A Mega-Spectacular 'Tacular Round-up! Pubtacular, Loaftacular, Springtacular & Cocktacular 4 (phew!)

OK, OK, so I’m only slightly behind in my ‘Tacular round-ups of the past (ahem) two years. Remember Pubtacular? What about Loaftacular? Perhaps you recall Springtacular? Who can forget about Cocktacular 4?! My memory may be a bit fuzzy about some of the particulars, but here goes (feel free to add comments if you can help fill
in/correct the details).....

As always, click on the “’Tacular Memories” link at the top right of the homepage for photos.

Pubtacular! ‘Tacular #18, hosted by Jeremy and Mei, November 2012

In celebration of pub (and bar) foods from around the world, and hey, Jeremy’s birthday too. Woot! Here’s what we ate:

·         Cheesy nachos (chef: Kate)
·         Chicken pasties (chef: Ayako, moral supporter: James)
·         Jalapeno poppers & popcorn shrimp (chef: Jeremy, sous-chef: Mei)
·         Chicken curry on rice (chef: me)
·         Guinness chocolate cake (chef: Sara)

We did not play darts, pool or beer pong, unfortunately. We did, however, have a guest appearance from the King of Beer himself (AKA Mark Hall)!

Loaftacular! ‘Tacular #19, hosted by Kate and Ian, February 2013

Small crowd, big loaves! Loafing is good people, we need to loaf more. Here was the menu:

·         Pate -- people, Mei made pressed meat products all by herself! Jeremy was away, so Mei made pate! (speaking of Mei, she tried to get all x-rated in one of the pics; don’t worry, the censors have transformed it into a family-friendly shot)
·         Pull-apart party loaf -- that’s right, a cheesy par-tay in a big bun (chefs: Karina & Christian)
·         Lentil loaf – legumes in a loaf form can be tasty, trust! (chefs: Ian & Kate)
·         Meatloaf Wellington – hello mushrooms and pastry! (chefs: Ian & Kate)
·         Lemon loaves – I’m pretty sure they were lemon and that Jenn made them (right?)
·         Cranberry loaf – and, I’m pretty sure those were cranberries and that Ayako was the chef (right?)
·         Key lime coconut semifreddo – kinda like classier DQ ice cream cake (chef: me)

All loaves, no fishes!

Springtacular! ‘Tacular #20, hosted by the Fergormans, June 2013

Our celebration of delicious spring ingredients like asparagus, lamb, fava beans, peas, veal, rhubarb and....oh yeah, there was also a diorama made of Peeps! We are weird and awesome. Others may disagree. Our menu:

·         Proscuitto-wrapped asparagus (chef: Ayako, moral supporter: James)
·         Brie, strawberry & basil crostini (chefs: the McMompsons)
·         Quinoa salad with fava beans, goat cheese, watercress & mint (chef: Jenn, moral supporter: Daniel)
·         Pasta primavera with pine nuts & peas (chef: Marco...and I’m pretty sure Laura helped with the prep even though she couldn’t make it!)
·         Veal stew with peas, asparagus and mushrooms (chefs: Sara and Dan)
·         Lamb sliders with beet mayo & champagne mint juleps (chefs: Kate & Ian)
·         Strawberry rhubarb pie (chef: me)
·         Peeps diorama – a replica of Springtacular set in the Fergormans kitchen, with Peeps figures of each of us and mini replicas of our dishes...crazy! (creators: Jeremy & Mei)

We ate a lot. We posed with our Peeps. We took a bunch of pictures (one which involved Karina standing in the bushes...I swear, one of these days a ‘Tacular is gonna get the cops called on us). Welcome spring, indeed!

Cocktacular 4! ‘Tacular #21, hosted by the McMompsons, Sept 2013

Since I’m not a fan of those Fast and Furious films, I was told there was some sort of Mexican theme to the fourth flick which some of us took inspiration from, and some didn’t. In any case, it was another booze-filled Cocktacular, where we ate tasty morsels of food and bashed up a piñata. Ole! What we enjoyed:

·         Mango (methinks?) daiquiris with chips & guacamole (Jenn)
·         Sake mojitos and cinnamon braised beef (Ayako & James)
·         Mexican Gin Fizzes with Mexican braised shortribs (McMompsons)
·         Amalfis with fish tacos (Marco & Laura)
·         Brisk Cucumbers with cucumber salad (Kate & Ian)
·         Applejack Rabbits with apple, caramelized onion, bacon and cheese bites (me)
·         Mexican Mules with some sort of yummy dessert taquitos...is that what they were called? (Mei & Jeremy)

Apparently Fast & Furious 5 has a Brazilian theme. So I predict that we’ll all be sipping caipirinhas while wearing Havaianas (or maybe a beach thong, if you’re so inclined) this summer! Lindo maravilhoso!

(Edit: I just realized I never posted round-ups for Stewtacular, Babytacular or Roottacular. Gah, and just when I thought I was all caught up...!)