'Tacular Nation! Our 31st spectacular 'Tacular was....'Tacular 'Tacular! A greatest hits of our first thirty 'Taculars as voted by you. Apparently we love meat, since there wasn't a single veggie or dessert dish chosen. OK, what'd we eat?
- Ayako and James started us off with a yummy bowl of scallop ceviche (Citrustacular)
- Mei and Jeremy laid out the fixings for their tasty Kung Pao chicken lettuce wraps (Cocktacular 3)
- Kate toted two (two!) hearty loaves of meatloaf Wellington, decorated with lovely pastry designs (Loaftacular)
- Sara and Dan sliced up deliciously tender brisket...who would've guessed it was marinated in a sauce that included both Coke and onion soup mix?! (Jewtacular)
- Karina and Christian braised up Mexican short-ribs (which, Christian admitted, had absolutely nothing to do with Mexican cuisine; it was just their way of sneaking the dish into Mexican-themed Cocktacular 4!)
- Short-ribs! There can never be enough short-ribs! I stacked up towers of polenta with a short rib ragu (Stacktacular); I also tossed up an arugula, pear, goat cheese, and toasted almond salad so we had at least one veg dish!
- And, finally, ladies and gents, 'Tacular is no longer SPAM-free! Even though Loco Moco did not get chosen as the Fergorman's #1 dish (which was Royales with cheese from Cinematacular), they were kind enough to grill up some 'delicious' slices of SPAM to serve alongside Daniel's wee burgers
- Dessert! Thanks to Ayako and Mei for bringing along some sweets so 'Tacular wouldn't be completely dessert-free (Ayako's infamous chocolate chip coffee shortbread; egg tarts and coconut cream buns courtesy of Mei)
We also chatted about some of our favourite 'Tacular memories. Who can forget:
- That time when Sara put together a BBQ while the boys stood around and tried to help?
- The legendary 'Daniel and Kate's screen door' incident?
- Sara's amazing "I am single" shirt from Trashtacular (worn whilst very, very preggo)
- And, of course, Linder's ice cream 'soup' (possibly the worst 'Tacular dish ever, except for maybe the Yugo surprise...sorry, Karina...)
I have a feeling that the tentacle porn discussion (complete, unfortunately, with visuals) which led to the "let's do Porntacular!" conversation might make the 'most memorable' list for our next 'Tacular 'Tacular.
And, people, we had commemorative tchotchkes! Big thanks to Jeremy for creating an awesome design which we printed up on tea towels, so that every time you dry your dishes you can reminisce about your favourite 'Taculars...OK, maybe not.
So, even though the Jays lost game 2 of the ALCS (*sniff*), it was a lovely evening filled with food, booze, and laughs. Onto the next thirty 'Taculars!
Marco, Laura, and Ian...we missed you!
Our next 'Tacular will be Choppedtacular. Oh man, that one's going to be interesting. Based on ingredients picked out of a hat, each team is responsible for a specific course which must include four assigned ingredients. The rundown:
- Appetizers: Ground beef, shitake mushrooms, cheese, ramen (Sara/Dan, Jenn/Daniel)
- Mains: Quince, goat cheese, dried apricots, artichokes (Karina/Christian, Jeremy/Mei, Marco/Laura, Sandra)
- Dessert: Candied ginger, coconut milk, prosciutto, acorn squash (Ayako/James, Kate/Ian)
Um, good luck everyone? You've got three months to come up with your crazy-ass creation...see you in January!
