Sunday, October 3, 2010

How to throw a Little Foodie dinner party

voting is now open! If you liked my dinner party you can vote HERE. Thanks!


For Project Food Blog Round #3 (woo hoo!), we were challenged to throw a luxury dinner party. Ha. I would love nothing more than to have an adult dinner party. But where would we get all the baby sitters? No matter. This is a food blog about feeding little foodies. Here’s how in 12 easy steps.

1. Plan a menu around finger foods in a cuisine you totally know. Make exotic foods seem somewhat normal, like, say, cheese as an option in sushi rolls. And then maybe they will try it.  Luxury means nothing to a kid. I mean, they will eat candy corn before they touch your food.menu
2. Invite some kids. And their parents. Then invite some single people, because it’s a good idea to have a ratio of 4 adults to 1 kid. It’s also a good idea to invite different ages of kids, because older kids are way better at entertaining younger kids than any adult. As you can see, I got it backwards.IMG_9485

3. Invite too many people. Because half of them will say they’re coming, but then won’t be able to come, because they have KIDS, and kids are unpredictable. They might all come down with the most horrible pukey virus ever known to man an hour before the party. And then you’ll have to clean up puke instead of going to a party.

4. Cook all day long, running around like a wild woman with no time management skills, make your husband hold the baby, cook during your turn to hold the baby, and tell your daughter to go clean her room. If you’re lucky, she’ll play in there the whole afternoon, but don’t actually expect her to clean anything. IMG_9394
IMG_9438IMG_9406 chicken2  IMG_9400  IMG_9409 IMG_9412 IMG_9415 mochicupcake IMG_9429

5. Get out your finest china. IMG_9433

6. Don’t stress out when everyone shows up more than a half hour late, because they have kids. (see #2). Also DO not clean while you are waiting. You will be happy you didn’t.

7. Serve the kiddies first.IMG_9453


8. Play “pass the kiddies”.
 IMG_9497IMG_9454 IMG_9484IMG_9482 IMG_9473

9. Don’t worry about the fact that your kid is only eating the rice on the plate. And drinking root beer. It’s a party. And at least it’s the fancy, good kind rice. It’s even sushi rice. Your kid is practically eating sushi. You can brag about it to your friends. IMG_9457 IMG_9455 IMG_9456

10. Have lots of toys for the kids to play with so the adults can finally eat. IMG_9440 IMG_9459

11. Serve cupcakes, and even if the food was bad, the kids will only remember the cupcakes.  IMG_9472 IMG_947411 and a half: Remove wrappers before eating.  IMG_9436

12. Because you are all party animals, expect everyone to stay until at least 7:30. Then they will leave to put the kids in bed. After everyone leaves and you put your kids in bed, ignore the dishes. They will totally be there the next day (and the next). They’re reliable like that.
The Recipes:
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45 comments:

Julie @ Willow Bird Baking said... 1

Love this post! So funny. You get a vote from me :)

My dinner party was designed to take the diner food from Gooch's diner, where my parents first met over 40 years ago, and elevate it to luxury for their 39th wedding anniversary. Come see if you'd like :)

Sonya said... 2

forget the kids! i wanna eat what's on the menu! Mochi Cupcakes - sounds so yummy!!

thelittlefoodie said... 3

I ate 4. :)

Deeba Rajpal said... 4

Absolutely loved what you did with the project...no small luxury this Mariko. Well done indeed, and all the best with the challenge! The menu, the spread, the pictures - all wonderful!

burp_excuzme said... 5

LOVE. Seriously, head-over-heels LOVE this post. Because it is an original, all right. I LOVE the new take of a "luxury" dinner party. You most def have my vote, and for the record...I would totally lap everything up even though I'm way past toddler age.

thelittlefoodie said... 6

Thank you guys for the nice comments. I was feeling a little inadequate
after reading several *real *luxury party posts, so your thoughts help!

Katharina said... 7

This is such an adorable post :D There's so much creativity here! Your menu for instance :D The titles made me smile. Actually, this whole post had me smiling. Your humor, the pictures, the tips.. everything!

XO best of luck! You've got my vote :D

Damaris said... 8

I just voted for you even though you did not invite me to your party.

onlinepastrychef said... 9

Luxury = fun w/friends and forgetting about the dishes. Good old reliable dishes! ;) Funnest post ever:) You've got one of my votes!

Damaris said... 10

I would of had at least 4.

