Crock Pot Party & My New Favorite Chili

My cousin Edie had the BEST idea for a winter party - everybody bring your crock pot with your favorite wintery soup, chili, chowder, whatever in it AND BRING YOUR TUPPERWARE.  After everybody eats, divy up the dishes to take home, so you never eat the same leftover twice. And it tastes even better because somebody else made it!

BRILLIANT.

Not only did we have a great time, we're still enjoying the spoils!  Enhancements to this party might be to assign desserts or side dishes like oyster crackers of just plain Saltines, or Fritos.  OR a crock-off contest and a vote to see whose recipe is the best. I really hope to have one of these in the future.  All the hostess might need is some paper bowls & spoons, shredded cheese, and chopped up green onions.

And Tabasco.

Though all the soups were delicious, my personal favorite was venison chili prepared by my cousin Trotter from his wife Laine's recipe.  I adored the new twist to chili, the different textures and colors contained in the same pot, and the fact that it's really good for you.  Though I never actually asked for the recipe, I went home and did like my grandmother Cha-Cha would - improvised until I came up with it!

Chili Chowder
Olive oil
1 head celery, chopped
2 onions, chopped
1 pound ground beef or turkey
1 13-16 ounce bigass sausage (beef or turkey), cut into bite-sized pieces
Chili powder to taste
1 large can crushed tomatoes
2 16 ounce cans diced tomatoes with chili seasoning
1 can light red beans, rinsed
1 can kernel corn, rinsed
Salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste

In a large pot, sautee the celery and onions in the olive oil.
Add the ground beef and sausage until browned and cooked through.
Add chili powder to taste.
Dump in the tomatoes, beans, corn, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
Simmer as long as you want.

BAM.  Dinner.  Garnish with green onions, cheese, sour cream, Fritos, saltines, oyster crackers.....

And Tabasco.

S'mores Cookie Bars

A good friend of ours (who will remain nameless since she hasn't yet "come out" in the blog world) is expecting a little girl in November. We are all over the moon excited for her, and we're hosting a couples' baby shower for the sweet expectant couple in September. I've been put in charge of desserts.

Now, this friend is just a darlin' and wants a good, old fashioned cookout, complete with burgers, hot dogs, and s'mores. The guys will probably completely forget that they're even attending a baby shower, and you know, that's probably for the best. Mike once went to a baby shower and took a bottle of Jack Daniels with a nipple on top for the parents. I thought that was inspired for a single guy - that's EXACTLY what we needed somebody to give us just before we had Avery.

But I digress.

Anyway, I started thinking - as much fun as s'mores are, there's also a certain amount of danger involved. True, that danger provides a lot of the flavor, but I'm not sure what the fire insurance policy looks like for the hostess whose house we're using. Fire + marshmallows + long sticks + alcohol + a crowd of people might not = such a great idea. What to do, what to do......

And then our friend Mary Straton sent me this recipe from Crepes of Wrath....... Yes, I made it. Yes, I ate the entire pan.

S’more Cookie Bars
from Baking Bites

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (about 8 graham crackers)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 king-sized milk chocolate bars
1 1/2 cups marshmallow Fluff (not melted marshmallows because they harden when they cool)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and/or line an 8-inch square baking pan.

2. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg and vanilla.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture and mix at a low speed until combined. Divide dough in half and press half of dough into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan. Don’t worry if it seems thin; the baking powder will allow it to rise.

4. Place chocolate bars over dough (don’t layer the bars, just break them to fit if you need to), then spread the marshmallow Fluff over the chocolate bars. Finally, top the Fluff with the remaining dough by forming the dough into sheets with the palm of your hands and laying it down (as shown above). Don’t worry if the dough isn’t covering everything! It’ll spread out as it bakes.

5. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until lightly browned. If the top is browning too quickly, you can always cover it with tin foil for the remaining baking time. Cool completely before cutting into bars. If you don’t allow them to cool completely, they will crumble when you try to cut them. Makes 16-20 bars.

Thanks to What's Cooking America for the s'more photo and Crepes of Wrath for the fabulous recipe.

Easter Brunch

Good morning my dear readers. I've been meaning to write this post for over a week now, but I didn't realize how rude it would be to our monster for me to work on the computer when she's awake and ready to play. I never dreamed it would be so much fun to just lie in the floor and talk with a 3 month old. She's currently in the floor on her tummy, chatting with the baby in the mirror, so I have a few minutes to spend with you.

We had a lovely Easter, and we hope you did too. It was very low-key: we had planned to attend the sunrise service at church, but Avery was sleeping in, and we thought God would forgive us for doing the same. So we just stayed in and dressed up and took pictures and had a lovely brunch.

This menu came together rather seamlessly, and it's by far one of my favorites for springtime. We had some of our favorites: grilled pork tenderloin, curried fruit, asparagus grilled in lemon-infused olive oil that my cousin Katy gave us for Christmas, raspberry congealed salad, cheese grits, and deviled eggs. We were stuffed.

And we had coconut cake for dessert. Avery was impressed and can't wait until next year when she can have some too.

She wasn't so sure about photos but stuck it out with us anyway. I love this picture because she's giving us her signature stinkeye while Mike and I are smiling like goofballs. At least you know exactly where you stand with this kiddo. She keeps it real.

Somebody desperately needed a nap after brunch. And of course it had to be underneath her favorite Georgia Tech blanket.
It's a rainy day here in Mississippi, and our only plans are to recover from this migraine and go make groceries. I am so grateful for so many things: for God's gift of His only Son, for His love and forgiveness, for this man to whom I'm so happily married, and for Mike's work so I can fulfill my lifelong dream of raising this baby girl the way I want.

Speaking of, the monster's on the warpath, so I'd better go entertain. Y'all have a happy Tuesday!

A Little Creativity

Good afternoon, dear readers. What are you up to this weekend? Please join me in remembering the victims and heroes who were created today nine years ago. We will never forget.

Our first DAR meeting of the season was this morning, and I agreed to be head hostess now so that I won't be waddling around in the kitchen in a few months. This meeting was especially exciting, as we were meeting in the Genealogy Room of the new library for the first time. At the same time, this meeting was especially tricky, as food is not allowed in the Genealogy Room, but the librarians were making an exception for us wild and crazy Daughters of the American Revolution.

Our refreshments are always simple: the usual menu involves sweet and salty, so I decided on a pound cake, some fruit, assorted nuts, and cheese straws. I baked a million dollar pound cake with amaretto whipped cream and had my other hostesses bring nuts, cheese straws, and drinks. But what to do about the fruit salad? I had nightmares of grapes rolling off plates and onto the brand new hardwood floors.

What to do, what to do..... I know! Skewer 'em.

I had the best time making this platter, and though it looks awfully summery for the week after Labor Day, every one of my compatriots were wearing open-toed shoes, so I figured there was no better time than the present to celebrate the end of summer.
I pulled out all the stops and made a whole theme with these little parasols: I put them in the cake and the centerpiece to give the party continuity. Then Mike took photos of the finished work this morning before I left. Love how the sun shines through the jewel tones.

The very best part? My mom was able to come to the meeting too. Two of my three co-hostesses weren't able to come, so Mom jumped into the fray, and with the help of Mary Jo, she and I were able to churn out and serve plates like a well-oiled machine. Thanks Mom.

I always wonder if a cake is good before serving because it's just not the type of food you can sample before the big reveal. But I suppose this particular cake was especially good, as when we returned to the kitchen to clean up leftovers, somebody in the library had stolen the last 5-inch chunk that I was planning to take home to Mr. Peacock!

Photos courtesy of Quisenberry.

Happy New Year!

My family has a few strict rules born of superstition and bred in convenience. For instance, all Christmas decorations must, MUST be put be completely put away by midnight on December 31st. A conversation held by Mike and me early last week:

Me: I'm taking the tree down on Tuesday so it can be on the street by Wednesday.

Mike: They're recycling the Christmas trees on Saturday (the SECOND), so why don't you wait to take it down until I'm here to help you?

Me: I don't care when the hell they're recycling squat. The tree will be down and OUT OF MY HOUSE on Wednesday.

See what a lifetime of musts will do to a woman?

Another must involves what one eats on New Year's Day. It doesn't matter how much you eat, but everyone must, MUST eat at least one bite each of greens, black eyed peas, ham, and grits. The greens represent money for the year, the peas good health, the ham prosperity, and well, we forget what the grits stand for, but they go well with everything else.

All my life, somebody who knew what they were doing made greens for us. But New Year's Day lunch was up to me this year, so I had to gird my loins and tackle a great Southern challenge: good greens made from scratch.

