It started with the soup...

I can’t remember the last time I had anyone over for dinner. I hate that. I especially hate that whenever anyone asks me what I’ve been up to all I can come up with is “work” Ugh. That has got to be the lamest answer of all time. Or, god forbid, the answer I gave when some dude asked me what my hobbies were a few months ago. “Do people really still have hobbies?”.

“Um yes” he said “it’s whatever you do for fun.”

Oh, fun…. Right. I remember fun.

And then last week I had lunch with a super cute Emory senior who had spent weeks emailing me about internships at my agency. Her emails were polite but had personality, and she followed up tenaciously so when she asked if we could have lunch so she could pick my brain about how to get into advertising, I told her that it was already pretty picked over but the rest was hers to explore.

The advice that I gave that day was so contradictory to how I’ve actually been living that I felt almost guilty dishing it out.

Though I think I rambled more, here’s what I told her:

Your job shouldn’t be your life. Your job is what you do to fund your life. If you expect it to fulfill your soul then you’ll always be missing something, you’ll never be full. So find a job that you enjoy, something you’re good at but still challenged by and always keep it in context. Then find your passion and keep that for yourself. Have something that you love to do and do it simply for that reason. Play music, take photographs, write, cook, build model airplanes… have an answer when someone asks you what your hobbies are. Or better yet, have a great blog or on-line journal where you can show them what makes you, you.

And then, because I was getting a rather alarming look from my young lunch companion, I tried to bring it back around by telling her about one of my team members who once challenged himself to take a self portrait every day for a year. He posted them on-line and used the project to hone his photography and retouching skills. Not only was it a creative endeavor that made him unforgettable, but he had a great portfolio of work at the end that made him impossible not to hire.

That seemed to get through to her. She was a photography buff and had asked for a new SLR for Christmas so she was going to come up with a project for herself. I told her I couldn’t wait to see what she came up with. And in that moment I decided I would take my own damn advice and get a life too.

The Single Gal’s Guide was an easy choice. I’ve missed this space, these conversations, this outlet. But what I’ve really missed is actually being the Single Gal – the vivacious, fun, interesting girl who has her friends over for dinner ‘just because’ and laughs with them over glasses of wine long into the night while the dishes pile up in the sink.

So there will be more dinners, more parties, more cooking and a more entertaining life in general. And the next time someone asks me what I do for fun there won’t be an uncomfortable silence. It’ll be impossible to shut me up.

Holiday Girls’ Night In

The holidays are a great time for dressing up, going out and eating every cheese-topped, gravy-laced dish in sight. But the craziness of trying to fit everything in, and the overindulgences and the rampant consumerism can be downright exhausting. Add the traveling and the inevitable family drama to the mix and frankly it all just makes me want to stay home.

So that’s exactly what we did last night. One of my pals had an especially tough week – her father is in the hospital and she’s been juggling visits to see him with work and the cutest baby of all time. So a night at home seemed like the right medicine for her.

My friend Tami had posted about this soup and there was a lonely little head of cauliflower in the fridge, so that was our jumping off point. That made me remember an article with more Dr. Weil recipes I had read in this month’s Whole Living magazine on a plane last week so I dug out the issue and pulled all the other recipes from it’s pages.

Caramelized Sesame Chickpeas

Curried Cauliflower Soup

Braised Chicken and Parsnips

Kale Salad

We were supposed to ride out the fruit & veggie kick with an apple galette, but one of the ladies showed up with Sufganiyot from an Israeli bakery in town so we gorged on those instead. I mean, seriously, who can turn down a dulce de leche-filled donut??

Caramelized Sesame Chickpeas

These were meant to be a little nibble while we got the wine opened and everyone got settled into the sofas. I have to say, I wasn’t that crazy about them. The girls made appropriate yum yum noises but I don’t know that I’d make them again. Sorry Martha, this one was a miss.

