Mixing, mixing, mixing

December 31, 2008February 6, 20152 Comments

My Christmas shopping budget this year was exactly $0 (you could also say it’s -$28,000 and counting, thank you grad school), so I had to be even more thoughtful (aka homemade) with my gifts than usual. Every year, my dad and stepmom, who run a folk music coffeehouse, host a Pickin’ and Eatin’ New Year’s Day Party. All of their music friends come over, and everyone eats and jams until the wee hours. With this in mind, I presented them with a certificate for my cooking/cleaning services today in preparation for their big party tomorrow.

As soon as I arrived, I turned into a walking food processor.

I made another batch of Rae Ann’s yummy holiday cream cheese spread, the one that tastes like carrot cake frosting. We opted to use regular cream cheese this time, though — wouldn’t want to overwhelm the party-goers with too much health.

Pre-mix, with cream cheese, craisins, orange juice concentrate, orange zest, pecans, cinnamon:

cream cheese, craisins, orange juice concentrate, orange zest, pecans, cinnamon

Post-mix, I had to taste test some on a cracker of course:

The spread is now in the fridge, chilling into its final ball shape form.

Next, Rae Ann found a can of chickpeas in a cupboard, so I offered to make hummus. Because the house was not stocked with any traditional hummus ingredients, we improvised and added part-skim ricotta, a tomato-bacon cream cheese flavor packet, sauteed asparagus, and other spices. The end result is DELICIOUS (I had to eat a lot of it throughout the whole process to make sure the taste was just right):

During the cupboard search for hummus ingredients, I also came upon some Belgian dark chocolate-covered poppycock, a piece of which spontaneously jumped into my mouth:

Finally, I needed to find a use for the remaining 2.5 cups of ricotta since the package was open and had no future commitments. I searched for some pumpkin to no avail, but Rae Ann offered me an even better alternative: sweet potatoes! Can you guess what it is going to be?

(P.S. I ate all the leftover potato skins since I knew they would not suit what I had in mind.)

Recipes and finished products will come soon!

And on the 8th night …

December 29, 2008February 6, 2015Leave a comment

When I was home last month for Thanksgiving, my mom concocted a plan for a potluck last-night-of-Hannukah gift swap family party. We used to have family parties at our house all the time, but the tradition has faltered as the kids have spread out and gotten older. It was fun to revive the tradition last night!

Treats included more of my apple-cranberry pie:

cranapple-pie

My potato-free “latkes“:

The black bean dip Rachel and I made:

bean-dip1

And so much more!

My plate: turkey, tomato, lettuce, latkes, salad, and my aunt's famous noodle kugel!

I went back for another big piece of kugel before it disappeared. I’m pretty sure I had a couple more latkes, too. Despite being overstuffed, I couldn’t stay away from the desserts!

Hannukah cake (I ate several slivers) and cranberry blondies (I had 3). Whoops!

Plus this upside-down pineapple-ricotta pie my mom made:

: But it tasted weird, so I only had one piece.

I ate several more things that I can’t remember (and trying to remember makes me feel ill). I narrowly escaped further caloric damage with my gift swap present. I first opened a giant box of Whitman dark chocolates (the horror), but I managed to exchange it instantly for someone else’s non-edible chocolate-scented candles. Close call! I definitely went overboard on the food, but it was a fun day overall. Still, I went to bed anxious for a new event-free day to recover from all the gluttony!

Creative kitchening

December 29, 2008February 6, 2015Leave a comment

I woke up on the 28th still full from that mammoth pancake the night before. I chugged several glasses of water and eventually got around to snacking on a clementine (but you know what that looks like!) and introducing Rachel to the wonders of pumpkin yogurt!

pumpkin-prep

with a chopped pear and pumpkin pie spice

This baby bowl satisfied my minimal hunger perfectly, but then I noticed Rich gathering some very intriguing ingredients:

thin-sliced tilapia ...

slivers of carrot and cucumber ...

chopsticks (plus my cousin Josh) ...