Have you ever tried canned greens? Don't. Just don't.

How to do greens? I seem to remember hamhocks were somehow integrally involved. So during my Wednesday morning Krogering, I picked up a few along with four bunches of collards. I figured smoked ones would be best. As I was looking them over, a little lady asked me, "Now, what's a skinny white girl like you know what to do with hamhocks?" To which I had to respond that Daisy's dead, Mattie's up in years, and CJ's husband won't let her come down to Clinton from Canton, so it's up to me. That seemed to appease her.

I also wanted to do blackeyed peas, so I bought three hamhocks: two for the greens and one for the peas. I probably could have just done one hamhock each, but this was a special dinner. Once home, I barely covered the hamhocks in water in the crock pot and cooked the heck of out them -about 12 hours on low - to tenderize the meat and create a lovely broth. At the same time, I soaked the bagged dried blackeyed peas to rehydrate them. And I marinated the pork loin.

I have to insert here that under no circumstances should you smell smoked hamhocks that have been in a crock pot for 12 hours straight. Women who are pregnant or nursing should not be anywhere closeby. Like lard, the smell isn't that pleasant. But have patience, and they will create for you the best damn broth in which to cook vegetables. Period.

Later on New Year's Eve, I actually cooked the peas and greens. Channeling Daisy, I drained the blackeyed peas of their soaking water and replaced it with 3 cups hamhock broth, 3 cups water, 1 Tablespoon salt, and a hamhock. And I set them on the stove over low heat.

I rinsed and washed the collards, cut out the thick veins in the middle, and chopped up the leaves. They filled my 6 quart stock pot to the top,but I knew they would cook down. To that I added two hamhocks, the rest of the hamhock stock, 3 Tablespoons salt (turned out to be too much - read on), 2 Tablespoons pepper, and for good luck, the left over Tom Turkey butter (4 ounces) that Mom gave us for Christmas. She gave us 2, and I thought it was a good gesture to melt down the last one on the last day of the year.

Love me some butter. Goodbye Tom Turkey, and goodbye 2009!
I set the greens over low heat too and let them cook for hours upon hours. Then I let the pots cool down enough to put them in the fridge and refrigerated them overnight. The next morning I decided the greens were a little salty (I forgot that hamhocks have their own sodium that develops over time), so I added 2 chopped potatoes to each pot to soak up the salt. Worked like a charm.

We don't like slabbed ham, so I had Mike grill a pork loin marinated overnight in teriyaki and cherriyaki sauce. And Mom was good enough to bring the grits. So our lunch was blackeyed peas, collard greens, corn bread (because you CANNOT eat greens without corn bread), cheese grits, and grilled pork with pear chutney.

Here's to a great 2010. I'll have to try turnip greens for 2011.

Hamhock photo courtesy of Dorsey Meats, blackeyed peas photo courtesy HowStuffWorks.

Chilly Chili

Along with the cold weather comes a need for a food that will warm us up from the inside out. Nothing can accomplish this feat when it's below freezing outside like a big pot of chili.

I like to make a vat of it: you never know when somebody might come over before caroling, to drop by a gift, or to curl up and watch a movie and need a little sustenance to take them on to their next holiday stop. And there is really nothing easier in the world of hospitality than handing somebody a bowl and a spoon and pointing them to the stove. Set out sour cream, various hot sauces, and of course Fritos, and voila, instant party.

Like spaghetti sauce, chili is one dish for which I have no set recipe. All I have is a basic premise, process, and ratio that I like. Except for one very important element: seasoning. Everybody in my family likes their chili in a very different way: Mike's taste preference depends on his mood, and I like it hot to nuclear. And since I make so much of it to share with other family and friends, I never know who will like it in which way.

For that reason, I usually season my chili relatively blandly, with only the basic seasonings to make it taste like chili, so we can season each individual bowl to our mood and like. Just last night we discovered a new hot sauce that goes especially well with my chili: jalapeño flavored Tabasco, courtesy of my dad. It gave the dish a brighter spicy that was oh so tasty.



The main point to remember: start with onions and ground beef. From there, just add ingredients slowly and one at a time to arrive at a final dish of which you can be proud. I have learned that chili is very personal: you might like yours soupy or so thick the spoon stands up in it (which is my personal preference). You might not like beans at all, so just leave them out.

