I got such a hugely positive response when I made dumplings that I thought it would be fun to share the wealth and have a fancy, springtime dinner party. I have been completely swamped with work from my 5.72 different jobs, but with my dearest friend, Neelima, coming to town, I figure it was as good a time as any to get everyone together for a nice evening of food and drink. I don’t entertain often, so I really wanted to put some effort into this dinner. It was a ton of work, but I enjoyed planning, cooking and organizing sweet little Asian snacks in symmetrical patterns on a platter. Though my neck and shoulders are still tense from wrapping 300+ dumplings. Why do I do this to myself…

I’m sorry I wasn’t able to have all of my NY friends over at once due to space constraints. I’ll have an encore party one of these days, I promise :)

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The white plates are my everyday dishes, the blue-rimmed ones were hand-me-downs from my former roommate, Wendy, and the soy sauce trays were only $.95 from Chinatown!

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I contemplated whether or not a seating chart would be a good idea, and Peter suggested having everyone sit with strangers. I was hesitant at first, but the mix of old and new friends ended up producing some really hilarious conversations.

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I made 4 kinds of dumplings:
Scallop & chives
Pork, shrimp, & chinese celery
Tofu, mushroom, & shrimp
Spinach, tofu, & mushroom

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For dessert we had sticky rice balls covered in sweet sesame powder, mango mochi, and the most amazing fresh mango I’ve ever eaten.

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Thanks to all my lovely ladies for facilitating a rapid and efficient clean up effort. Thanks to Terry for the music, and thanks to everyone for coming! It was an exceptionally lovely evening and I can’t wait to do it again.