Sushi!!

My roll (x3!!)

Inspired by Rich’s culinary creativity, Rachel and I set to work developing an original black bean dip for her to bring to my mom’s potluck later that day:

fork-mashed beans (but don't they look like oreo crumbs???)

sauteeing asparagus, onions, and garlic in olive oil

We surprised ourselves with the delicious end product!

Tattoo party!

December 29, 2008February 6, 20151 Comment

But let’s start at the beginning. After the wild night at my dad’s house the night before, I didn’t wake up until about 10:30 on the 27th! That’s unheard of for me — in my non-vacation life in NY, I wake up at 5am every morning (ack!) to go to the gym before work. I started the day with a big glass of water and my usual mug of tea with skim.

I set about preparing breakfast for my mom, John, and me with leftovers from the night before: more pie! We each got 2 slices’ worth, topped with toasted walnuts and accompanied by a greek yogurt/part-skim ricotta/banana/cinnamon sauce:

breakfast-plate

I was planning to head to my cousin’s house (and a mystery food schedule) for the night, so I had a quick and light lunch (leftovers rescued from my fridge in NY as I was running out the door last week) to tide me over:

steamed cabbage topped with 2T of Wholly Guacamole

At my cousin Rachel’s house, we spent a couple hours playing with her kids — Rachel’s 4-year-old Lilly helped me make a triple batch of these for my mom’s potluck Hannukah party the next day — and snacking on pistachios (unpictured) and chicken legs (unpictured again, but I had 3!) before we got to work on the main attraction. Rachel recently took up tattooing, and I just happened to have a little quarter-sized cupcake on my right front hip that needed some help. I’ve had the frosting filled in pink twice, and it has faded to almost nothing both times. Rachel promised she could remedy the situation with a “pinkalicious” color concoction. Here’s the masterpiece in progress:

tattoo

While I was under the needle, Rachel’s husband Rich set to work on a post-surgery feast:

verrrrrrrrry strong strawberry martini (to dull the pain)

giant chocolate chip pancake (after I had already eaten 2/3 of it). I cleaned the plate, of course!

Shortly after inhaling both of the above, my cousin Josh and I stumbled down to our respective couches. I was out as soon as my head hit the pillow!

Are you sure everyone gets along?

December 29, 2008February 6, 20152 Comments

As planned, my mom, stepdad, and I headed over to my dad’s house for a big family dinner! When we arrived, my stepmom had prepared quite a spread of scrumptious appetizers. I have no clue how much of this ended up going into my mouth, but I was certainly on a roll …

cheese-ball

My stepmom made this spread with fat free cream cheese, craisins, orange zest, and several other yummy touches. It tasted like carrot cake frosting!

sorpressata-cheddar-pineapple-olive skewers

Has anyone tried this before? It's the perfect salty-sweet-spicy combo.

And onto the main event:

Dad slicing some bakery fresh wheat ciabatta

Stepmom slicing terriyaki pork tenderloin (flanked by sweet potatoes, white potatoes, carrots, and green beans)

My plate: heel of the bread, 4 slices tenderloin, roasted veggies (minus white potatoes -- LOATHE them!), and unsweetened applesauce

For dessert, we each had a slice of my very yummy and very healthy creation: Apple-Cranberry Pie with Millet Crust.

pie

pie-crust

Ensuing hilarity:

Angry mom trying to request a more flattering angle.

Dad sending a friendly message to the photographer (my mother)

Inauguration of the new camera’s self-timer feature:

Aunt Mary, stepmom, me, dad, mom, stepdad

Everyone: Aunt Mary, Rae Ann (stepmom), me, dad, mom, John (stepdad)

Following this wholesome family meal, we all retired to the living room so dad, John, and Rae Ann could break out the guitars. I napped on the floor in front of the roaring fire, waking up every so often for: