Entertaining...The Dinner Party Part II: H'ors D'ouevres

And I'm back with Part II of my little series. See here for Part I.

As I mentioned earlier, I think it is crucial to have something to nibble on before dinner. Admittedly, there is overkill on my part...I suppose if you think about it, h'ors d'ouevres aren't really necessary, and I usually make too much. But this is my favorite part of the meal. I love snacky and small-type food. In fact, way way back when, my roommate and I would often have "appetizer dinners" because we both loved those snacky things so much. But now I'm a grown up and have to eat entrees too. Sigh.....

Anyways, I wanted to keep these relatively simple since the rest of the meal was a little more involved.

The Salumi platter was all purchased from a local Italian deli.  And the other two could be mostly prepped ahead of time, so there was very little last-minute cooking involved.

Salumi Platter: Grissini, Hot Sopressata, Aged Salami, Prosciutto, Oil-Cured Olives, Spicy Green Olives, Kalmatta Olives, Castelvetrano Olives

Next up was marinated mozzarella, another quick and easy starter:

Marinated Mozzarella
Makes 8 servings
1 8 oz container fresh mozzarella pearls (or cut larger pieces into bite sizes)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup fresh herbs (I used parsley, basil, oregano, and chives....anything will work)
1 TB lemon juice
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

1. Finely chop the herbs and combine with the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Drain the mozzarella and add to the herb mix. Toss to coat. You can make this up to 3 days ahead of time, store in the refrigerator. Serve at room temp.

And finally, the crostini:

Bleu Cheese Crostini with Thyme Roasted Grapes
Makes 8-12 servings

1 loaf French bread (I purchased mine)
1/4 cup olive oil
6 oz bleu cheese
4 oz cream cheese
1 TB olive oil
1 tsp white wine vinegar
~1 1/2 - 2lbs seedless red grapes
2 TB olive oil
1 large bunch thyme
1 TB honey

1. Preheat oven to 350. Discard ends of bread loaf and thinly slice on a slight diagonal. Brush each side lightly with olive oil and place in even layer on baking sheets. Bake until lightly golden, 10-15 minutes. These can be made up to 2 days ahead of time, store at room temp in an airtight container until ready to assemble.

2. Let bleu cheese and cream cheese come to room temperature. Combine cheese, 1 TB olive oil, and white wine vinegar in food processor. Process until smooth. Can be made up to 3 days ahead of time. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator until ready to assemble. (I used a ziploc bag and then just snipped a corner off to squeeze it out onto the toasts when I was assembling the crostini.)

3. Preheat oven to 400. Wash and pat grapes dry. Remove from stems and toss with 2 TB olive oil. Spread sprigs of thyme out over a large baking sheet. Spread grapes over thyme and drizzle with honey. Bake until grapes are just beginning to burst, about 10-15 minutes.

4. To assemble: bring cheese spread to room temp. While grapes are roasting, spread cheese mixture over prepared crostini. Remove grapes from oven and top each crostini with a few grapes. Serve at room temperature.

Memorial Day, Especially for Papaw

My grandfather passed away last week. I know he was old and everyone has to go, but it feels too soon.

He was in the Navy. He was an anesthesiologist for 35 years. He was the county coroner for 32 years. He was a friend to anyone he met. He was a devoted and loving father to my mom and uncle. He was a perfect match, a husband, and a constant friend to my grandma, Munki, for over 60 years.

He was loved by his community. People waited in line at his visitation for almost 2 hours to pay their respects. 2 hours. Can you imagine such a thing?!?

He was a great great man.

He was so many things to so many people, but to me he was and always will be my Papaw.

Entertaining...The Dinner Party Part I: Planning

I love having people over for dinner. I love the thought and planning that goes into choosing a menu (because I am the type of nerd person that loves planning and spreadsheets).  I love having a chance to prepare a dish I wouldn't normally make.  I love seeing how the food actually turns out (I like to try new things....I figure if it sucks, we can always order pizza). And most importantly, I love being able to get together with friends I don't see nearly as much as I would like.

And thus, the first installment in this little series I have planned called "The Dinner Party." I will share my menu, my plan of attack for getting everything made to avoid last minute hassle, and the recipes.

For me, my first step is always deciding on a loose theme for the menu. Having a theme makes it easier to decide on the food and drinks, and makes the meal more cohesive. It can be anything from an ultra casual BBQ or soup lunch to an all out fancy 6-course meal.

