“Full House” is more like it! Almost 50 blog followers and friends came to my Holiday Open House yesterday, and thankfully they were good eaters. (That’s why I love them!) For those who couldn’t make it, here’s a little bit of what you missed. And for anyone planning to host their own open house this holiday season, I’ve added a few tips and past lessons-learned. There are always lessons to learn with entertaining! One of these days I hope to follow my own advice.
Local Subee’s Kitchen followers, save the date! You’re invited to a Holiday Open House to celebrate my first year of blogging. Come tour the kitchen, sample some holiday treats, and see what’s coming up in Year 2. (Or I should say, help me figure out what’s coming up in Year 2!)
When chocolate cravings hit, they hit hard. One of the (many many) great things about having kids is that it gives you an excuse to make ridiculously indulgent treats like these S’mores Bars. “They’re for the kids!” you say to anyone raising an eyebrow, or to yourself, as you polish off an entire row.
Thanksgiving-inspired turkey loaf with traditional trimmings
With Thanksgiving only a week away, it’s time to talk turkey. Recipes, sure – but more importantly, a recounting of all we have to be thankful for. Where I live in New Jersey, The Storm is still at the forefront of all conversations. “Were you guys hit hard?” “Any tree damage?” And then the unifying, “How long were you without power?” So it’s no surprise that family safety, an intact home and the miracle of electricity top the “thankful for” list this year. We spent 10 days without power, and will never again (at least until next month) flick on a light switch or oven or dryer without a little bit of wonder and appreciation.
As we mark Day 8 without electricity thanks to Frankenstorm Sandy, tempers are getting shorter, temperatures are getting colder, and gas lines are still long (though improving). We feel isolated from the world, and abashed by our envy of neighbors who have regained power. We find ourselves idling around, mourning cable TV and internet, and complaining about a cold house. But then we snap out of it. Unlike many in the area, we still have a house. We have gas for cooking, and a generator for little luxuries like toast. We have our family intact, and have never had this much quality time together: fireside Scrabble tournaments and roasting marshmallows in the living room; reading books and doing crafts; making pancakes on a weekday. I’d say we’ve been pretty lucky.
And those neighbors with power restored? We can’t begrudge them. We’ve been humbled by their graciousness and generosity – open doors for heat, phone charging, meals and even laundry service! We’re also in awe of those with no electricity but who refuse to be powerless; several neighbors have been working tirelessly to collect clothing and blankets for communities that were truly devastated – not just inconvenienced – by the storm.
With or without electricity, we still need to eat – and a home-cooked meal can go a long way towards restoring a sense of normalcy. I’ve been enjoying the mental challenge of figuring out what to cook next, based on what needed to get used up and what could be prepared over the gas stove or in the toaster oven. Here are some of the things I’ve been cooking – in case you’re also without power and in need of some inspiration:
Tonight I’m going to make a big pot of Tomato Fennel soup. All neighbors – with or without power – are welcome to stop by for a mug.
We’ll get through this!
PS – On the way to Starbucks to post this, I passed 3 utility trucks working in our neighborhood. Someone heard we might have power as soon as tonight. I’m surprised to feel a twinge of sadness mixed with euphoria and relief; I was hoping for more Scrabble games by the fire. It’s a tradition I hope we’ll continue, even when the cable’s back.
Before Sandy blows off our roof and wipes out our power for a week, I wanted to post the winner of the first Subee’s Kitchen giveaway. Congratulations to Dani F., who will receive this “bovine bounty” bag of dairy-themed gifts! (Winner selected using Random.com.) Dani posted that one of her favorite uses for cheese is her friend Karen’s cheese puff appetizers. Maybe Karen will share her recipe? I love a good cheese puff.
By the way, the cauliflower gratin recipe I promised is still in the works. I made one with cheese and cream the other day, which was rich (imagine that) and delicious, especially served alongside pork tenderloin braised in apple cider. Next I was going to try a version with a white sauce (flour/butter/milk) instead of cream to see which one I liked better. However, this effort has been stalled by Halloween parties and Sandy preparations (gas, water, wine, cat food), so please stay tuned. If we’re in the dark this week, I’ll be posting some “use up the food that’s in the fridge” creations until the laptop runs out of juice.
