Russell's Mexican Fiesta

Hola! How was your weekend – or your Monday?

The bub is almost a month old and sometimes, I still can't believe we have a kid. Of course, reality sinks in when he starts to bawl.

Knowing that we would have an upcoming busy, family-committed weekend, we threw a Mexican Fiesta for our close friends and immediate family last weekend.

Décor-wise, the colour theme was pretty straight up. Think Skittles Factory Exploded. 

A quick trip to the florist the day before resulted in these sunny gerberas.

This piñata is admittedly a little girlie-looking - you can blame his mama.

Our guests sure channeled their inner luchador for the few pictures.

What's a mexican party without some serious taco-ing? 

A DIY, free-for-all taco buffet was laid out, headlined by bulgogi beef, carnitas and grilled mackerel. And a step-by-step guide was written up for the uninitiated.

We prepared chips and dips to get the party (ahem, feasting) started. Thanks to the recent In and Out hoopla, I was super pumped about making Animal Style sauce. Was it as good as the real deal? Seriously, anything with mayo and caramelized onions scores highly in muh books.

Our guests raved about the bulgolgi beef and I’m embarrassed to say how easy it was to make them – boneless short-rib and a jar of bulgogi sauce. The secret’s outta bag.

For the carnitas, I trolled the Internet for easiest and shortest recipe I could find. This recipe from Smitten Kitchen was right up my callejón. Not only does the dish rhyme with crazy-easy, it was mighty delicious too. Really glad we had a little leftover to reminisce with the next day.

Naturally I forgot to take pictures of the assembled tacos as my hands and mouth were busy.

My younger sister made mojitos and grovel-for-more guacamole. Yup, no picture. You would just have to imagine chunky but creamy guac ambushed by a kick of cayenne pepper.

A lovely picture painted by Diana for the bub

Zee and Diana brought both Ben & Jerry’s and Haagen Daaz ice cream over for dessert. I tried Haagen-Dazs Caramel Biscuit & Cream ice cream for the first time… OMG! It’s soo good! Have you guys tried it? Macadamia Nut Brittle is still my favorite but the Caramel Biscuit & Cream is definitely a contender for second place.

While the ladies shared a laugh ... 

Needless to say, it was an epically fun evening. I was beyond exhausted after the party but unable to sleep, thanks to the adrenaline. 

... the lads got to work 

And here's our nacho, with his handmade cape!