Spanish Theme Party – Part 1
Written by Mike Cheliak on July 15, 2009 – 9:15 am -Everyone loves a theme party! Family, friends, adults, kids and puppies too! It isn’t really all that difficult to come up with any number of endless themes. Holiday themes, character themes or any number of other specialty party ideas can be hatched from anything!
My favourite themes are always the ethnic based ideas. Pick a culture from around the world and research a little bit. You will be amazed and delighted with how much you can learn about any culture by researching their food!
A lot of people are intimidated by the idea of cooking. Mostly it is lack of exposure to the kitchen. If you can follow instructions, you can do it! There are millions of resources on the Internet that explain in detail how to prepare certain recipes. Even if you just follow the basic recipe and don’t get creative; you will come out looking like a Genius!
Food is the one common denominator that everyone has. In North America, we take much for granted with our food consumption and often it becomes more of a “feeding frenzy” or a “Grab and Go” meal than anything.
The love of food and the importance of how food can bring us together as families and friends are far more prevalent in other cultures around the world. The meal is a time to gather, give thanks for what we have and to spend time in each other’s company.
While it isn’t always possible to dedicate a day to making a special night; you should at least attempt to make a special meal once or twice a week. Every week we have a nice meal with my Dad, brother and his girlfriend where we decide on a “theme” or style for the meal and then get it done.
When we entertain friends, it is much in the same. We decide whose house, what we would like and then split up the duties. We love trying new food tastes from other cultures and build around that central idea. Greek, Moroccan, Italian, Middle Eastern, Thai, Chinese, Japanese, Canadian or American regional styles and the list can goes on!
THE SPANISH THEME PARTY
That entire lovely prologue now brings me to the heart of this series of posts. Our latest summer bash is going to be a Spanish Theme. We have a 
nice back (side) yard with a pool and lots of patio and deck space so that is a plus. We are having around 20 people (adults and kids) and the food and celebration will last pretty much from 11AM until 11PM or so.
The idea of a Spanish theme is neat because there are so many tapas courses that we can serve throughout the day. Cold and hot tapas are a great way to enjoy a long day with friends while not overeating.
Beverages will range from beer and wine to a fantastic assortment of Sangria both Red and White, with and without alcohol. I have combined recipes and products and come up with some really fantastic tastes that are equally as good virgin as they are spiked! My kids LOVE the white virgin Sangria.
We will be highlighting the day with an amazing Paella dish. While true Paella will be cooked all in one HUGE Paella pan, most of us don’t have that in our kitchen. I do have a very large (I mean enormous) sauté pan that I use and the final dish is served on a giant rental platter from a local supply company.
Top off the evening with Spanish Coffee, assorted fruits, and an Orange Flan. You can’t get much better than having an entire day devoted to gathering with friends and family over some great fun, hot sun and wonderful tastes for any palate.
My next few posts will have a bunch of recipes and info that I have collected, tried and tweaked. If nothing else, it will give you some ideas as to how to plan your next memorable occasion!
In happiness and health as always!
Mike C.
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