Free to a good home

Curried Cauliflower Soup

Tami is not only the voice behind Running with Tweezers, but an uber-talented food stylist and photographer so I’m embarrassed that I even attempted to take a picture of this. Please hop over to her site to ‘ooh’ & ‘ahh’ over her bee-u-ti-ful images and see the recipe. I must confess that I didn’t mess with the raw cashews when I made the soup (I just added a little extra water), and mine was delicious but I bet that would make it even more so. I did follow her lead and top the bowls with a sprinkle of toasted pumpkin seeds though and I finished it off with a drizzle of green cilantro chutney thinned out with a splash of good olive oil. This was so, so good.  Good enough to have again for breakfast the next day alongside a slice of sopressata cheese toast. I mean, if you’re into that sort of thing. Which I totally am.

Because I’m out of practice I didn’t manage to get many pictures of our feast. But the talented crew at Whole Living took some lovely photographs when they prepared the dishes so we’ll gaze upon those from now on…

Braised Chicken and Parsnips

I followed the recipe with two exceptions. First, I’m not a huge fan of leeks but I adore shallots so I made a swap. Six shallots roughly chopped stood in for the leeks and they were delicious. They just melted into this unctuous base for the tender chicken and creamy parsnips. I also had to remove the lid from the pot and cook everything for about 20 more minutes to get the liquid reduced. But it worked like a charm and couldn’t have been easier.

Oh, and I MIGHT have used skin-on chicken thighs… because nothing adds flavor like a little schmaltz. Plus crispy chicken skin is a favorite treat of my trusty four-legged kitchen assistant Ms. Grace.

Kale Salad

This salad was the runaway hit of the night. The absolute star. It’s got the brightness of the lemon, the bite of the garlic, the heat of the chili flake and sweetness from the cranberries I added. Just total perfection and a nutritional powerhouse to bot. Everyone kept saying, “I can’t believe this is just raw kale!” Believe it people. The key is the 30 minutes it sits before you serve it so don’t skimp on your timing.

I started with Dr Weil’s recipe but took a few detours… I omitted the breadcrumbs he calls for and added a handful of dried cranberries instead. The recipe says it gets even better the next day. I’d be surprised if you end up with any leftovers to test that theory.

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 cup lemon juice

3 cloves garlic, mashed (I smushed mine through a garlic press)

1/2 tsp coarse salt

Pinch red pepper flakes

2 bunches Tuscan kale (about 14 oz), ribs removed and leaves sliced into 1/4-inch shreds

1/2 cup shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

2 Tbsp dried cranberries

In a large bowl, whisk together oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper flakes. Add kale and cranberries and toss to coat. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Garnish with shaved cheese before serving. 

Year of the Chicken Wing

Oh wait... that doesn't sound right.

Year of the Pot Sticker?

Hmm, probably not. Though after you try these two recipes you may want to dial up the People's Republic of China and have a serious chat about changing their calendar...

Both of these require some time and effort up front, but please don't let that scare you off - the pay off is incredible depth of flavor that will have everyone asking, "What did you put in these??" But, you know, in a good way.

CHINESE NEW YEAR

Dinner for 8

Tsingtao Beer (The #1 Beer in China, easy to find at your local liquor store)

Spicy Pork Pot Stickers

Mahogany Wings

Szechuan Green Beans

Vegetable Fried Rice (Takeout! or even better - have it delivered!)

Jasmine Tea

Almond Cookies

Clementines or Orange Wedges

Fortune Cookies

I wrote a post about throwing a fabulous Chinese New Year Feast two years ago here. It's still full of great ideas but my position on pot stickers has completely reversed... yes, they take some time but they're totally worth it!

But some things haven't changed. I do think the easiest way to add a festive touch is to drop a red tablecloth, put out a bowl of clementines, stockpile sauces & chopsticks from your favorite take out joint, and buy a stash of colorful melamine dipping bowls from a local Asian grocery store or restaurant supply warehouse. Going for extra credit? Pick up some cute take out containers to send your friends home with the tasty leftovers or some custom fortune cookies. Dipped fortune cookies are easy & fun or you can make your own - I've done it & it takes some practice, but it is fun to write your own fortunes!

