Sushi Night - Hungry for a good time?

Went super overboard last week with another sushi night.  It was fun and delicious.  I seriously VERY highly recommend sushi parties to everyone.  It seems like a lot of work, but really it is quite simple and the clean up is minimal.  Do it!  Now!

Homemade gyoza, yakitori, pan-fried chicken, sushi fixins, and shrimp tempura.  DROOL!  We also had some to-die-for egg drop soup.  My kids were in freaking HEAVEN!

Avocado, cream cheese, cucumber, crab, and shrimp.  Mmm...

Assemble and add Sriracha (rooster sauce) as desired...  (Don't actually do it like this - this puppy is WAY overloaded!  But it's pretty funny.  We dubbed this "the MAN roll")

Roll it, slice it (use a super sharp knife moistened with water), and ENJOY!  :)

One of my good friends told me she wanted to make sushi, I told her to have a party!  She's a super-mom type, so I suggested a sushi play-date.  If I had enough "play date mom" type friends, I'd do this too.  I'm actually pretty jealous that she is going to have the opportunity!

Before the party, pre-assemble sushi for the kids - PB&J "sushi" rolled sandwiches (use slices of bread rolled thin with a rolling pin), Hot Dog Sushi (from my friend Kristin @ Holy Cannoli!), veggie rolls - they make these at our commissary - super delicious, and maybe even some Rice Krispy sushi rolls for dessert.

Gather all your sushi ingredients (Sushi rice, nori, sesame seeds, cut veggie sticks, cream cheese [I stick an 8-oz package in the freezer for a couple of hours and then cut it into sticks - it's a lot easier to work with that way], crab, shrimp, soy sauce, wasabi, Sriracha, basically whatever your heart desires!) and your sushi tools (cutting boards, bamboo rolling mats, bamboo paddles, containers of water to "de-stick" everything, sharp knife [we found that the sashimi knife was the BEST], plastic wrap, paper towels, plates, chop sticks, etc.)  Have edamame available for snacking, and maybe some tempura.  You could also try making some yakisoba in case you're friends with weirdos that don't like sushi.  ;)  I fried up some won-ton wrappers and warmed a little bit of sweet and sour sauce as a snack, too.  I know it's more Chinese than Japanese but it's a favorite snack of mine so work with me!

Have the moms assemble their own sushi while the kids eat theirs and play.  I guarantee this will be a good time, sushi making is super fun and easier than you think - and it's cool when you make your own edible art piece.  Delicious!

Under the Sea!

A turned four last weekend.  I asked her a couple of months ago what kind of birthday party she wanted to have and she excitedly said, "ARIEL!"  So, since we had skipped having parties for her 2nd and 3rd birthdays, I decided to throw her a super cool mermaid bash.  I spent weeks planning and before I knew it, it was party time.  She really liked the whole shindig and had a great time.  We set up a Little Mermaid slip-n-slide on a hill and a wading pool, which all the kids were thrilled about.  I spent all last week prepping her decorations, planning her cake.  It was a lot of fun.

Some of the 24 fish we made and hung up in our apartment building's rec room - white cardboard we painted, glittered, cut out and added eyes to.  They were a hit!

"Flounder" cookies I made using this sugar cookie recipe and the Wilton fish-shaped cookie cutter..  Dipped them in yellow tinted basic sugar cookie "paint" (milk, powdered sugar and food coloring), then painted on stripes with blue cookie icing and eyes with black gel.

A's princess pink strawberry seashell cake with the Disney Ariel princess doll on top.  I wrapped her legs in plastic wrap and then used green "sparkly" fruit-by-the-foot to make her tail.  Her "bra" is made out of a red one.

Her party was a hit.  Everybody had a really good time and I can't complain much.  I just can't believe my little booger is FOUR already!  What happened?