Gwen and Billy's Engagement Party!
Ok, so today Jeremy and I trekked from Washington, DC to Southampton, NJ for Gwen and Billy's engagement party! Billy is Jeremy's first cousin, and Gwen is his amazing fiancee! They are getting married in late October, and it is so good to see them before the wedding.
Awesome event for any foodie. I mean, the people are always why I show up but hello, the FOOD is where the party's AT!
And the food was, in a word, incredible. I can honestly say that I have never seen so much food in my life. A bit of a dramatic statement yet true nonetheless. Billy's mom, Marie, put on the most mouth-watering spread I have ever seen. And I've been to a lot of parties.
There were two separate rooms filled to the brim with food. Not counter tops or tables, ROOMS. Every time someone walked into the house and entered the food galleries, all people could say was "I don't even know where to start, there's SO much food!" and "This is incredible!" and I even heard a few times "Is Marie a caterer or something?" Then there was Gwen's mom, who brought LUMPIA! I was beside myself. Literally ate about 30 of them, dipped into a spring roll sauce that you can find at any Asian grocery store.
As I write this, I cannot breathe and my stomach is aching. That's how much I ate. How much we all ate. I have never been such a glutton.
There were sandwiches. To be specific, roast beef sandwiches and turkey sandwiches, Italian sandwiches with salami and ham peeking out the sides.
Bowls of black and green olives. Bowls of pickles for the sandwiches. Salad of lettuces, salad of mango, salad of fruit. Macaroni salad. Macaroni and cheese. Sausage and peppers. Meatballs. Enchiladas. Chicken falling off the bone with seasoned, melt-in-your-mouth rice. Grilled vegetables like onion, eggplant, mushroom, squash, zucchini and roasted red pepper.
TONS of my favorite dish in the entire world, lumpia (Filipino egg rolls).
Lots of egg rolls which turned out to be loaded with plantain. Pork satay! Loads and loads of food and, wait for it....
A SUCKLING PIG! A whole, smiling, head-still-on suckling pig in the middle of the kitchen, daring all to come, to partake. That my boyfriend had the honors of carving. It was so cute watching him. I mean he's a cook and all, and has seen it done at his restaurant, but when Marie handed him the carving knives commanding him to get to it, I saw his face freeze, then immediately he dove in. I was so proud of him! First he severed the head, cutting it in half. Then he cut the pig lengthwise, and...oh shucks I might as well just show you...
All in all, it was a good day for a foodie. And I WILL be asking Marie to throw me my engagement party one day :)
Until next time, BE MERRY!
