Hosting my first family dinner!

The house i bought was a deceased estate. Which means the previous owner has passed away. I was a bit scared at first and asked aunty if she knew anyone who could bless the house.

Forgot about that, moved in, few months later aunty asked me if i still wanted to do the blessing. I said its not necessary at first (its been peaceful) but i have been meaning to have a dinner at mine for family, i just said yes.

Everyone in the photo is family or a plus one except for the pastor and wife =) M & E were running late and are not in the photo.

So i had the dishes to cook all planned out on one of the bus rides home from work about a month. Roast chicken because it is easy. BBQ pork using the oven because it is easy too and seafood tom yum soup cuz its good. Veggie n rice. Easy.

Or so i thought! Hosting my first dinner for 13 people was a big experience!

For a Saturday dinner, i began getting the groceries on Friday after work and a few new items. Got it cleaned and cooked dinner for Friday night and thats my Friday gone.

After breakfast, ran out to get the seafood i couldnt get on Friday and picked up a parcel for a friend. Cut pork and marinated it. Had lunch, we cleaned up the house and i began preparing the vegetables.

The worst part of it was at 3.45pm. I almost broke down. I couldnt choose what to cook first, second and so on. To make things worse, it was a really hot day at 26 degrees, the afternoon sun shines through my kitchen and living room and it was going to be baking hot! I needed the oven to run at 200degrees for two dishes in a row, about 2 hours straight! Plus i had to cook the soup on the stove! The thought of the heat made me worry!

Steve saved the day by pulling down the blinds! Glad my house is in good condition.

I decided to cook the pork first and then the chicken, watching it cook in the oven while preparing the soup.

Once i've got started, things start to move along. Worked out pretty well. I was still cooking the prawns for the soup when my guests started arriving at 6.30pm though. Not too bad

Steve was a charmer with my cousins and he was good chatter with the adults. Proud of him =)

Just as we were about to start eating, i looked at my rice and i said "Can i take a picture??". Hahaha and that is the only picture i have of the whole evening! Always running around playing hostess.

Pretty pleased with my first dinner for 13. Home cooked everything. My aunty contributed a tofu/veggie dish, M & E brought fruits and S & T brought their usual ice cream cake. No ghosts in house... =)