Spicy Pork Pot Stickers

Makes 60+

What you need:

1 egg

1 pound ground pork

1 large carrot, grated

2 scallions, sliced thinly

4 cloves garlic, finely minced or grated

2 TB ginger, peeled & finely minced or grated

2 TB Thai Chilli Paste (see note below)

2 TB soy sauce

2 TB sesame oil

salt

60-70 gyoza wrappers

Vegetable oil

How you make them:

Mix all ingredients except gyoza wrappers and oil in a large bowl and mix well. Make a small (less than a teaspoon) patty of the mixture and fry in a small pan so you can taste it and adjust the seasoning if needed.

To fill the dumplings, put a scant teaspoon of the pork mixture in the center of a gyoza wrapper. Dip a (clean) finger in water and wet the edges of the wrapper. Pull two opposite corners together over the filling and use your fingers to squeeze the edges together, folding & crimping a little until they stick. You'll have to practice a bit to get a shape that you like and don't try to use more filling - you'll end up with a big mess.

Place the pot stickers on a sheet pan or store them in a large airtight container in the fridge until you're ready to cook them. You can also freeze them at this point & cook them later, right out of the freezer.

When you're ready to eat, heat 2 TB of vegetable oil over medium heat in the widest, flat-bottom pan you have that has a lid. Place pot stickers close together, but not touching, in the pan - you can crowd as many as you can fit in there. Let the dumpling saute until they're golden brown on the bottom, add half a cup of water and get the lid on as fast as you can so the steam doesn't escape. Lower the heat a bit and steam until the wrappers are almost translucent and the filling is cooked, 2-3 minutes. remove the lid and continue to cook until all the water has evaporated.

Serve the hot pot stickers with any dipping sauce you like - I'm partial to sweet chili sauce or ponzu sauce mixed with grated ginger & scallions. If you like a little more heat try soy sauce mixed with Sriracha... yum. And 60 probably sounds like alot but trust me, your friends will eat every last one - you can never have too many of these.

Thai Chilli (Chile) Paste:

Also known as nam prik pow has a sweet and sour flavor. Typical ingredients include Pure Cane Sugar, Garlic, Onion, Anchovy, Soybean Oil, Dried Shrimp, Chili, Tamarind, Peanuts, Parsley, and Fennel. There are some widely available ones from brands like Thai Kitchen that you can likely find in your local grocery store. The one I use is from an Asian market but I don't think there's anything particularly special about it - you're just looking for that mix of Tamarind, chili and anchovy or dried shrimp that adds depth and complexity to your filling.

Mahogany Wings

Makes 4 dozen+

What you need:

1.5 cups soy sauce

.75 cup dry sherry

9 oz. Hoisin Sauce (one bottle)

.75 cup plum sauce

18 scallions, thinly sliced

6 garlic cloves, minced

.75 cup cider vinegar

.5 cup honey

4-5 dozen chicken wings and drumettes

vegetable oil

How you make them:

Combine all ingredient except wings and oil in a large pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Cool completely before using. The sauce can be made several weeks ahead and stored in the fridge.

Put wings in a large storage container or a few gallon-size ziploc bags. Add the cooled sauce and refrigerate overnight, turning once or twice.

Place oven racks in upper & lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees. Drain wings, reserving sauce, and place them in a single layer on two oiled sheet pans. Greasing the pans is incredibly important because things are about to get sticky...

Pour reserved sauce back into a small pot and boil rapidly for 5 minutes until it's reduced by a bit. Bake wings uncovered for 90 minutes, turning every 20 mins and basting with more sauce. Switch the pans from high to low halfway through so everything gets even heat exposure. Serve warm or at room temp and toss a handful of sliced scallions and sesame seeds over the top of the wing pile - just to make it pretty. Serve with lots of paper towels and stand back.

Szechuan Green Beans

Serves 8 as a side dish

What you need:

1 TB vegetable oil

1 pound green beans, trimmed

1 small onion, coarsely chopped

.25 cup hoisin sauce

2 TB soy sauce

1 TB sesame oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tea ginger, peeled and minced

1 tea sugar

1 tea red chili flakes or Sriracha

How you make them:

Heat oil in a large pan over high heat. Add beans and onion and cook, stirring occasionally until the beans are crisp-tender and blackened in spots, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk the remaining ingredients in a small bowl. Add the sauce to the pan and stir until the beans are evenly coated. Serve hot.

