Saturday my friend Eli came to my apartment and did a great presentation on Pure Romance. Its for ladies only. So I invited the gals and we had an afternoon tea party; which pretty much means everyone is gonna eat well!

This is Eli’s demonstration table. I cant wait to have another party! It was so fun!
I invited 10 ladies and made a menu plan. The menu is as follows: California Rolls, Mommy Crack, Cheese platter, peanut butter fudge, Red Velvet Cupcakes, and Mini grilled Cheeses with Tomato. Hungry?

My plan of action started the night before where I baked the red velvet cupcakes to enure that they would be cooled off by the time they had to be frosted. Also, storing them in an airtight containter overnight makes them incredibly moist!

I tweaked the recipe I had to make them into cupcakes. I used storebought cream cheese frosting. (Because I’m not THAT amazing!)

Then I used this cupcake tower I bought Many months ago from Michael’s. The red velvet cupcakes were a HUGE hit! I ate 1… okay 3! 😦

Then I prepared the Peanut Butter Fudge from the Hungry Girl Cookbook, since these have to be chilled. I served them but they were not eaten. I must admit- they werent great. I will make regular fudge next time – with all the fat!
Later that evening I prepped the Sushi Veggies, avocado and cucumber. Making sushi is not difficult but prep to make sushi is very time consuming. Learning how to make sushi allows me to appreciate it when its expensive. And also makes me MORE of a food snob because I think my sushi tastes better than the japanese restuarant down the block (My roommate agrees so that must mean I’m right…right?)

The morning of the party I got up to start cooking and give the apartment a good scrubbing! The first thing I made was the sushi rice, since that needs to be warm when you prepare the rolls. Ever eaten hot sushi rice? I dont think so. So i made the rice and while it cooled I cleaned! yay for cleaning. I prepared appetizers when I was done cleaning.

After the cheese and crackers were set up, I prepped my Crock Pot to work on the Mommy Crack. It took me 45 mins on High to make the dip.

And I kept tasting it to make sure it was delicious. It was. Like really good. It was among one of the first things to disappear. Thanks Crockpot Lady!

Now onto the Sushi.

Started by lining my Nori with a layer of seasoned rice.

Then i flipped the Noriu upside down (for an iside out roll) and layered cucumber, avocado, and Kani.

Using my Bamboo Rolling mat, I tightly rolled the goods.

Then sliced them up with a really sharp knife (so i wouldnt squish the sushi)

California Roll – made by me!

I plated them. I used 10 sheets of Nori and sliced them into 6 pieces each. Some 8. Thats close to 80 pieces of sushi… and it was gone! No leftovers! : -( I managed to save some for Henry to try.

My apartment is small. So small Roomie and I cannot have a Dining Room Table. We manage to make our snack trays into a makeshift buffet table. If I had a table cloth – this would work! But It still works.
Oh! Missing from this set up are the mini grilled cheeses. I dont have a pic ready! But those were served when the guests arrived and they were prepared fresh. The were delish! oozy gooey and tangy Grilled Cheeses with Ripe Roma Tomatoes inside! Nom!