Food makes the world go round

Yesterday, hubby made the mistake of asking me what I wanted for dinner. I told him I was craving daing na bangus, which is a Filipino recipe involving milkfish marinated in vinegar. I failed to warn him about the repercussions of frying this delicacy. Our kitchen now has gigantic oil splatterings and the air reeks of fried-fish. It'll take a few days to clear but it sure was worth it. To top it off, he made garlic fried rice and a tomato-cilantro topping with fish sauce. Thanks Marc! To eat all this comfort food made me feel alive again! I feel like I've been in crisis mode lately and a friend reminded me yesterday that I just need to stop stressing because everything will be ok. I think I will do just that.

Fondue Feast+Friends

Prepping the cheese. Pictured above are Emmenthaler (block) and Jarlsberg (wedge)

This weekend, I had the pleasure of hosting a little fondue party fpr the girls. A year ago at this time, we took a girls trip to New York and had the time of our lives. In honor of our memorable trip, we decided to get together and reminisce. Well...and of course, gossip, eat, laugh, and just have a great time. *Mariel & MM-we missed you two!*

I love tomatoes so much and I couldn't resist making bruschetta for this dinner.

Although it ended up being quite gooey, the cheese fondue was a big hit! It was definitely a cheese fest as the girls brought other cheeses, crackers and some pasta.

Nutella Peanut-Butter brownies. I found the recipe somewhere online. I'm sad to say that I won't be making these again. The brownies were really dry and even with loads of Nutella, the peanut butter overpowered it in flavor. Oh well, it still worked out as a great dipper for the chocolate fondue.

Chocolate fondue is ready!

There is always dessert wine when we get together. It just happens to be the 'happy staple' of our gatherings.

Curious Claudine bought a bottle of non-alocholic (well...3% proof) White Zinfandel. It tasted like juice. What's the point? LOL!

Our little group is quite known for camera-whoring. By that, I mean, not in front of the camera but behind it. Here's a picture of Gem working some magic on her newly purchased Canon 5D Mark II. Soooo jealous!

Another 5d user, Samantha!

Claudine likes to keep it simple with the point & shoot. With all these cameras, I'm sure someone took a picture of me. I'll have to edit this post when someone sends it to me. :)

Paparazzi club-that's us!

The food coma we suffered afterwards was totally worth all the laughs and giggles that took place 'til 2am! We concluded that Samantha would make a great president, Gem belongs in either Sweden or in jail, Claudine will not default to "Plan B," and I will become a genetic engineer to re-create the gene that allows people to eat without getting fat. Thank you, friends for driving to visit! Why do the weekends have to end so quickly? Back to work tomorrow!