So there you have it & it's alot of prep work... but I promise, you'll be glad you tackled it. If you're making a few of the recipes, look over the ingredient lists before you start and combine any prep work you can. For example, there's alot of minced garlic here, do it all at once and you'll save some time. And, now that I think about it, the wings & pot stickers would be great for any sports-related viewing parties you have coming up... isn't there some big football game this weekend? :)

p.s. - Since I've been gone from this space for so long I'm probably putting this out into a vast black hole at this point... but for those of you still out there - I missed you. And thanks for reading.

How to Host a Recession-Proof Dinner Party

I’m so tired of hearing about how badly the economy has tanked, aren’t you? I miss shopping, and traveling, and throwing parties with my friends… Ok, so your entertaining budget may not be what it once was, but that doesn’t mean you can’t invite your pals over for a seafood feast.

Clockwise from Top Left: Taking a pre-dinner soak, making the sauce, ready to eat, no forks needed, extra bowls for the shells.

Mussels may just be the cheapest way to feed a crowd short of serving them Ramen Noodles. They’re usually $2-3 per pound and you’ll need a half pound per person for a large appetizer portion. If you want to serve them as the main event, figure about a pound per person. Add a few loaves of bread and a bottle of wine and dinner is served. It’s so easy and your friends will be seriously impressed… and if like me, you find the idea of preparing shellfish at home a little intimidating, then you'll even impress yourself with how well these turn out! Just be sure to buy the freshest mussels you can find from a reputable seafood market and you'll be fine. I swear.

Throw a Dinner Party: Thai Red Curry Mussels

What you need:
2 teaspoons peanut oil, or canola oil
2 shallots, sliced thinly into rings (or 2 medium cloves garlic, minced)
1-inch piece of ginger, peeled & cut into matchsticks
Zest and juice of 1 lime
1-2 teaspoons Thai red curry paste
1 14-ounce can “lite” coconut milk
1 cup white wine
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons fish sauce
1 green or red chili, sliced thinly (optional)
2-3 pounds mussels, scrubbed and de-bearded (see Tip)
1 bunch cilantro, chopped

How you make it:
Rinse mussels and place in a large pot of cool water about 30 minutes before you want to cook them. Inspect them carefully and discard any that have cracked shells or don’t close when you tap them. Farmed mussels don’t usually have beards (rough “hairs” that poke out of the shells), but if you find some that do just yank them off with your fingers or a pair of pliers. You have to de-beard the mussels just before you cook them though since pulling the beard off kills them.

Heat oil in a large high-sided skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add garlic, ginger, lime zest and curry paste; cook until fragrant, stirring to break up the paste, 1 to 3 minutes. Add lime juice, coconut milk, wine, salt, fish sauce and chili (if using). Stir to combine everything and bring to a low boil for 2 minutes.

Strain mussels, add to pot, stir once or twice and cover. Cook over medium heat 6-8 minutes until the mussels open. Stir everything gently to coat with the sauce and top with a handful of chopped cilantro. Serve immediately with lots of bread for dipping.

NOTE: Want to try Belgium-style? Cook the mussels in a garlic, butter & white wine sauce and serve with French fries & beer – so good!

p.s. - Big thanks to Mrs. Weir for taking some pictures before we ate everything!

A Midsummer Night Dinner

Well that was lovely.

An evening filled with old friends, beautiful weather, good food, lots of laughter and an especially delicious sauvignon blanc courtesy of Mr. & Mrs. Weir (truly, their taste in wine is superb).

In fact, I was having such a great time – and enjoying my wine so much – that I forgot to take photos until it was too late! So my apologies for the images below, I don’t think they do our dinner justice…

Clockwise from top left: white bean dip, family-style serving, the view from my seat, the too-late dessert shot.

This might have been the easiest menu I’ve ever made – even my shopping list was short. I had everything but the shrimp and fresh produce in my pantry, plus nothing required more than just a few minutes of prep time.

