Holidays and Grill in Suriname 🍖 #DashOutSunday

Tis the season to be stuck in your home and limited by rules. Not a very fun predicament for December. Not at all. But that didn't stop us from having some fun with close family. @tanjakolader and I wanted to host a traditional family gathering in our home ever since we moved. So we were already planning to do so on the 1st of January, keeping in mind that my aunt usually always does one around Christmas. However that same aunt called me and asked me if we wanted to host around that period instead of her and we agreed.

So this gathering was on the 26th of December meaning it was on Saturday, but we ate the same leftover food on Sunday, so it still counts as one big #DashOutSunday. 😅 As a matter of fact, we're going to eat the same thing again today. As the gathering was at my house, I decided to go back to my roots of learning how to cook and do a Barbeque grill. That's where I really taught myself how to play with flavors and different techniques, which in turn gave me a passion for cooking. The plans were in full motion. My parents, Tanja's parents and the 2 aunts would bring the side dishes.

And then the government had an announcement, the rules were going to be stricter during the holidays. One that might ruin our plans is that no more than 5 people were allowed inside a room at once. That might pose a problem for our group of 11. But we decided to go through with it anyway, because we were planning on sitting outside anyway, just to be a bit more safe. Not that those government goons actually check whether rules are being upheld.

DASH OUT

As soon as my dad arrived with the grill, me and Tanja's brother started firing up the charcoal and we threw the chicken on there first. This was marinated by me and is my own special recipe, which could a whole post in itself. The only thing I will say about it is: lot's of onion. Like an absurd amount of onion in your marinating sauce. You will thank me later. I bought only chicken leg filet this time for that extra juiciness.

We also grilled the pork contributed by Tanja's parents and the bratwursts brought by mine.

After all the grilling was done, the buffet line was set up on multiple tables, because of course we had way too much food. Not that I'm complaining.

The platforms were full of lasagna, potato beet salad, deviled eggs, toasted bread, vegetable salad, grilled chicken, pork and sausages. You name it, we had it.

After everyone had filled their plates it was my turn. The first picture in this post is my sister her plate and is what a balanced ensemble would look like. But I had raw salad greens, so mine looked like this: 🤣

And of course I gotta have that dark rum and coke along with my carnivorous meal. I put in two slices of lime for that extra good fresh Caribbean taste.

You would think with all that food, that would be it. But whoever thought we wouldn't have any dessert, is absolutely wrong. My sister made a chocolate cake especially for the occasion and my aunts brought along 2 containers of ice-cream. So we got our dessert on.

And after all the good food, heated conversations about the country and politics and refreshing drinks on the side, everyone had to leave before the curfew of 7 PM. We tidied up everything, and filled up the guests on leftovers for the next day and decided to call it a day.

It might not have been as big of a gathering as we would want it to be, but it was nice to have this opportunity with those that matter the most. Here's to a better virus-free new year.

This was part of the Dash Out Sunday culture in the ReggaeJAHM Community. Special shoutout to @dmilliz for starting the trend in the community.

Check out the details here and be sure to shared your culinary Sunday with us.

Thank you for stopping by. 🙃

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