In this case, I wanted to recreate the pasta dish and dessert I had in San Franciso, so my "theme" was sort of rustic Italian.

Once I pick my theme, I go through recipes, restaurant menus, and my notes and I plan the menu. Then I make my grocery list, and my plan of attack. I like to choose things that can be prepared ahead of time, so I have more time to visit and enjoy myself.

The menu I decided on for this get together was:

H'ors D'oeuvres:

• Salumi Platter (spicy sopressata, dry aged salami, and prosciutto with assorted olives and grissini) purchased
• Marinated Mozzarella (bocconcini)
• Crostini with Whipped Bleu Cheese and Thyme Roasted Grapes

Meal:

• Pappardelle Pasta with Short Rib Ragu and Horseradish Cream
• Maple Glazed Brussels Sprouts with Bacon

Dessert:

• Butterscotch Budino with Caramel and Sea Salt

Drinks:

• Wine (duh)

For entertaining, I always choose a couple H'ors D'oeuvres, depending on the number of people. I think it is important to have something to snack on and enjoy while hanging out and visiting. Plus it gives people something to do if you are stuck in the kitchen doing last-minute preparations.

Depending on what we are having, I might also make an appetizer or a salad, but in this case the food was heavier and I figured we had enough to eat already, so I skipped it.

Our dinner was on a Saturday night. I was able to prep almost everything ahead of time so I only ended up spending 5 minutes actually cooking once my friends arrived.

The Plan:
Wednesday: grocery shopping

Thursday: buy salumi stuff, wine, and mozzarella at Italian specialty store, make the caramel sauce for the budino

Friday: make marinated mozzarella, bleu cheese spread, crostini, short rib ragu, and budino

Saturday morning: chill wine, get serving dishes and utensils, glasses, etc. set out. Make pasta dough. Cook bacon for sprouts. Clean up a little. Shower.

Saturday afternoon: make whipped cream topping for budino, make horseradish cream, cut pasta

Saturday Evening (before guests arrive): assemble and set out Salumi platter and mozzarella, make roasted grapes, assemble crostini, cook sprouts, set out pots of water to cook pasta, get ragu out, set out budino and top with caramel, set table, pour myself a glass of wine, and enjoy

See, now everything is ready to go. I can chill, visit, eat some snacks, enjoy a little vino. All I need to do for dinner is boil the pasta, heat the ragu, the horseradish cream, and the sprouts and serve. When we are ready for dessert, I just need to top them with whipped cream and a little sprinkle of salt, and finish stuffing my face.

And then after all the fun, B takes over for dish duty. The most important part. ;)

Up next....Part II: H'ors D'oeuvres

Crock Pot BBQ Pork Stuffed Sweet Potatoes with Slaw

Once upon a time, long long ago, B and I were on a date. I ordered steak. I think he might have been a little envious of my meal, a little food-possessive, or a little steak-curious. I don't know. But whatever the reason, something possessed him to think it was okay to slowly sneak his fork across the table and pierce one of my freshly cut bites of medium-rare perfection. And what was my reaction? I stabbed his hand. Hard. With my fork. It was an instantaneous reflex. Protect my steak at all costs.

The moral of the story? I take my meat seriously. And also, don't touch my food without asking. I will cut you.

While I wouldn't put BBQ on the same pedestal as steak, it is something I really love to eat. But I don't know how / possess the tools / really care to try to make a proper pulled pork the real way. So pulled pork at home was always just.....mehhhh (pork roast, crock pot, bottle of sauce, and cook, anyone?).

That is until I found this recipe. It totally rocked my crock-pot-pulled-pork world. It is pulled pork perfection. It is still simple enough for non-official BBQ lovers like myself to manage, but tastes authentic. And it smells so so SO good.

I replaced the bun with a healthier (and more filling) baked sweet potato. Top it with some slaw and you have yourself a perfect little dinner.

Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork Stuffed Sweet Potatoes with Slaw
Makes 8 servings
310 cals / 9g fat / 29g carbs / 28g protein

2.5-3 lb lean pork roast (such as loin/sirloin)
2 tsp red wine vinegar
3 tsp hickory liquid smoke
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3/4 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce

1 bag shredded cabbage/cole slaw mix
6 green onions
3 TB lite mayo
3 TB white wine vinegar
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt

4 large cooked sweet potatoes (I just cook mine in the microwave to save time)

1. Trim all the fat from the pork and place in crock pot. Sprinkle with garlic powder, salt, pepper, vinegar, and liquid smoke. Cook on high for 6-8 hours. Shred pork with 2 forks, stir in BBQ sauce (adjust amount to your preference. I like mine a little drier). Cook an additional 15 min or so.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together mayo, vinegar, sugar, and salt. Thinly slice green onions. Add onions and slaw mix to bowl and toss to coat. Let sit for ~20-30 min before serving.

3. Split baked sweet potatoes in half, top with BBQ pork and slaw, and serve.

Quick Fix: Tropical Beans and Rice

Can you believe I used to hate beans? All of them. I was crazy I tell you. Crazy!

But I always try and make a point of tasting things I don't like because my tastes change as I get older. Some of the things I used to not eat but now love include: spinach, bleu cheese, asparagus, beans, and lobster. Imagine what I would be missing if I hadn't given these things tries! Right now I am working on fish. Ugh.

This is a quick and easy meatless dinner, and a good way to get your veggies in. And you can easily alter it to your own tastes or what you have on hand. These also make a great side for some grilled chicken or a roast pork.

I serve this over cooked brown rice.

Tropical Beans and Rice
Makes 6 servings
155 cals / 1g fat / 36g carbs / 8g protein

2 cans black beans
1 tsp olive oil
2 mangos
1 small red onion
3 cloves garlic
1 red pepper
1 green pepper
1 jalapeño (optional)
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

1. Get all the veggies cut first: peel and chop the mangos, dice the red onion, mince the garlic, chop the red and green peppers, remove seeds and stem from jalapeño and mince (if using).

2. Heat oil over medium high heat in a large pot and add the onion. Cook until softened, about 5-7 minutes, then add the green and red pepper, garlic, and jalapeño. Continue to cook until peppers are tender crisp, another 5 minutes or so.

3. Drain and rinse the beans and add to the pot. Stir in mango, vinegar, sugar, cumin, salt, and pepper. Add juice from the limes, and continue to cook until beans are warmed through and starting to smush, about 5-10 minutes. If the beans start to look a little dry, add a bit of water. Adjust the spices. Serve over rice.

So Many Reasons to Celebrate

I am recovering from an awesome week full of all sorts of celebrating.

It all started on Wednesday when I met my friend for a girl's night wine tasting. It was a small one at a local family-owned restaurant, it included food pairings, and it was amazing.  I used it as an opportunity to re-try these ankle pants. I think it was a slight improvement...

Next up was the weekend which included a celebration of B's birthday, Mother's Day, and our 7 year wedding anniversary. To commemorate this momentous occasion we spent a child-free night at a hotel downtown (where they treated us to an awesome room upgrade and a wonderful bottle of champagne)....

A chance to get dressed up (B actually surprised me with an awesome dress as an anniversary gift, but sadly it was frrreeeezing out, so I had to go with something winter-y. Stupid Chicago weather). Shoes and necklace are from Target, dress is from my Mom. She got it from a little boutique store in MI. It is the same one I wore for NYE.....

And a fancy-foodie dinner out with friends....

We came home to in time for me to spend some Mother's Day couch-time with these 2 munchkins, and ended the weekend with a super 5$ Little Ceasar's pizza dinner.

And not to get all sappy, but 7 years ago today I made the best decision of my life. I am not sure I could make it in this world without you, B. Thanks for being my everything.

Beef With Broccoli Stir-Fry

I adore Chinese food, as does B, but we rarely rarely eat it because a) most of it is incredibly bad for you....loaded with calories and fat, and b) I am a total freak about take-out food, and I think take-out Chinese is the worst....the meats and veggies lose all their crispness and get all smushy and the sauces get all gelatinous and gross, and then temperature is all wrong, and the rice loses its stickiness. Ugh. See.....? Total freak.

My solution to this issue is to make my own. That way I can control the fat content and I don't have to deal with all my texture/temperature issues.

This is a quick and relatively easy dinner, perfect for busy weeknights when you are running short on time. When making stir-fries it is important you get all your ingredients cut and ready to go first, before you start cooking, because it comes together so fast. I served this one over brown rice.