Menu (for 6):
White Bean Dip with Fried Garlic & Rosemary
BBQ Shrimp
French Bread
Green Beans with Mustard Vinaigrette
Peach and Cherry Crostata

White Bean Dip with Fried Garlic & Rosemary
I wasn’t going to serve a heavy appetizer since dinner involved a lot of bread & butter, but I really wanted a nice long cocktail hour to catch up with my buds and I didn’t want to leave them hungry…so at the last minute I whipped up a white bean “hummus”. Frying the garlic and rosemary helps mellow their flavors so they’re not too overwhelming.

What you need:
Two 14oz. cans white beans (navy or cannellini)
4 cloves garlic, sliced
One 4” sprig fresh rosemary
.5 cup olive oil
.25 tsp cumin
salt & pepper
Pita chips or crackers for serving

How to make it:
Heat olive oil in a small saucepot over medium heat. Add garlic and whole rosemary spring and let them sizzle away until the garlic is light brown. Meanwhile drain & rinse the beans and dump them in the bowl of a food processor with a pinch of cumin. When the garlic is ready, remove the pot from the heat, carefully pull the rosemary out and strip the leaves off the stem. Coarsely chop the leaves and add them, with the garlic and the oil, to the food processor. Buzz everything together until smooth, take a taste and add salt & pepper as needed.


BBQ Shrimp
This is actually a New Orleans-style BBQ Shrimp - essentially it’s whole shrimp cooked in a spicy butter sauce and served with lots of French bread to soak everything up. Traditionally the shrimp are left in their shells but since I had a recently reformed vegetarian on the guest list I wasn’t so sure how keen she’d be about ripping the little legs off her dinner before she ate it… so I cleaned and peeled the shrimp, leaving just the tails on. If you’re short on time, or just not into de-veining shrimp, you can actually buy them cleaned & ready to go for a little more money. And if you’re nowhere near an ocean, the frozen ones will work just fine.

What you need:
3lbs large shrimp, cleaned, de-veined and peeled
4 cloves garlic, minced
1.5 sticks butter
2 tsp garlic salt
.5 tsp oregano
4 tsp ground black pepper
.5 tsp onion powder
.5 tsp smoky paprika
Pinch ground cayenne pepper
1 tsp dried thyme
12 oz. beer
4 oz. (1/2 cup) Worcestershire sauce
Handful of fresh chives, chopped or snipped (optional)
French bread for serving

How to make it:
In a large pot, heat butter and garlic over medium high heat until butter foams up. Once foam subsides, add all the spices and stir to combine. Add beer and Worcestershire sauce, stir and bring to a boil. Add shrimp and cook 4-5 minutes until the shrimp are pink and cooked through. Sprinkle the chives over the top so it looks pretty, and then you’re done.

I brought the pot to the table, set it in the center with a big ladle and let everyone scoop out spoonfuls of shrimp and rich, dark broth into their bowls. We ate with our fingers and didn’t stop until we’d all sopped up every last bit of the sauce.

Green Beans with Mustard Vinaigrette
This is an easy, do-ahead way to serve a green vegetable. They’re crisp and tangy and make a great accent for the rich shrimp. And since we were eating our shrimp with our fingers we just picked these up with our fingers too!

I’m not doing an ingredient list - you can really make a vinaigrette with any combination of oils, vinegars and spices you have on hand. I used rice wine vinegar, a spoonful of mustard and a sliced shallot to make a mellow dressing and tossed it with green beans I had quickly cooked in a pot of salted water. I made everything in the afternoon and served them room temp but they’d be delicious hot or cold too.


Peach and Cherry Crostata
Using a ready made frozen pie crust makes this super easy and fast to assemble. Simply thaw the crust and unroll it onto a greased baking sheet, Chop four cups of whatever fruit you want to use and toss it with a handful of sugar (I used turbinado sugar) and a little flour. Pile the fruit in the center of your crust, fold the edges inward, brush with a little egg wash or cream, sprinkle more sugar on top & bake for 40 minutes at 425 degrees until the crust is golden and the fruit is bubbling.

I served it with a splash of cream but ice cream would, of course, be fabulous. Because really, when does adding ice cream to something ever really NOT work out?


Big thanks again to my friends for the fun time, the gorgeous flowers, the incredible wine, for doing the dishes, and for being the best new-recipe guinea pigs a gal could ask for.