Monthly Archives: February 2010

Blueberry Bourbon Cocktail

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Rummaging around in my mom’s fridge can yield some interesting things that I don’t usually buy when planning a dinner party – like Just Blueberry juice.

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Which I promptly mixed with whiskey and discovered that the powerful flavor of the juice melds really surprisingly well with the strong flavor of the bourbon. I added a little maple syrup to sweeten it up, and WOW. Gorgeous drink! And so easy.

I can’t wait to make this for a dinner party that’s blue- or purple-themed! It’s so simple that I can stir up a pitcher of them before guests arrive in about a minute, and it’s strong enough to satisfy those who like that sort of thing while sweet enough to satisfy those with a sweet tooth.

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A Blueberry Bourbon Cocktail as easy as 1-2-3

  • one part maple syrup
  • two parts bourbon or whiskey
  • three parts pure blueberry juice

Mix thoroughly by either shaking or stirring with ice. Pour and garnish with floating blueberries to make it look pretty.

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Americana Dinner Party Menu

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Using potato chips as appetizers for a dinner party has been intriguing me since yesterday. I’ve been mulling over a dinner party menu that would go well with them – especially with the potato chip and a slice of banana idea. It’s such a classic American snack that it almost begs for a classic American menu to go with it – one that’s whimsical and casual like potato chips, but made with high quality ingredients and a feeling of specialness that makes it fun to create for guests.

Ananova

Ananova

Americana Menu

Starters:

  • Thick-cut potato chips (homemade or store-bought) with thin slices of ripe banana on each one

Main Courses:

  • Homemade burgers (whatever kind of burger you prefer; I would make turkey burgers) with toppings such as brie, gorgonzola, heirloom tomatoes, avocado, sprouts, arugula and whole-grain mustard. You could even put a fried egg on top for those who want!

Dessert:

  • Classic banana splits with multiple ice cream options, sauces and fun candies

Serve this to friends with whom you can be casual and get messy! Keep the table fairly clear to make room for all the topping options, and serve family style.

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Potato Chip Appetizers

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Photo by Appleswitch/Flickrcc

Photo by Appleswitch/Flickrcc

Putting toppings on potato chips and serving them to your dinner party guests as an appetizer is such a gorgeous idea! Simple in conception, as time-intensive as you feel like making it, and totally yummy. Either place an alloted amount on each chip for a more formal dinner party, or let your guests dip them themselves if you are creating a casual atmosphere.

From The Atlantic’s Sally Schneider, “Dress Up Your Chips“:

Here are some of my recent potato chip improvisations:

• with Robiola, a soft, mild Italian cheese that tastes like slightly fermented cream (I learned this combo from my friend Peggy Markel on the island of Elba, who designs food and culture adventures in Italy, North Africa, and India

• with sour cream and just about any smoked fish, such as smoked salmon, trout, or sturgeon

• with crème fraiche and caviar (salmon or American sturgeon, for example)

• with eggs: richly scrambled with cream, soft-boiled or fried; or imagine a tiny fried quail egg on a single potato chip (what an hors d’oeuvre!); warm, smashed hard-boiled eggs mixed with mayo andPimenton de la Vera

• with warm brandade de morue (a salt cod, potato, and olive oil puree)

• with Skordalia, a creamy Greek garlic sauce

• with warmed, shredded, slow-cooked meat like short ribs, Seven-Hour Spoon Lamb, or pot roast with a dab of sour cream

• and of course, with Real Onion Dip.

Potato chips are also a perfect dessert with a sliver of fine chocolate sandwiched between them. I like them for afternoon tea. Or dip the chips in tempered chocolate and lay them on a rack or a piece of wax paper until the chocolate hardens.

The ultimate potato chip confection, however, I learned from a reader of my blog, whose mom used to make it for her private snack: a potato chip with a slab of ripe banana—like a crunchy, salty-sweet banana tart.

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Valentine’s Day Cookies

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I swear I didn’t forget V-Day. Actually, I had a menu for two that I tested several times but never fell in love with enough to post for you guys. I refuse to recommend anything I don’t love, and this menu is still coming together. It also just kind of turned into Valentine’s Week for me because I was at home with my mama and we did lots of Valentiney things, and the actual Day got away from me.

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I’ve never totally understood why people dislike Valentine’s Day. I do understand feeling alone and sad – of course – but when I was growing up Valentine’s was a more generalized holiday on which you celebrate loving everyone in your life. Looking back now, that was a gift. My mom would always make a special Valentine’s lunch or dinner for our family and we gave gifts to each other, and everyone in my class at school gave cards to each other. I always felt incredibly loved and loving on Valentine’s Day, and it wasn’t until I got to college that I learned that if you didn’t have a significant other on the day, you were supposed to feel forlorn and unlovable.

