tapas (I usually get from Barcino). Secret: When I'm really lazy and without budget, I just buy Chippy and Nagaraya nuts heehee!

2. Terry's has a great selection of cheap but good wines. I have never had wine under P1,000 from Terry's that I didn't like. I have not had the same luck at Santi's (for the wines) or Wine Depot, where you will need either a real knowledge of wines or references from the internet before making a purchase. But the point system they have on display for some brands are very helpful!

(Clockwise) Tapas and cheese platter from Santi's, bacalau, roast beef from King Kong, angus salpicao.

3. Know exactly what "an order" quantifies as when making a purchase over the phone. The small portion of angus salpicao above (lower left) is supposedly FOUR orders and the bacalau (upper right corner) is THREE orders, for a total of P4,700++. I'm still trying to figure out the math!

4. Have a theme. For our potluck dinner - my sister's boyfriend Nico Garcia labored over a few pots and we were in luck! - the theme was Spanish cuisine so he made paella and pollo al ajillo (roast spanish chicken). For Goldee's lovely long life, he also made some (not exactly Spanish) vongole.

The paella is a dish that Nico has perfected over the years of trying to impress my sister. He has mastered it now so he's keeping the recipe to himself (hah!)

But here is his chicken recipe - unedited: 

Spanish Garlic Chicken - Pollo al Ajillo

Ingrédients:

2 Kilos of free-range chicken, cut into at least 12 small bits particularly the thigh and drumstick parts. You can also use chicken breast if you don't like the bone-in experience.

30 large garlic cloves 

Olive oil

200mL of spanish dry or sweet white wine

5 bay leaves

Chicken stock

Directions

1. Place the chicken legs in a large non-metallic bowl or any baking pan and pour over the white wine and extra virgin olive oil. Add the garlic and bay leaf and season well with chicken broth and black pepper. Stir thoroughly, cover with aluminum foil.

2. When you are ready to begin cooking, preheat the oven to 180C. Let it cook in the oven with aluminum foil for 15 mins. 

3. Remove the aluminum foil and cook the chicken in the oven for another hour occasionally making sure that the dish is not dry and the chicken is getting an even roasting. 

4. When the chicken is cooked and tender. Carefully remove the chicken to a serving dish, along with the garlic cloves and sauce, and keep warm. Garnish with the flat-leaf parsley. Serve with the bread, salad or roasted potatoes.

Note: You can also add potatoes in the baking tray when cooking this dish.

5. If you have the budget for it, hire waiters. It makes life so much easier. Ask your caterer if you can borrow waiters.

6.  Listen to Madonna: Music makes the people come together. For our little gathering, I hired a pianist (Demi) and got my cousins and their girlfriends singing. When it was time for Demi to go home, we switched to the Magic Sing and woke up the neighbors trying to beat each others' scores.

Pianist and cousins - reading my phone for lyrics

7. Flowers make the biggest difference. Guests always check out the loo. So have a vase with flowers in there - whether it be as expensive as orchids or as cheap as mums - it will make a diff. Supermarkets have flowers that range from P150 to over P1,000. Or go to your nearest palengke!

8. Have a good time but remember that you're not a guest so always check to see if each guest is okay and also having a good time.

9. Know when to end the party. Remember that you need time to clean up, too! .

10. Share your blessings. Have a lot of zip locks or aluminum foil or Cut Rite handy so that you can pack the excess food (that you will not be able to consume anyway) for guests to bring home. I mean, seriously, how much paksiw can you consume?

11. Smile for the gazillion photos that will be posted on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. 

Hosted another party 3 days later! Birthday girls @garovs & @goldeegold strike a Carilagan Finishing School pose.

12. And don't forget to say a prayer of gratitude for family, friends, good health, good times and great food. Thank you God for the best parents, the greatest sister, and the best  church family in the whole wide world. :)
 
PS. 

• Where to get cake past 9 p.m.? Shell in Magallanes has Polly's Chocolate Cake. The cake above was purchased after the 9 p.m. Sunday mass. 
• Where to get wines past 9 p.m.? Ralph's on Makati Ave. is open until midnight.