Travel Party

This Summer YumSugar and I went on a trip around the world, and we invited you along for the ride! We devoted entire days to discussing the delicious cuisines from 10 different countries around the globe. I've looked back at all of our coverage and picked out my favorite memories from our culinary journeys. Here they are for you to revisit! Starting in top left corner and moving clockwise:

• Yum celebrated all things Brazilian by making Pão de Queijo, a Brazilian cheese bread.
• I planned a travel party.
• In Morocco, we chowed down on kefta — spiced meatballs — with eggs.
• We learned how to say cheers in 12 different languages.
• When we went to Japan, we channeled our inner sushi chef by rolling sushi.

How about you? Where did you enjoy traveling to this year?

In my opinion, the best part of a travel party is transforming each room to resemble a different country. With a little imagination, it's easy to come up with festive and fun decor.

• Mexico: Dress the table with Mexican blankets and hang a Mexican banner in a crisscross pattern along the ceiling. Plate chips and dips in plastic sombrero shaped serving platters. Use bright candles, flowers, and clear glasses for the tequila sunrises. Create a playlist with your favorite Latin stars: Luis Miguel, Mana, and my personal favorite Paulina Rubio.
• Japan: Set the scene with red, white, and black decorations. Instead of floral arrangements, place bamboo in small vases filled with black stones. Rest a cherry blossom Japanese shade along one of your walls. Floating candles add a zen and relaxing touch. Search iTunes for some fun Japanese tunes. I recommend Pizzicato 5 and Cornelius.



• Russia: Ornate metallic gold decorations with red accents are perfect to create a lux Russian room. Cover furniture with fur throws and arrange flowers in open Russian dolls. For music play Tatu and your other favorite Russian groups.
• England: Plaster the ways with images of the Royal family, soccer teams like Manchester United, and a Union Jack banner. Instead of a tablecloth, cover the table with old covers of Hello magazine. If using red, white, and blue decor, be sure to make it British rather than American. Robbie Williams, Anastacia, Joss Stone, The Spice Girls, New Order, Oasis, Elton John and the Beatles should be playing softly in the background.
• Cuba: Make posters that say, Abajo Fidel (Down With Fidel) in large block letters and pin to the walls. Wrap Cuba Libre glasses in Cuban flag beads. Allow more musically inclined friends to play the Cuban bongos or turn on a regatton radio station.

Do you have a great decorating or music idea for my travel-themed party? Tell us in the comments below!

Creating a travel party menu was surprisingly super easy! I used popular foods from each country to define what I would make and the same strategy can be applied to the drinks. Each room will have still and sparkling water, plus a drink that relates to the country. Select drinks that highlight a different nation's alcohol and some that appeal to girly gals (sweeter, fruitier) and some that appeal to the tough guys (harder, non-sweet). In the Mexico room offer tequila sunrises. In the Japan room make guests take sake bombs (a shot of sake dropped into a cold glass of Japanese beer and pounded quickly). In the Russian room shake up vodka martinis and in the Cuba room Cuba Libres are an excellent option. Finally gin and tonics made with British gin (Beefeater or Martin Miller's) round out the menu. For the recipes to these classic cocktails from all over the world, read more

I've already got a portion of the menu planned for this week's travel party - where the theme takes itself from five countries. The Mexican, Japanese, and Russian rooms will have delicious savory nibbles, dips, and tasty appetizers for guest to enjoy while they mingle. For an element of surprise, create an English cheese tasting platter for the British room. Generally cheese platters consist of Italian, French, or Swiss cheeses, so a platter with nuts, jams, honey, fig crackers, English cheddar, and Stilton will wow guests with your originality. Meaty Cuban sandwiches with pickles and mustard finish up the menu. Head over to Cost Plus World Market to supplement the rooms with sweet treats and exotic bites from the respective countries. For the recipes that will take you around the globe, read more

This week, I've invited guests to join me in traveling to five countries. While we won't be actually jetting on a plane and heading to each destination, five rooms in my house will be transformed into a specific theme based around each country. The rooms will have unique decor, music, food, and drinks. In the Mexican themed room I'll fill huge bowls with multi colored tortilla chips and homemade salsa. A large mortar and pestle will hold just mashed guacamole. I'll take help from the grocery store or local Japanese restaurant for the Japanese themed room, and offer platters of various types of sushi: California rolls, spicy tuna rolls, assorted sashimi, etc. Order whatever you and your friends like. Offer guests a classic bite of Russia with cornmeal blinis and caviar in the Russian themed room. To take a culinary journey around the world in your very own home, read more

As it's our second edition of travel week here on YumSugar, I thought it would be perfectly fitting to plan and host a globe trotting fiesta. That's right you guessed it: a travel party! What on earth is a travel party? It's a blowout bash where each room takes the theme of a different country. I've picked five countries (Mexico, Japan, Russia, England, and Cuba) for five rooms in my house and each one will have its own appetizers, drinks, and decor. Instead of sending out a standard party invite, I'm sending faux passports to all of my guests. They have to bring the passport to the party and will receive a stamp on the pages after consuming the specified beverage for said country. More on that later, it's invitation making time! To see how I made this adorable passport booklet invitation just read more