Chili is truly a dish of "I like beef. And I like tomatoes. So let's dump them in a pot and try them together."

2 ounces olive oil

1-2 onions, chopped

4-6 cloves of garlic, minced

2 pounds 85-95% lean ground meat, like ground round or sirloin

Worcestershire to taste (1/2 - 1 Tablespoon)

Black pepper to taste (1/2 - 1 Tablespoon)

Salt to taste (1-2 Tablespoons)

Ground cumin to taste (1/2 - 1 Tablespoon)

Chili powder to taste (1-2 Tablespoons)

2 quarts or 4-5 cans of tomatoes, crushed, quartered, or chopped (I love to use preserved backyard tomatoes.)

2-3 cans red or kidney beans (You can use rehydrated bagged dry beans if you have the time. Just follow the directions on the back of the bag.)

3-4 Tablespoons corn starch (optional)

1. In a large pot, heat the oil and add onions to sautee until soft.
2. Toward the end of sauteeing the onions, add garlic and continue to sautee.
3. Add beef and seasonings and cook, stirring occasionally, until brown.
4. Drain the fat off the meat and add tomatoes and beans.
5. Stir well and cook until bubbly.
6. Take out about a cup of liquid and add to that the corn starch. Stir until completely incorporated and no lumps remain.
7. Return corn starch mixture to pot and cook this on low for as long as you want.
8. Really, as long as you want.
9. Stirring occasionally.
10. Just keep it warm on the stove.
11. Don't let it burn.
12. The longer you keep it heated, the smaller the beef chunks will become.
13. Don't leave it out unheated for 3 hours: at that point bacteria can grow.
14. When we're done with chili for the night, I'll let the pot cool and just put the whole shebang in the fridge. Be careful not to put it in too hot, as you don't want to raise the overall temperature in your fridge, which might lead to bacterial growth in other dishes.

Chili photo courtesy of MixMingleGlow.

Thankful for you.

I hope you had a beautiful Thanksgiving weekend. Ours was very nice, especially so since I had the opportunity to cook just what I wanted, while family and friends provided what I didn't have time to do.

There is a mongrel cur Dante dog curled up tightly next to my hip on the couch as I type. He has finally conked out after a very busy few days.

The celebration started with cinnamon rolls and sausage balls, along with coffee: one of my very favorite combinations.

Our good friend Cindy provided the turkey, and what a turkey it was! The smoky flavor was perfect and tasted divine with Mom's gravy and spinach madeline. For Thursday lunch we also had cornbread dressing, cranberry sauce, Mom's cranberry salad, yeast rolls, and my favorite recipe of chiffon pumpkin pie.

Mom gave me new pie crust cutters. I am completely enamored.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. The past few days have been a food extravaganza. Wednesday night we had Swedish chicken, rice, and green salad, Friday night Mike grilled a pair of pork tenderloins that we enjoyed with Mattie's mess of turnip greens and cornbread, last night we had Mike's grilled chicken wings with pasta and green salad, and throughout the weekend we had Judy's pecan tassies, clove brownies, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, key lime pie, and of course leftovers available to anybody who wanted them.

We and the fridge are all stuffed. I hope Mike likes leftovers. I might never have the room in the icebox to cook again.

But it wasn't all about food. There were lots of naps taken in the sunshine.
Some handworks and planning:

New tricks to learn - Roy taught Dante how to bring the paper!

And new fashions to try on:

No, it's not a scarf on Dante. Somebody tied his favorite snaker squeaky toy around his neck. He didn't seem to mind: notice the blurred wagging tail.

And what Mississippi Thanksgiving would be complete without several different guns to shoot and football to watch? Mike was a dead-eye with the .22, but we weren't so fortunate with the GA Tech vs Georgia game. Mike is still pouting.
But that's not all. Mike and his mom and dad bought a Christmas tree while I went with a friend (whose identity will be withheld to protect the not-so-innocent) to see New Moon. It was embarrassingly bad. So bad we waited for the theater to empty afterward so no one would recognize us there. Parts made us both giggle and laugh out loud, garnering shushes from the crowd that included both tweens and grandmothers. The wolves often looked like Muppets, and the action was punctuated with awkward drawn-out intense conversations that made me uncomfortable for both the actors and characters. And what's even more embarrassing is that we both enjoy the books. But the most embarrassing part is that we were all varying degrees of that intense and corny at some point back in high school. Thank Heavens we grew up. Well, most of us anyway.


