Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Who's the Party Animal?

Invitation copy

I feel the need to engage in a little bit of nostalgic recollection and take you back to the wonder years, when piñatas and Cabbage Patch Kids were all the craze, fairy bread was as cool as the Care Bears and chocolate milkshakes were the drinks of choice.

Now you may have kids of your own and are right in the midst of this season of life. But when you don’t have kids, like myself, this type of affair is unfortunately no longer in my social calendar. Since my late teens, I have only attended two children’s parties and they have been for my friend A’s two kids. You see she and her hubby are the only two people in our circle of friends that have had children grace their lives. As for everyone else, we are either single, dating or married, with dogs, cats, fish, and even snakes, but alas no kids.


At 24, the audible ticking of my you-know-what-clock is vastly absent, so I don’t think there will be any children in the horizon, just yet. So it’s been a while since I’ve struck a piñata or pinned the tail on the donkey but I guess the beauty of this particular event is that it allows me to relive these memories even if it is only for whimsical pretence.

If it isn’t already apparent, I have been enjoying participating in various food blog events of late. I know it’s not every blogger's cup of tea, but being the eager new food blogger that I am, I have been throwing myself into anything that takes my fancy. Talk to me when I am 50-kilos overweight and jaded and perhaps my enthusiasm will have waned, but right now my appetite for foodie events is at its peak. This time it is Blog Party #14 and the theme is kid’s party!

So allow me to indulge myself in this fanciful affair, as there is just no stopping the kid inside me. To get in the spirit of the occasion, I decided to improvise with a party for the only kid-type thing in my life other than my dog Jack and to a lesser extent, G. So as far-fetched as it may appear, I am throwing a virtual party for the illustrious Cocoa the monkey, the virtual face of this blog. What’s the occasion you ask? Well let’s just say Cocoa wants to celebrate good food and the good life, which of both things he is a great advocate for.

Welcome to Cocoa's Blog Party

THE MENU

Mini Meatball Cups
Cheesy Polenta Fries
Oatmeal Cookies with Raspberry Ice Cream
Kir Royale Mocktale

Here is how the party ensued…
To start, Cocoa served some of his famous Mini Meatballs, presented in little pastry cups and topped with some sweet chilli sauce, they were the perfect appetisers to start off this shindig.

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Being the considerate host that Cocoa was, he didn’t want his guests to become parched, so as soon as the meatballs were out he also provided them with refreshments. Kir Royale Mocktales to be exact; a refreshing concoction of blackcurrant and sparkling apple juice that surely quenched everyone’s thirst.

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While kids were digging into the meatballs and mock-tails, Cocoa added some Cheesy Polenta Fries into the mix, it was a resounding hit. When asked where he got the recipe, he told them that he got the recipe from the brilliant blog 101 Cookbooks (thanks Heidi for your inspiration, hope you don't mind me slightly mimicking your photos).

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Using the cheesy polenta and mini meatballs, Cocoa switched it up by putting them both on some toothpicks for a quick hit of both flavours.

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Knowing that a party is never complete without dessert, he ended the festivities with some Raspberry Ice Cream topped with Oatmeal Cookies. Use the cookies as a makeshift spoon to scoop out the ice cream before it melts.

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So evidently it seems this little monkey sure knows how to throw a partay. Let’s not talk about the clean up afterwards, but let’s just say that everyone left having had a great time.

Recipes will be coming soon, but make sure to check out the Blog Party roundup at Stephanie’s delightful blog Dispensing Happiness.

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

LOL! This post is absolutely brilliant! Happy birthday to Cocoa - with all that food, I'm sure it's going to be one heckuva party!

wheresmymind said...

I'm glad your monkay made it!

diva said...

everything looks simply divine here! :D anyway, looking at the photos of the chips & all tt yummy sydney food makes me miss sydney so much. honestly, i feel aussie fries are the best in the world! :D cheers!

Orchidea said...

Nice party... good food! I am in.
Ciao.

Brilynn said...

You definitely went above and beyond for this one! I thought Cocoa might enjoy some of the Monkey Milk that I entered into the Kids Party...

Anonymous said...

Oh my gosh....you went all out for blog party! Everything is just so darn cute I love it.

Sara said...

Holy Crow that looks like some party! The polenta fries look tasty.

Anonymous said...

Jen,
Too adorable! It looks like Cocoa is having a fabulous time at the party, wish I could join in!

Edith said...

What a nice party Cocoa had!

jasmine said...

How absolutely fun! Love the piccies.

I like the prologue, and can identify with you on that. Right now, only two of my close friends have children and the rest haven't settled down yet (and we're a titch older than you ;)). Right now it's *our* parents' clocks that are ticking as they desperatly want to be grans and gramps :)

j

ilingc said...

hey jenjen,

great food, great party! the only friends of ours that are married have no intention of having kids anytime soon! i have to be content with the only little party (more family gathering than party) for the boy's lil niece.
job well done to you and cocoa :)

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

Oh, that's sooooo cute! I love your pictures a lot and your fancy food; great party...

Anonymous said...

Great, creative, whimsical ideas! Wow!

Jen said...

Ellie- thanks! once a party animal, always a party animal!

wheresmymind- thanks! monkey see, monkey do.

Diva.- I have to agree, we do make great chips. No matter what anyone says I still love a bucket of hot chips with a sprinkle of chicken salt and lots of tomato sauce.

Orchidea- Thanks, and make sure you help yourself to everything Cocoa's made!

Brilynn- Cocoa really loves the idea of monkey milk, bananas are a monkey's best friend!

Peabody- thanks, glad you enjoyed it, I sure had fun making it!

Sara- thanks, they tasted just as good as they looked!

Anita- Cocoa did have a fabulous time, he's a true blue party animal. He'd love for you to come next party.

Natalia- kids love making a mess and the ice cream and cookies are just the thing to do it.
And by the way, Moonshine Bear is the best.

Precious Moments- it sure was : )

Cin- definitely a fun time for all to be had! Cocoa sure knew how to throw a party!

Jasmine- it must be something about our generation, a lot of us just aren't having kids, or just not yet anyway. As opposed to our parents generation where most of them were having kids in their 20s. I couldn't imagine having kids now. If you haven't noticed, I'm still a kid!

Ilingc- yes I think my friends' kids are going to grow up without playmates from any of their parents other friends, because none of us are planning on having kids soon. Like I mentioned to Jasmine, I think it must just be a generational thing, we are having less kids and much later.

Rosa- thanks so much, it was lots of fun eating all the food! Cocoa sure had a blast!

Julie- thanks! If there is anything kiddie related and fun, you can count me in : )

Anonymous said...

What a great entry! Everything looks great. You really did go all out and beautifully executed! I wish I could have been there!

Anonymous said...

Cocoa - Looks like you throw a mean party. Please include me on the guest list next time.

Anonymous said...

Ah! What a wonderful party! Looks like Cocoa had so much fun. And those gorgeous looking munchies...

Love the polenta chips and the meatballs! The stirrers are gorgeous :)