Dinner Party

Last night was AWESOME! Erik decided we were going to have a dinner party, and nominated me as the head chef. Since I had nothing better to do, I complied. We spent the morning wandering around town looking for various ingredients – some of which I was damn impressed to find. I decided to make a Thai Musaman curry just because I figured since we’re near the equator we must have somewhat similar produce to Thailand. It was a little bit of a stretch, but since we came across Thai Curry Paste at the grocery store owned by a bunch of Indians, we were pretty solid.

The afternoon was spent chopping and simmering. My wonderful sous chefs (Hannah, Giudi, and Erik) cut more veggies than I have seen in quite a while. I simmered that beef for a good 3 hours, and BOY was it worth it. Yum yum yum.

Our dinner party turned out to be extremely fun despite the fact that I have only been here a week and a few days, and basically don’t know anyone. Erik invited his entire network of peeps, and Hannah and I went around meeting people. I’d say we had a bout 25 people or so, and luckily, enough food to go around. I’m happy to say the curry went over VERY well… I’m afraid I’ve set a standard I may not be able to meet next time around. Uh oh. But hey, at least people think I’m a cook now. We were expecting it to be a rather low-key event, but after the 8th bottle of wine, and the majority of people had left, the party just kept rolling. Gary, a hilarious Brit, did dance moves well into the wee hours of the morning. A few local guys (from the art studio I went to the first day I was here) stuck around, and we drank and smoked a hookah. This picture is from the end of the night.  Innocent, Gary and Hannah strike a pose.  All in all, the night was a success. The question now is whether or not I can make it through this week… I definitely have NOT started out on the right foot. Oy.