More Potluck Action (cuz ya can't get enuff!)

And here are some more shots from Tu & Herman (click HERE for the pictures)
Although I'm warning you now, there are a LOT of close-ups. So don't click on that link if you're eating. Or just finished eating. Or if you have eyes. Or are a human being.

Potluck "Off The Beaten Path"

Tu & Herman had the brilliant idea to hold a "Bizarre Foods" type of Potluck dinner. Or as they described it, "The theme behind this event is for everyone to share a dish that is 'off the beaten path', something a little exotic/fear factorish or just a little different." Everything was surprisingly delicious, even though I was reeling from all the rich fatty mystery meats the next day.

Russell & I chronicled the evolution of the two dishes we brought: Lengua in creamy mushroom sauce and Sisig, two traditional Filipino dishes that we actually had & really liked during our visit to the Philippines. Pictures of our food preparation in all its gory details, as well as the MUCH more appetizing pictures of the delectable potluck dishes, can be found HERE.

Of course no party of this sort would be complete without that Filipino party staple: The Balut (fertilized duck embryo). Here are some slideshows of balut-eating in progress:

Justa's does a shot of Balut


Tu's turn to eat Balut at her potluck


It took a while to convince Billy, Marco, and Jason to do it, but they succumbed to peer pressure and took the Balut Challenge

Academy of Sciences

Spent today at the Academy of Sciences museum in Golden Gate Park. It was awe-inspiring, breathtaking, and intellectually stimulating... and crowded! It's only been open for a few months, so there are a LOT of people visiting right now. But oh. my. goodness. it is AMAZING.
The show at Morrison Planetarium was outta this world! Pun intended. So so cool. You all MUST go.
[CLICK HERE] to see our pictures.

New Year's Eve at the Tsao-Alves's

On December 31, we were invited to a New Year's Eve dinner at Tammy & Marco's. Now, that Marco has got the SKILLZ in the kitchen, I'll tell you what! Made a Portuguese meal of fat prawns with garlic, chili, & olive oil over crusty bread and "Bacalhau à Gomes de Sà" (salt cod with potatoes, onions, hard-cooked eggs, parsley, and olives).

Plus lots of wine and cheese... and liquor... and belgian ale... which leads to all sorts of wackiness...

Pictures of the bacchanal are posted [CLICK HERE]

Happy Boozemas!

Sister Isa, her Jayson, and their Marley-dogg came up for the holidays and celebrated xmas holiday traditions with the family in Elk Grove. Traditions that include piling presents under Tita Yeyet's xmas tree, sleepovers at cousin Erica's-and-her-Chris, and imbibing ungodly amounts of wine, beer, cabo wabo tequila, and wailing drunken karaoke at the top of our lungs. My aunt & uncle are saints for putting up with us.
After a post-xmas brunch at Sacramento's Tower Cafe with old high school girlfriends, we all went back to party it up in SF. While Corser was at home... um... "entertaining" Marley, we took Isa & Jay to Shabu House, then out for a bottomless champagne mimosas & bloody marys at Paul K brunch, then some wobbly-legged ice skating at the Embarcadero (click link for the video). We later met up with Joey and his Liz at Poleng Lounge and tried to chase away the daytime-drinking-hangovers with more booze & dancing.
Good times (with pictures to prove it here)

The House of Mouse

Shoulda gotten these from Paxton Gate for our caketoppers:

Would've totally complimented the white chocolate skulls on our cake.

I frickin LOVE this store.

Corser's Annual Ornament Party 2008

We had some friends over for the annual ornament-making party, which is part elementary-school-craft-activity, part drunken-mess. Which usually makes for some interesting ornaments, as you'll see below.
The loose "theme" for the night's buffet spread was "comfort food" (as in, food that's really really bad for you). We had hamburger helper cheeseburger macaroni, vegetable thins with a chedddar-port wine cheeseball, chickin-in-a-biskit crackers with spray cheese, mini pigs-in-a-blanket, spaghetti with hot dogs, thomas english muffin pizzas, and white castle burgers (which went SO well with the bartles & jaymes wine coolers). We also had pumpkin pie and DIY cupcake-decorating afterwards.
But the real attraction was the tree, which now is a true reflection of what kinds of people we consider to be our "friends". Behold:

WTF was that?!?




And last but not least, the piece de resistance: our Treetop Angel, courtesy of Rachel:

I like that she's pregnant... wearing a bikini... and has a pouting devil at or around the general crotchular area.
Thanks a lot, guys. Y'all are the greatest.