He looks so young in this photo, but I still have to say... Yum. There was great eye candy. Even though his teeth were so blindingly white they looked like Chiclets.

So it was a lovely fun-filled, food-filled, family-filled week. Not 30 minutes after Roy and Judy left, work called Mike, so we're back to the real world and the old grind. Laundry is running, and dishes are washing while he works in the office here at the house.

Unsurprisingly, Dante is still asleep.

Slow Boat to China

We went to China this past weekend. Didn't we mention?

Actually, our dear friends Ying and John were kind enough to have us over for dinner this past Saturday night for Chinese. John and I grew up together, and I had eaten at his parents' house a bunch of times, but it's been a while. I forgot how incredible authentic Chinese food is; it's completely different from the take out we're use to in America. And good for you! There is a good reason why the Chinese live so long, stay so healthy, and have such beautiful complexions.

The photo above is a detail of one of eight Hunan Province Chinese embroideries that Mike and I have hanging over our bed. My parents bought them in San Francisco on the first leg of their honeymoon, and I found them laid carefully in a drawer about 20 years later, perfectly preserved. They are all different; each has its own characters. All but one have a pair of birds: the lone avian is an eagle. Ying was sweet enough to translate each one for me, but I was dumb enough to promptly forget. I do remember that the inscription on the eagle has to do with prosperity in the workplace, while the pair of peacocks calls upon a happy and harmonious marriage. I will have to get Ying to decipher them for me once again, and this time I'll have to write the meanings on the back of the frames.

But I digress. Supper. Saturday night. Delicious!

Ying started us off with edamame, one of our favorite dishes and one that I can make myself at home. Everything went fancy from there, and I soon realized this meal was one that I could never replicate.

Ying brought out thin strips of beef and chicken to carefully cook in the hot plate on the table; I felt bad because she spent more time cooking than she did eating. The chicken and beef were marinated beautifully, and we used big lettuce leaves, nori, or (and this fascinated me to no end) very thinly fried egg in which to wrap the meat along with rice, sauces, crab, eggs, and vegetables. There were big chopsticks on the table for us to use, but I forgot and once used my personal chopsticks to snag some beef. Hope nobody noticed my taboo!


But wait, there's more.

Ying outdid herself with such a varitey of dishes. One of my favorites was steamed rice cakes and bean sprouts with a spicy Chinese sauce. It was so good I bit my tongue twice in my enthusiasm. We also had grilled marinated chicken, fried rice, and a list of deliciousness that I can neither pronounce nor spell. But it was so good. We ate until we were full, then until we were stuffed, and then until it was painful!


But wait! There's more!

Then Ying brought out cups of a drink (again, I can neither pronounce nor spell) of avocado, pineapple, and mango. I'll admit it was a little odd-looking to this American with its green hue. But wow, was it good! It also had black pearl tapioca in it to give texture and added nutrients. We were in heaven.

And Mike has added black pearls to my grocery list.



Oh yeah, there's MORE.
THEN John brought out a fruit tray with citrus, grapes, cherry tomatoes, and pineapple. THEN he brought out warm brownies with strawberry ice cream.

Then my pants ripped.

Thank you, John and Ying, for such a lovely evening filled with great food and exemplary company. I didn't eat for the next 24 hours. And John, I understand that the deal was for Ying to cook and you to clean, and that you had something to do with preparation before we arrived. I hope it wasn't too much trouble to clean up the ginormous mess we left!

I'll have to attempt to return the favor. Somehow fried chicken and biscuits just doesn't seem to compete.

Photos courtesy of Tskuba, Rikaty, Wikimedia, and Sea Point Farms.

Father's Day Supper

One of my favorite parts of this past weekend was having Dad, CA, and AW over for supper. It's always great to see them; we really enjoy their company.

We had grilled mesquite cheriyaki chicken, grilled squash grown by Cindy, salad grown by Cindy (I didn't know you could grow lettuce down here!), bruschetta from our backyard with grilled toast, and cherry upside down cake, key lime icebox pie, or lemon bars with blueberries for dessert.

We didn't realize how distinctly hot it would be this weekend, and I felt bad when Mike went out to work on the grill. I went out before everyone arrived to grill toast for the bruschetta. When I fired up the grill, the thermometer was already reading over 100, without the fire!

