Post-Wedding Party

A few months ago, our good friends Suz and Nate said their "I do's" in a beautiful ceremony in San Antonio. Since Micah was the "best man"he had to step up to the plate and make a couple of beers for the wedding (to supplement their wine/liquor/commercial beer bar).

{The silly posters that I made for the wedding}

For the groom, since he really enjoys Stone Brewing Co.'s Arrogant Bastard beer, Micah made a clone of the beer and we dubbed it "Lucky Bastard" since Nate was lucky to find such an amazing girl in Suz. *winkwink* This beer was dry-hopped as well - so it was not lacking in the hop department.

For the bride - we wanted a more universal beer that most of the wedding guests would be able to drink - so we went with a pilsner and called it "Blonde N' Chain." Get it?! I know, we are some clever folks, I tell ya! This 5 gallon keg was tapped at the end of the night.

At the end of the night, there were a few gallons of the Lucky Bastard left as well as our personal kegs of the same beers at our house. The couple also had leftover commercial beer bottles... what to do with all those drinky drinks?! Party, of course!

I told Suz that I would cater a post-wedding party to help get rid of all the alcoholic beverages, this is the menu I came up with:

Spring rolls, egg rolls, potstickers, shrimp on sugar cane sticks (chao tom), fried rice, and salad with ginger dressing. Recipes for the Spring rolls, egg rolls, and potstickers are below. Fried rice will have to wait.

1. Spring Rolls: My sister and I rolled shrimp and pork ones the morning of the party since the rolls can stay at room temperature for 12 hours. The rice wrappers were filled with rice vermicelli, cilantro, and green leaf lettuce. Really easy and fresh!

To make the hoisin peanut sauce: Saute a couple cloves of garlic in a small amount of vegetable oil in a small saucepan, add the jar of hoisin, dilute with about 1/2 C. of water. You can add a couple of tablespoons of peanut butter if you so choose. Let it come to a simmer until everything is blended. You can add crushed peanut and chili sauce to kick it up a notch.

2. Egg Rolls: These are not your Chinese restaurant egg rolls (not that those aren't amazing), but these are my Mom's egg rolls!
Ingredients:
-1 lb. ground pork or turkey
-1/2 lb. ground shrimp
-1/4 C. woodear mushrooms (soaked in hot water, then diced)
-1 bundle bean thread noodles (soaked in hot water, then cut into short strips)
-2 carrots shredded
-1/2 onion diced or grated
-2 Tbsp oyster sauce
-2 Tbsp fish sauce
-1 Tbsp ground pepper
-sprinkle of sugar and salt

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and allow to sit for 1 hour before making the egg rolls. I actually microwave an itty bitty piece before wrapping to make sure the filling is seasoned they way I like.

When filling the egg rolls, put about a heaping dinner spoon on the lower third of the wrapper. Follow the instructions on the wrapper packaging. I use some egg wash to seal the roll. Fry @ 375 for 6 minutes, or until golden brown.

3. Potstickers: The link I provided is pretty similar to how I make mine. The ones I made for the dinner only had napa cabbage as the veggie though. I actually made the potstickers ahead of time and froze them. A few hours before the party, I partially thawed the dumplings, cooked them completely and threw them into my electric skillet to keep warm at the party. It actually worked out better than I thought it would.

I served these with a simple tangy soy dipping sauce: 1/4 C. soy sauce, 1 Tbsp. rice vinegar, 1 Tbsp. grated ginger, and 1 clove garlic grated.

Before we dug into the food, Suz and I had to take a pic of ourselves in our cute aprons!

{Adrienne got me the cutest apron for my bday a few years ago! I *heart* it.}