Beef with Broccoli Stir-Fry
Makes 6 servings
210 calories / 7g fat / 14g carbs / 25g protein

1 lb lean beef, such as top sirloin or round
4-5 small bunches broccoli (about 4 cups florets)
1 red pepper
3-4 inch chunk ginger root (2 TB minced)
4 cloves garlic
1 bunch green onions
3 1/2 TB cornstarch, divided
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 tsp rice wine vinegar
2 TB brown sugar
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp sesame (or canola oil)

1. Trim all the fat from the beef and thinly slice it against the grain, as thin as possible. Toss with 1/2 TB cornstarch to coat. Mince the ginger and the garlic. Thinly slice the green onion. Slice the red pepper into thin strips. Cut the broccoli into florets, discard the stems/stalks.

2. In a small bowl, mix 3 TB cornstarch with chicken broth, soy sauce, brown sugar, rice wine vinegar, black pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes until sugar and cornstarch has dissolved.

3. Heat oil in a large frying pan or wok over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the green onions and the beef and cook until beef is browned, about 2-3 minutes. Add the broccoli and red peppers and cook until tender-crisp, about 3 minutes. Stir in the sauce, bringing it to a boil and cooking until the sauce begins to thicken. Serve over rice or noodles.

The Basics: Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes

I have a confession: I am a former Aunt Jemima Complete pancake mix addict. I swore by it. Lived for it.  So convenient, so easy, and so so tasty.

That is, until one fateful weekend morning when I discovered my faithful Aunt Jemima was all gone. What to do?!? The kids were clamoring for pancakes. I had to do something. I set aside my fears and my doubts, and I rose to the occasion.  I made pancake batter from scratch.

 I couldn't believe it....not only was it simple (like 2 extra minutes than my trusted mix), they were just as light and fluffy.....and they tasted better.

Since that fateful morning, I have never re-purchased a box of pancake mix. If you, like former me, only use boxed mix, give this a try. It won't disappoint. And you will have one less processed box of food in your life.

This is my standard pancake recipe. I will often add thinly sliced bananas, blueberries, sliced strawberries, or chocolate chips to the poured batter for a little extra morning pizzaz.

Buttermilk Pancakes
Makes 8 Servings
115 cals / 3g fat / 17g carbs / 3g protein

3/4 cup plus 2 TB milk
1 TB vinegar (or just 3/4 cup plus 2 TB buttermilk if you have it)
1 cup flour
3 TB sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
2 TB butter, melted (optional)
2 tsp vanilla

1. Combine milk and vinegar in a small bowl and set aside. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

2. Add egg, melted butter, and vanilla to the soured milk (or buttermilk), and mix well. Add milk mixture to the flour mixture and stir until combined (some lumps might remain).

3. Heat a pan or griddle over medium heat, and spray with cooking spray or lightly oil or butter. Pour 1/4 cup batter into circles (sprinkle with fruit or add-ins now if you want) and allow to cook until edges bubble, then flip pancakes and cook until other side is browned.

And I'm Back...Meal Plan Monday, and Should I Get Rid of These Pants?

Miss me?

We enjoyed a seriously great vacation to sunny Florida. Orlando for 3 days (2 days at Disney World) followed by 4 days at Clearwater beach. I now fully realize how well-suited I am for the vacation lifestyle. I also realize I need to win the lottery. And I really really miss vacation already.

I won't subject you to all my vacation photos (Mostly because in typical fashion, it will be at least 6 months before I finally download them from the camera. You're welcome.) But here are some that I happened to take with my phone.

And we hit the grocery store this morning. This week's meal plan includes:

- Green Curry Chicken Stew, Brown Rice
- Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans
- Artichoke Ravioli in Tomato Broth, Salad
- Crock Pot Ropa Veija, Black Bean Salad, Brown Rice
- BLT Sandwiches, Broccoli

And finally...I wore this to a fundraiser for the kids' school. Pardon the awkward pose and the Cruella DeVille face. I was trying to show that my shoes were sensible wedges.

This outfit is way outside my comfort zone (hello bright, loud, floral print). In fact, B had to stop me from a last minute change into a typical black dress and cardigan (also....we were late). I thought it was the shirt and the bad hair day that were making me so self-conscious....but now, looking at the photo, I am wondering if it was the pants that were throwing me off?

I keep trying to make these slim fit cropped ankle pants work, but so far it hasn't happened. I think they make my hips look wider and my legs look stumpy. Should these be donated? Thoughts?