Robbie said... 11

Very fun post, Mariko! Thanks for having us over. I love all the pics of the kids--great job. You rock at being a chef, hostess, photographer and blogger.

Heather said... 12

How fun!!

jen cheung said... 13

VOTEDDDDDDD! Good luck! Wish you all the best!

jen @ www.passion4food.ca

Stay-At-Home-Chef said... 14

LOL...LOVED your post! With 4 and 2 year olds at home I completely related. What a great idea to host a kids party. Well done :)

Sarah said... 15

I love how you incorporated your lifestyle and stuck to who you are in this challenge. When you have kids this kind of dinner is totally luxury!

Allison said... 16

Very cute and all so very true!

Amy K. said... 17

Impressive! I LOVE it!
And yes, a rice only meal is totally legit!

thelittlefoodie said... 18

Thank you! I loved your picture of yourself singing.

thelittlefoodie said... 19

You are *always *invited.

thelittlefoodie said... 20

Yep, my kid definitely thinks so. Rice and furikake!

thelittlefoodie said... 21

Thanks Robin. Luckily you created very photogenic kids. :)

thelittlefoodie said... 22

Totally. Food during meal times is usually 2nd priority!

Debbie said... 23

You are too cute, I love all the family pics and the fancy dinnerware! These wontons sound fabulous and I can't wait to try, thanks and voted!

Fiona at Life on Nanchanglu said... 24

Hi mariko,
Have been trying to catch up with your blog since Round 1! So glad the Great Firewall of China dropped down for long enough today for me to get through and have a read....loved it! Laughed all the way through, because it reminded me of my same (but sushi-less) full-of-kids dinner parties we regularly had when the kids were littler. The cupcake rule rang particularly true! It was always done and dusted by 8pm and you would fall into bed exhausted.
Well done! Voted for you!
Fiona

thelittlefoodie said... 25

Thanks! I fell asleep at 9pm, and I was proud of myself.

meaghan said... 26

This is great.. Love the tips and the photography!! Kiddie luxury parties unite! Got my vote!

Marisa said... 27

Cute idea! And love your writing style. Telling it like it is, as Dr Phil would say!

Stillnotyet100 said... 28

good luck,..awesome post,..

Suzy said... 29

Such a great post...unique and fun! I'm sure for parents of toddlers, "luxury" is having adult conversation at dinner! You've definitely got my vote!

serena @bigapplenosh said... 30

Your photos and post are so fun to read! You've got my vote!

http://www.foodbuzz.comwww.foodbuzz.com/project_food_blog/challenges/3/view/1069

Lisa said... 31

I continue to be a fan!! Great post. I always admire those who can juggle entertaining and kids. I admit I cannot!!

Lisa.

thelittlefoodie said... 32

Ha! I can't either. :) This is exactly why my hub was irritated with me for
doing this party.

thelittlefoodie said... 33

Thanks! I'm visiting yours right now.

thelittlefoodie said... 34

Of course, our conversation is always about our kids. Ha ha.

Sues said... 35

This is so cute and looks like so much fun!! I especially love the idea of mochi cupcakes :) Good luck!! :)

Marla said... 36

I am so proud of you and of course have been voting for you each round. This dinner party looks fantastic! Your kids are just precious, so fun to see them enjoying your creations!

Jessica said... 37

Love all these photos! How adorable! Hope we both make it to the next round! :-) You have my vote!

Wheels and Lollipops said... 38

You made me smile, the other guests that we invited had to cancel at the last minute because their daughter got hand, foot & mouth disease so don't I know about unexpected surprises. I love the fact that you did something for kids !

Lori Lynn said... 39

Really, really cute!
Good luck!
LL

Crystal'sCozyKitchen said... 40

I love the menu and your fine china! I sent a little red heart your way.

DailySpud said... 41

Brilliant - I love it! Especially the advice about the cupcakes - removing the wrapper I mean. I sometimes forget to do that myself :D Best of luck in this round, I'll be voting for you.

sharon (umommy) said... 42

Looked like fun. Love the menu - will definitely try these dishes with my family!

Jun Belen said... 43

What a lovely post and a lovely dinner! Those gyozas are gorgeous and the mochi cupcakes sound really really good! Well done!!

Dana said... 44

What a cute idea! I bet the adults like this food just as much as the kiddies.... great job on this challenge!

emily (a nutritionist eats)w said... 45

I love these rules! And the menu - fun for kids and adults!

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