Pulled pork and Budweiser.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I have photos from American night. I didn't go overboard this time, and only took several. 

Click on any picture to blow it up full screen.

I just love this picture because Lucia is at the end of the table wearing a leotard, looking super serious as Maria and Dani listen intently to whatever she is saying. "...And that is how the Union won the American Civil War."

This photo (and Lucia's facial expression) make it a lot more believable when I tell you that Lucia wore the skirt UNDER the leotard instead of on top. And she wore it allllll night.

You can see the chips and guac and cocktail meatballs in the foreground.

Left to right: Maria, Monica, Lucas, Lucia, Maria, Dani, Marina, Mayte.

Cristina and Mari Carmen. Here you can see the punch bowl!

Mashed potatoes, baked mac and cheese, punch, green beans, Caesar salad, iced tea, pulled pork, hot dogs...it's like HOME!

That's Laura peeking in on the left, and Mari Carmen's husband holding up his pulled pork and Budweiser. Pichon and Jose Enrique are standing up.

Marina, Miguel (Mayte's BF), Maria, Josep (Maria's BF), Lucia, Dani, Maria, myself

Oven baked smores. Mmmmmmm....

I know, there weren't a lot of close ups of food. I figured faces were more important.

"I always thought the white stuff was cheese!"

So here was my menu for American night, and a rundown of the reactions to the various foods.


Appetizers
Chili Dip
Cocktail meatballs
Guacamole

Drinks
Punch
Arnold Palmer

Sides
Mashed potatoes & gravy
Green beans
Baked beans

Main Courses
Chicago-Style hot dogs
Meatloaf & gravy
Pulled pork sandwiches
Baked mac and cheese
Chicken pot pie turnovers

Desserts
Smores
Ice Cream pie with Oreo crust
Chocolate chip cookies
Brownies
Peanut Butter balls

I know it sounds like a lot. There were 14 people including myself, and I wanted to make some food I know they probably haven´t had before, so I got a random sampling of stuff that I thought was very "American," and therefore went a little overboard. Yes, there were leftovers.

Let´s start at the beginning. I felt very much like my dad on Thanksgiving, with food already in the oven before people came over, and a list planned out for the "schedule of events" aka "when to put stuff in the oven and take it out." I also felt very much like my dad, shooing people out of the kitchen while trying to be a friendly host at the same time.

Dancin' in the Kitchen

So I am in the midst of making my American Night meal for Cristina and her fallas friends. Let me share with you some of the process I have gone through to make this meal possible.

One of the appetizers I am making is my mom's chili dip. Super easy: cream cheese, can o'chili, then cheddar cheese. Pop it in the microwave and it is gooey, heart-attack deliciousness.
Cream cheese was easy. They even have Philadelphia brand. And Light! So that heart attack will be minor.
I got the can of chili from Carrefour, which is pretty much a Target/WalMart on steroids. They have an international food section where they had English food, American food, Asian food, Mexican food and Tex-Mex. Tex-Mex apparently is very distinct. The Mexican food section was composed of all Old El Paso brand products, which is an Americanized Mexican brand that sells taco kits and "nachos" (which is what they call tortilla chips here). I grabbed some "nachos" for my dip and a trusty can of chili con carne.

Just now I was prepping the chili dip for later by putting the cream cheese and chili in a bowl. When I opened that chili...well, it was a wondrous smell. And I know that canned chili looks like dog food...or worse...but it smelled like home. A good smell, don't worry. I even tasted a little from the lid, which sounds disgusting and totally is, but it was great. I even broke out into song from the future excitement of eating this dip, the song "Put your hand upon my hip, when I dip, you dip, we dip."

In the mean time, I cooked some meatballs in the oven for my mom's meatball appetizer recipe (sweet chili sauce and jelly on meatballs). There were 24 in the pack, and there will be 14 people, so I wanted 28 meatballs. I made 4 extra from the meatloaf meat (pork and beef mix) which is different from the pre-made meatballs (pork). It's really obvious which ones I made. PS, pork cooks pink, which just looks gross.

Speaking of pink meat...

Hot dogs, Chicago style, is on the menu. Okay, not exactly Chicago style. There won't be sport peppers (too "spicy" for this crowd) and no celery salt (really hard to find). No poppy seed bun (hard to find) and no Vienna beef dogs (ew, pork pink meat! Though they are Oscar Meyer, which is American, which has to count for something). BUT don't you worry because I am stocked up on sweet green relish, pickles, tomatoes, onions, and yellow mustard so it will be partially "dragged through the garden."

"Wait, can someone call the dude in the helicopter? THE SPORT PEPPERS ARE TOO SPICY!"

More posts about dinner to come soon...

Cinco de Mayo, American night!

I told my host mom I wanted to have an "American Night" to cook American food for her and her friends from the Casal Faller.

My host mom finally confirmed a date for American night: Cinco de Mayo (May 5th).

 She told me her friends are planning on wearing costumes. "Typical American things." I immediately imagined a cowboy. She told me "Cheerleaders, hotdogs..." Oh. Those "typical American things."