Hello friends! I hope you’ve all had a wonderful weekend doing something fun and delicious. This past weekend I had the pleasure of coming back to my hometown of Fort Payne, Alabama to celebrate my aunt’s 70th birthday. Many friends and family including my mom and dad worked hard to create a special surprise event for a landmark occasion. Though I only live two hours away from my family, I’ve found that I don’t get to visit as often as I’d like so having an opportunity to see so many friends and family PLUS chow down on some Filipino favorites was incredibly exciting. The color theme for this party was white and khaki:women in all white, men in khaki and white…we had a black and white party a year ago for my other aunt during her 50th birthday (our family LOVES birthdays!). My mom had been working diligently to create the perfect centerpieces and overall decor for the party. Below is one of her creations using coffee filters, painted branches, and a revamped vase. What do you think?
My aunt was definitely surprised upon entering the house full of old friends and family!
We thought an “07” would look much cuter on the cake than “70” đ
On top of the excitement of my husband and I getting to see so many of our Filipino friends and relatives, we got to enjoy some of my favorite childhood dishes. Between an hors d’oeuvres table, a dessert table, and a buffet of various Filipino delicacies, we had quite the spread. My photographer cousin Jesar Quizon took some gorgeous pictures of our food selection…check it out!
A creamy Alfredo pasta with sun-dried tomatoes and roasted chicken
My cousin Happy made these puto flan cakes…OH MY LANTA…delicious.
My talented Aunt Gayle who also made my delicious wedding cake created these delectable caramel maracons.
Gorgeous butter lettuce leaves for lettuce wraps with the ground chicken and mushrooms seen below.
It’s not a party without fried rice!
My Aunt Gayle’s famous carrot cake
My cousin Ashley made some incredibly tasty white chocolate bars (worth every calorie!)
One of my favorite Filipino dishes…ASADO!!
Baby cucumbers in a rice wine vinegar and sesame seed mix.
Ube cake!
And last but not least…pancit: the pinnacle and definition of all Filipino get together foods.
 As you can see, we’re all about food in my family. It’s actually inspired me to make some pancit and asado here in Tuscaloosa soon (future post ALERT!).  However, no Filipino party is complete without some singing and line dancing!
Until next time!