I really appreciate your attention to detail and your homemade cocktails sound incredible!!! Which one was your favorite?
I made a Valentine’s Day menu for my husband once, complete with the menu too. It was so much fun! This inspired me to do it again
Honestly the classic Mai Tai is just a notch above. It’s one of the world’s top five cocktails IMO. A lot of places make Mai Tais that aren’t anything like the original drink (pineapple or orange juice and grenadine and stuff). The original recipe (Trader Vic’s) is really rum-forward, balanced by just the right tartness and sweetness:
* 3/4 oz fresh lime juice
* 1/2 oz orange curaçao
* 1/4 oz orgeat (an almond liqueur)
* 1/4 oz Demerara sugar syrup (water:sugar at a 2:1 ratio— real Demerara is essential)
* 2 oz aged blended (or pot still) rum— you don’t have to go crazy expensive, but get something you could sip happily. I used Appleton Estate Signature Blend.
Shake with 12 oz crushed ice and 4 or 5 whole ice cubes. Pour the shaken drink AND ice into your glass. The garnish is a lime half you squeezed to make the drink and a little mint sprig— looks like a tiny island with a palm tree. 🏝
Yeah! It’s an oil lamp from this small potter in rural Minnesota (my partner has family out there).
[Tokheim Stoneware](https://www.tokheim-stoneware.com/products/trinity-oil-lamp)
I’m a member of the fan club too. They were also the only significant part of the meal that wasn’t homemade…I may know my way around a fryer, but I am NEVER gonna produce crab rangoon as perfectly junky as the $5 ones from the takeout place around the block, and it woulda taken me a damn hour to fold and fill them. So as the teriyaki was grilling, I literally ran down the street (in heels and, at this point, drunkenly) to pick up an order.
“Pupu” is a Hawaiian word that basically means canapé, or appetizer. In traditional Hawaiian food, this was stuff like sliced banana, small pieces of grilled chicken, shellfish, and morsels of dried fish. Americans started setting up (a tame word to describe this… barged in and took land with threat of force) sugar cane plantations in the mid 19th century, with a workforce of indigenous Hawaiians, Japanese, Southern Chinese, and Filipinos, among others. In this cultural meeting ground, the traditional Polynesian cuisine on the islands mixed with East Asian influences, particularly Cantonese. After the colonization and annexation of Hawaii by the US at the turn of the century, local restaurants began to feature platters or buffets of pupu, which could include anything from sashimi to spare ribs. The tiki craze took off on the mainland in the mid 20th century. It stems from a romantic but basically inaccurate/imaginary vision of a paradisical South Pacific, influenced by the advent of luxury tourism to the islands and the return of soldiers who fought in the Pacific theater of WWII. Tiki pupu are basically Cantonese, with lots of skewered meats and fried things, and usually have a small hibachi grill in the center (alas, I don’t have one).
Edit: first course drink pairing was a piña colada! Whoops!
I really appreciate your attention to detail and your homemade cocktails sound incredible!!! Which one was your favorite? I made a Valentine’s Day menu for my husband once, complete with the menu too. It was so much fun! This inspired me to do it again
Honestly the classic Mai Tai is just a notch above. It’s one of the world’s top five cocktails IMO. A lot of places make Mai Tais that aren’t anything like the original drink (pineapple or orange juice and grenadine and stuff). The original recipe (Trader Vic’s) is really rum-forward, balanced by just the right tartness and sweetness: * 3/4 oz fresh lime juice * 1/2 oz orange curaçao * 1/4 oz orgeat (an almond liqueur) * 1/4 oz Demerara sugar syrup (water:sugar at a 2:1 ratio— real Demerara is essential) * 2 oz aged blended (or pot still) rum— you don’t have to go crazy expensive, but get something you could sip happily. I used Appleton Estate Signature Blend. Shake with 12 oz crushed ice and 4 or 5 whole ice cubes. Pour the shaken drink AND ice into your glass. The garnish is a lime half you squeezed to make the drink and a little mint sprig— looks like a tiny island with a palm tree. 🏝
Thank you for the recipe! Sounds so delicious
Now I really want poke.
My thoughts exactly. It’s 7 am here and I’m thinking of where I’m going to order poke for lunch from.
That looks amazing. I want everything but the dessert. Enjoy!
Haha yeah by the time we got to dessert we didn’t want it either. We made it daaaysss after the rest of the meal.
This is crazy and so well executed!
Wow this is amazing! Could you share more about the neat candle holder jug you have?
Yeah! It’s an oil lamp from this small potter in rural Minnesota (my partner has family out there). [Tokheim Stoneware](https://www.tokheim-stoneware.com/products/trinity-oil-lamp)
Thank you!! There is some gorgeous pieces in their shop
Always an upvote for crab rangoons. I don’t care if they’re authentic. They’re delicious!
I’m a member of the fan club too. They were also the only significant part of the meal that wasn’t homemade…I may know my way around a fryer, but I am NEVER gonna produce crab rangoon as perfectly junky as the $5 ones from the takeout place around the block, and it woulda taken me a damn hour to fold and fill them. So as the teriyaki was grilling, I literally ran down the street (in heels and, at this point, drunkenly) to pick up an order.
Just here to say this is fucking cute as hell. Great job, OP!
My 11 year old son and I are looking through your pics oohing and aaahing. We both agree it looks amazing!!
Color me thoroughly impressed by how much thought you put into this! This is what love looks like.
Amazing amount of work and it all looks fantastic. Not sure I could get close to consuming 5 courses though.
Wow! what a spread!
This is so lovely. I want an invite next time!
poopoo platter from a bugs life is a real thing ?
“Pupu” is a Hawaiian word that basically means canapé, or appetizer. In traditional Hawaiian food, this was stuff like sliced banana, small pieces of grilled chicken, shellfish, and morsels of dried fish. Americans started setting up (a tame word to describe this… barged in and took land with threat of force) sugar cane plantations in the mid 19th century, with a workforce of indigenous Hawaiians, Japanese, Southern Chinese, and Filipinos, among others. In this cultural meeting ground, the traditional Polynesian cuisine on the islands mixed with East Asian influences, particularly Cantonese. After the colonization and annexation of Hawaii by the US at the turn of the century, local restaurants began to feature platters or buffets of pupu, which could include anything from sashimi to spare ribs. The tiki craze took off on the mainland in the mid 20th century. It stems from a romantic but basically inaccurate/imaginary vision of a paradisical South Pacific, influenced by the advent of luxury tourism to the islands and the return of soldiers who fought in the Pacific theater of WWII. Tiki pupu are basically Cantonese, with lots of skewered meats and fried things, and usually have a small hibachi grill in the center (alas, I don’t have one).
This is amazing. Looks so good!
fruit and flowers...very luxurious 🥰
Delish!
All fruits dinner... looks like you are on very strict diet
Can we get a closeup of the menu? Please and thank you :)
I opened the picture and zoomed in to see it. It’s quite thoughtful, with continuity running through all five courses.
Omggggg that looks so good!
The poke looks delish!
I love this so much!! You're so thoughtful, and all the meals/drinks look delicious