Speaking of creations, I came up with this one today on the way to Target. I already had the devil costume and shiny white fabric in the attic (I think I’ve alluded to my pack-rat tendencies?), so I just needed to pick up a plastic yellow bowl along with the bottled water and paper towels. Can you figure out what I am?
A Deviled Egg!
Has this ever happened to you?
You duck into the grocery store for one thing (something you need for a recipe and/or forgot from the last visit to the store). Once in the store you start thinking about other things you need, and soon you have a cart full of stuff. (And of course you didn’t bring your reusable bags in from the car because you were only supposed to be getting one thing.) All this, and by the time you get home you realize you forgot the one thing you went to the store for in the first place.
This just happened to me today, and not for the first time. I think I should coin it “Grocery Store ADD”, and shopping lists are the only way to cure it. Unfortunately, I didn’t bother making a list because I was only supposed to be getting one thing – gruyère cheese for my cauliflower gratin. The cheese never made it home. Before I could get to the cheese aisle, I had to pass some Halloween displays and the ice cream aisle end cap display. This is what got me derailed:
I’d never noticed this product before, and instantly I had an idea that got me all excited (and forgetful, apparently). The wheels were turning.
With a few store-bought products and the vanilla ice cream I had at home, I could quickly whip up some ice cream witches’ hats for after school snacks. By cutting down the cones, the portion of ice cream becomes just right for kids (or, ahem, moms).
To say that we like our dairy products here in the Kitchen is a bit of an understatement. With almost a year of blog recipes under (or over?) my belt, I took a look back and found that all but a handful called for some sort of dairy product(s). It seems Julia Child, most chefs everywhere and I are all in agreement: everything tastes better with butter (or cream or cheese).
That said, I saw no conflict of interest whatsoever when the American Dairy Association and Dairy Council invited me up to the Finger Lakes region of New York to learn about modern dairy farming and (of course!) taste a few products.
So this past Friday, my friend Amy and I set out for Canandaigua, NY– about a 5-hour drive from where we live. With the alternative weekend plans being 5 hours standing around on a soccer field, this was an easy decision. (Did I mention the product tasting?)
OK – technically speaking, this soup has 96.5 calories per serving (still a bargain), but since you can burn 100 calories by cooking for 34 minutes, this soup nets you zero calories. That’s my kind of math! (Similar to “subscribe and save 80% off the newsstand price” or “buy 2 pairs of shoes, get the 3rd pair free”; how can you go wrong?)
(Calorie information is from sparkpeople.com. I was excited to learn that you can also burn 100 calories by rearranging furniture for 14 minutes – finally justification for one of my favorite pastimes!)
Besides having “zero” calories, this soup 1) tastes rich and complex, 2) is gluten and dairy-free, and 3) contains four types of vegetables but no one will ever know. (We have some vegetable-phobes in our house.) And – like any pureed soup, it can also be dressed up for Halloween with a sour cream spider web. This will up the calorie count a little, but will keep the attention away from the exact contents of the soup. (I called it Mystery Soup.)
This seems impossible, but my baby girl turns 10 today. A whole decade – whoosh! I know this time warp happens to all parents, but I still feel blindsided. Luckily there is a tiny bit of leftover birthday cake from this weekend’s festivities to console me.
Initially I had big plans for a Cake Boss-esque masterpiece – maybe a fondant-covered purse cake or something appropriately bling-y for a 10-year-old girl. But then I came to my senses! There was no way that was going to happen this weekend between soccer practices, soccer games and Grandma Jean’s 80th birthday celebration. So on to Plan B: this candy-embellished cake made a big impact and took less than 20 minutes to decorate, including the homemade frosting. Whether making a cake or savoring childhood, every minute counts.
10 years ago . . .
Subee's Kitchen 