A Maui Dinner Party

Last night we had 12 people and 2 babies over for a dinner party in our 891 square foot apartment. It was awesome! if not a little bit crowded. Our theme was "Casual Hawaiian" since Sean and I had just gotten back from Maui a couple weeks ago. I was really excited about the Lava Flows and having all my friends over, not necessarily in that order.

So! Our menu, which was partly pot luck (we'd sent an evite out saying what we'd planned and if folks wanted to add to the mix, it was welcomed but certainly not required), was the following:

1. Citrus Broiled Salmon
2. Coconut rice
3. Shrimp salad
4. Sauteed Green beans
5. Rosemary bread
6. Pineapple Upside Down Cake
7. Home Made cheese
7. Drinks: Lava Flows, Pina Coladas, Longboard Kona beer, water, coke, Red Beret wine


Here's the recipe I used for the Salmon:
4 large oranges
8 (4 ounce) fillets salmon
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1/2 cup chopped green onions

1. Preheat the oven's broiler.
2. Slice, peel, and pith oranges; slice crosswise into 1/4 inch rounds. Season fillets with salt. Place salmon fillets on broiling pan.
3. Place the pan of fillets 4 to 6 inches from heat. Cook for 15 minutes under the preheated broiler, or 10 minutes per inch of thickness. Remove from broiler just before they are cooked through. Sprinkle with vinegar. Arrange orange rounds on top. Sprinkle with green onions and cracked black pepper. Broil 1 minute longer.

I'd made the recipe before, for Christmas (hence the old photo ... we didn't use the Christmas china last night). It turns out well and is pretty easy for large groups, since it only take a few minutes to cook.

Our recipes for the drinks came from About and All Recipes: Lava Flow and Pina Colada.
I was really particular about us making drinks without any corn syrup or high fructose corn syrup, so we mixed our own bases for both drinks. Using the pre-made mixes is probably faster and easier, but I think making your own tastes better and is certainly healthier.