Dad reminded me that if you plant hot and mild peppers close to each other, their flavors will blend together. So we harvested our first bell pepper to see how it would taste. I had planted them next to the jalapenos in the hopes of getting a spicy bell. Dad said it was completely mild, but I tasted a little kick! How neat is that?!?

Chicken Ka-Bobs

We had the best time Saturday night with Liz, Asher, and Jim - thanks for coming, guys! I don't know why I was hell-bent on sishkabobs, but I think the end product was fabu. The menu was artichoke dip, biscuits, the 'bobs, Liz's crunchy romaine salad, and Asher's hash browns, with key lime pie, our wedding Bailey's Irish Cream cake, or chocolate ganache cake for dessert. Damn, it was good!

So here's how we did the chicken:

- 4 BIG chicken breasts

- 2 purple onions

- 1 red bell pepper

- 1 orange bell pepper

- 1 yellow bell pepper

- 1 green bell pepper

- 1 package button mushrooms

Marinades.

The night before, we cut the chicken and vegetables into 1 1/2 inch pieces, and Mike decided on the marinades: chicken was in spicy- and cherry-teriyaki, vegetables were in lemon garlic and Caribbean jerk, and the mushrooms were marinated in soy and Worcestershire sauces. We sealed them up and stuck them in the fridge.

Then the next day, we skewered them (Mike did this for us for one of our first dates, and I remembered how much fun it was), heated up the grill, and grilled them until done, about 15-20 minutes.

It served a LOT more than we expected it to serve! I'd say about 8 people.

I won't mention how Mike thought the grill was filled up with gas, went to check on it, and realized he had run completely out, so he had to go pick up some more before we could cook them. He said it was so embarrassing.

Herbed Roasted Corn

Mike and I fixed this for lunch today, and man, did it turn out well! I've posted about the plank-grilled salmon before, and the blackberry salad is pretty self-explanatory, but the roasted corn was fabu. It's now my favorite way to cook corn: something about the roasting process infuses it with great taste and makes butter and salt unnecesary.

1. Preheat grill to 350 degress.
2. Soak desired amount of whole ears of corn in water for 15-30 minutes.
3. Peel the green husk back like a banana and remove the silks only.
4. Make an herbal garlic paste with desired amount of fresh garlic, cilantro, parsley, basil, rosemary, oregano, and/or mint.
5. Brush corn with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and herb mixture to taste.
6. Replace husks around corn and tie with butcher twine.
7. Roast in husk for 15-30 minutes, until desired doneness.
8. Discard husks and enjoy!

A Truly Lovely Evening

Last night was so much fun! Great food, even better company. My dad and Carrie Ann came over for supper, so we wanted to do something really special. I played sous-chef to Mike's chef for the evening. The menu consted of algonquin cocktails, homemade salsa, and wasabi peas for starters, then beef tenderloin chimichurri, baked potatoes, simple green salad, and biscuits. Finally, for dessert we had russian creme with amaretto whipped cream and coffee.

Dad brought over the best pinot noir I've ever had, which was pretty neat, as the chimichurri had pinot noir vinegar as the base.

Protestant Mardi Gras

OK, so I'm Presbyterian. Mike is Methodist. But I went to a Methodist college with a predominantly Louisiana Catholic student body, AND Mike loves the Jackson St. Paddy's Day Parade, so Mardi Gras is a big deal for us.

Last night we had some awfully good friends over. The menu was completely off the cuff, but I thought it came together rather well:
Artichoke dip
Homemade salsa (ugly dip that's chopped more coarsely, therefore not so ugly)
Mike's grilled salmon
Macaroni and cheese
Spinach Madeline
Simple green salad with dried cranberries, sliced carrots, and blueberries
Biscuits
King cake with Amaretto whipped cream



The company was wonderful, and it really did us good. We're still reveling in the fun and frivolity. I think my favorite part of the evening was watching Judy enjoy some leftover chocolate mousse, the Amaretto whipped cream, blueberries, and red wine. It really reminded me of Cha-Cha. Also, Angie had a great time playing with the thermo whip and the amaretto whipped cream! I also noticed Dante had a new friend in Jimmy, to whom he cozied up most of the night. Wonder if Jimmy snuck him some salmon?