Well, NO. Quite frankly.

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It’s beautiful that there’s an entire day dedicated to love! What a transcendent thing to focus on in our culture. I get to tell my dear friends how much I appreciate them for their undying support, get to tell my parents how much I love them, get to tell my sister how special she is to me. Yes, we should do that all the time. But we don’t.

I really appreciate having a day when we are all reminded to remember the love that surrounds us, romantic or not. And yes, if you have a sweetheart, it makes for a wonderful holiday. But without one is just as good.

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I was lucky enough to happen across this beautiful, gorgeous, delicately thoughtful post on the same theme of love taking all forms on Tea & Cookies. It’s worth a read.

And after reading, I absolutely had to make Tea & Cookies’ Valentiney cookies on Valentine’s Day to celebrate it and love.

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I gave them to people I care about and to some people I barely know. Just because.

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Please continue for the recipe.

Continue reading →

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Dill, Sour Cream and Onion Vegetable Dip

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Watching four hours of TV – even the Olympics – makes me want to munch junk food indiscriminately and without attention to the total amount consumed by the end of the evening, so to (try) to avoid that, I made this dip and crudité in hopes of filling up on tasty veggies instead.

I whipped this up for the Super Bowl and for the Opening Ceremonies, and it was a big hit – which is saying something when it’s competing with nachos, cake, brownies, chips, etc.

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Dill, Sour Cream and Onion Vegetable Dip
Adapted from Recipezaar

Don’t forget vegetables for dipping – baby carrots, broccoli florets, red and yellow peppers, snow peas, or cucumbers are all great choices.

  • one 16 ounce container of sour cream (I used full fat, but feel free to try lower fat sour creams)
  • 3/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/3 of a sweet yellow onion, minced
  • one small container of baby dill (about 1/4 cup before chopping)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon Vege-Sal

Mix the sour cream and mayonnaise together. Yes, I made this in a very unattractive plastic tupperware because I was bringing it over to my mom’s later for the Opening Ceremonies and didn’t want to dirty an extra dish. I’m practical like that.

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Remove the dill leaves from the stalk.

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Chop finely.

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Chop the onion and add, along with the Worcestershire sauce and salts. Mix thoroughly and add seasonings to your taste.

done

Chop up whatever veggies you chose and dunk away!

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Olympics!!!

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2010winterolympics

It needs three exclamation points because I’m SO RIDONKULOUSLY EXCITED that the Winter Olympics are finally happening! I’m watching ski jumping right now. Because every four years, let’s be honest, we all need a little ski jumping in our lives.

Eddie the Eagle! Britain's lone entrant in the 1988 ski jump.

Eddie the Eagle! Britain's lone entrant in the 1988 ski jump, self-funded and generally acknowledged to be terrible. He finished last, but everyone fell in love with his passion for sport.

There’s a long story about why I love the Olympics so much, but I’ll get to it sometime over the next two weeks. For now, suffice it to say that I watched a lot of Olympics when I was a kid and loving it was basically ingrained in me from birth. Naturally, I celebrate during the whole two glorious weeks.

Weren’t the opening ceremonies lovely?! The draping in the shape of the mountains in Whistler was so artistically done, and the floor that changed colors (was it an LCD floor? how did they do that?) created the mood of each segment beautifully – and I like the icicle-esque Olympic Flame.

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www.nbc.com

flame

www.nbc.com

So how to have people over for the Olympics? High Rise Hostess has a great idea to combine après-ski flavor with the Olympics, which is an idea I love because après-ski is so rarely done outside of ski towns and as you all know, I enjoy it any time or place. She suggests serving fondue, mulled cider and beer, which just sounds like the tastiest combination. If only I had a fondue pot….maybe I should buy one because it sounds SO fun to all huddle around the pot and bring a little bit of Olympic and après-ski spirit into a party.

Or I could be really inauthentic, make a cheese sauce in a regular pot, and call it good. ;)

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Rainbow Colors Inspiration

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I came across this table on 100 Layer Cake and absolutely fell in love.

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It is so gorgeous! The hues meld in perfect colorful harmony, and against the monochromatic background of white, cream and silver, the rainbow colors pop.

I especially adore the yellow persimmon on the white plates. It’s different, playful and surprising, and would be the perfect vessel for a placecard attached to a toothpick.

closeup colorPhotos by Erin Hearts Court via 100 Layer Cake

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