I enjoy reading about your adventure!
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That looks really good
Thank you! It’s been an adventure indeed! Until the night of the 30th, I’d only seen busting Bangkok and the neighboring suburb of Bang Na. However, my friend and his family took us for one night to Bangsaray, a lovely beach town south of Pattaya.
I had no desire to see Pattaya as I had heard only unflattering things about it. Thankfully Bangsaray is somewhat far Pattaya and other than a drive through Pattaya and lunch there, I didn’t have to experience anything there.
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We hosted two couples and their respective kids tonight. Menu was
Apps:
Cheese plate - aged cheddar, smoked cheddar, dill Havarti, Beemster, plain Havarti, dried cherries, pistachios, homemade blackberry jam, homemade cranberry-apple-shallot relish, Italian croccantini crackers, ww Ritz, Aldi Mezze tray w/olives, feta, and Peppadews, smoked cheese and bacon spread (courtesy my MIL), summer sausage (ditto)
Cacio e pepe popcorn
Pigs in a blanket and assorted mini quiches
Red grapes
Cheddar Goldfish (we fancy)
They thought it would be funny to insert their arms in the shot:
Main(s):
Buttered spaghetti, choice of homemade Cincinnati chili or marinara sauce (Aldi’s Rao’s knockoff) w/meatballs (from frozen). Beef hot dogs and buns for anyone who wanted; I think mainly kiddos partook.
Garnishes of sour cream, shredded colby cheese, mild hot sauce, chopped onion, scallions, kidney beans, oyster crackers, and Fritos
Salad - friend brought blue cheese iceberg wedge salads with bacon, tomatoes, and dilled ranch dressing
Dessert:
Chocolate and sea salt caramel mini cookies
Sour orange pie (ATK) with unsweetened whipped cream - I added more lemon juice and an extra egg yolk to the filling and used a blind-baked regular pie crust
Espresso drinks
Wines:
Two from our local wine shop and an actually quite decent Champagne from Sam’s Club. Got lucky with that one.
Cat photo bomb.
One of our friends brought a bottle of Tott’s extra dry, which I wonder if he confused with extra brut?
And a few of us had a sip of Knob Creek bourbon as a final toast to 2023.
Happy New Year’s Eve!
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it all looks fabulous!
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Happy New Year everyone! We enjoyed an outstanding NYE dinner with our friends at Drew’s in Keyport, NJ, including lazy lobster; ribeye; sake marinated Chilean sea bass; scallops with butternut squash risotto; pork boudin spring rolls; tuna ceviche; voodoo shrimp; For dessert: salty chocolate caramel pretzel tarts; funny bone; bananas foster bread pudding. It all went great with some excellent red wines.
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Thanks! Kinda wish I’d had time to do dishes 
I was joking with my husband that this year I’m like, “Frozen meatballs and jarred sauce is fine,” and ten years ago I would have been like, “I’ve been cooking for three days and made the crackers and hot dogs from scratch.” LOL. Priorities and free time change.
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I must be acclimating to inflation because those menu prices seem expensive but not outrageous. I think Asheville has gone crazy sometimes with the influx of tourist cash.
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Yes, compared to some other places we were looking at $110 per person was pretty reasonable for NYE. Plus they comped us the tuna ceviche and voodoo shrimp. The portions were also very generous. I looked at other places that wanted $185 per person with a much smaller selection.
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Exactly. And they were actually luxurious dishes. I feel like all too often it’s just blatant price gouging with nothing to back it up.
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I don’t know what is riskier; staying at home with gunfire abounding or traveling on a dark two lane with the deer and the impaired drivers. I’m staying home this year. The cat is close because he does not like the fireworks or gun fire going off.
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Absolutely marvelous! You are quite the hostess! Lots of great variety.
Happy New Year!
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NYE drinks and apps. We also did a 500 piece puzzle. So many good marathons on. We alternated between Twilight Zone, The Odd Couple, and the local rock station that plays a countdown to have on in the background. I was going to include The Honeymooners but my mom was thoroughly sick of them after my dad watched them over and over and over again when he was alive. Few people realize how few episodes there really are.
Kir Royale to kick things off.
BF’s Yum Yum Shrimp. There were originally going to be eight, but the oil was too hot for the first batch and they ended up nearly burned on the outside and raw inside.
It’s not New Year’s Eve without these guys. Trader Joe’s organic hot dogs used.
Mom’s Spanakopita pinwheels.
TJ’s scallion pancakes, lightly fried.
And we finished the puzzle. Started at 7:15 PM and finished up 11:40. Not bad, eh?
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And then you get to my age and you’re desperate after not eating all day. Scarfing Biscoff cookies and a lone container of applesauce at 1:30 because your husband ate the final sleeve of Ritz crackers with the port wine cheese spread before midnight - and your dog went counter-surfing and finished the rest of the See’s Nuts and Chews.
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Dogs + chocolate = a bad situation!
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He got into the last of them on Saturday night, and doesn’t seem to be suffering any ill effects. Thank goodness!. He is our 5th Aussie, and the most difficult dog we’ve ever lived with. The breeder described him as “a very confident puppy”. That’s an understatement. I’d describe him as a giant PITA.
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He’s so cute.
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Your martini looks just like the way they serve jenever in Amsterdam.
Happy New Year everyone!
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Is that a Swiss highway sticker on the windshield?
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Good morning, WFDers! Our new thread is here:
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