Saturday, 8/28/2010

It's party day...
HAPPY BIRTHDAY JENNIFER!!!

It is my mother-in-law's 60th birthday today.  Ben, Spencer, and I are throwing her a big party along with her friends Chris and Larry.  They graciously agreed to let us hold the party at their home in Oregon City, Oregon.  Thank you Chris and Larry!  After a delicious coffee cake breakfast, the three of us took off to run errands and prep for the party.  Katie got to stay behind for some Grandma time.  Maybe I should say, Katie stayed behind so that Grandma could have some Katie time:)

Our first stop of the morning was JaCiva's for the birthday cake--chocolate cake, chocolate mousse filling, and butter cream frosting.  Spencer forwarded a photo of the napkins we purchased for the party to be used as cake decoration inspiration.  They did a fantastic job matching the colors and overall floral theme.  The cake was quite yummy, although, I did eat too much in the end.  I planned on sharing my large corner piece with Katie, but then she wouldn't eat a bit.  So, I ate the whole thing by myself.  Later, Katie really did want cake and insisted on sharing it with me.  Yes, I ate a lot of cake tonight.  And yes, I had it with vanilla ice cream too. 

Once at Chris and Larry's home, we arranged flowers, decorated, arranged tables, washed potatoes, stuffed peppers, chopped rosemary, sliced citrus fruits, prepared appetizer dishes, and got ready for the wine and cheese tasting.  We were busy!  For the first two hours of the party, we served appetizers and had a blind wine and cheese tasting activity.  Yesterday we shopped for wine and cheese at New Seasons Market, located not far from Jennifer's home.  Ben did pairing research ahead of time and took his list of 10 wine and cheese combinations to the store.  He and Spencer did their best to pick out the right cheeses first.  Then, they talked with a wine steward who helped pick out the right wines to pair with the cheeses at the right prices.  After the wines were selected, the cheese expert was back from her break and helped tweak the cheese selections a bit.  In the end, we were under budget on wine and cheese and super pleased with the service we received.  Just so you know, if you buy a case or more of wine at New Seasons Market in one purchase, you get a 20% discount.  That is huge!

For the tasting activity, we covered the wine bottle labels and numbered them.  I made the cute covers:)  The cheeses that complimented each wine were cute into bite sizes and piled in front of the bottles.  We made a large poster that listed the wines and cheese in random orders.  If the guests were interested in participating in the activity, they could take a stab at guessing which wines and cheeses they were tasting.  I am very proud of myself for guessing 8 out of 10 wines correctly.  Unfair advantage you say?  Nope...I left Ben alone for his research and didn't pay any attention to the wine steward while he recommended the wines.  I'm just that good ;-) We purchased a wine glass for each person who said they were coming.  I made personalized tags to circle the base of each glass.  With 28 adults expected, we did our best to avoid wine glass confusion.  I think it worked well! 

We had quite a few appetizers to choose from.  Chris prepared stuffed jalapenos and a fresh veggie dish with a Peppercorn Parmesan dip.  I made a Hot Mango Chutney Cashew dip, a Spicy Lemon Veggie dip, and roasted elephant garlic.  Ben blanched a pound of sugar snap peas to go along with the veggie dip.  We served sliced french bread baguettes to spread the chutney cashew dip and roasted garlic on.  The dip recipes and peas I made are included at the end of this blog entry.

For dinner we made Pollo Pibil--citrus spice marinated chicken, roasted potatoes with rosemary, and our standard household spinach, mandarin orange, and goat cheese salad with balsamic vinaigrette on the side.  For the salad, we ended up using about a pound of spinach, 1 1/2 small cans of mandarin oranges, and a 1/3 of a pound of crumbled goat cheese.  Follow the imbedded link for the chicken recipe, previously posted on this blog. The potato recipe will be at the end of this blog entry too.  

At the end of the day, we feel like we threw a great party.  The guests enjoyed themselves and Jennifer had a wonderful time.  It was a lot of work, but TOTALLY worth it:)  

Jennifer, Spencer, Katie, Ben, and me

Here are the recipes:

HOT MANGO CHUTNEY CASHEW DIP- from my friend Taran


Ingredients:
8 ounces cream cheese
2/3 cup sour cream
3-5 tsp curry powder, depending on preference
1/2 cup hot mango chutney
1 cup chopped cashews, divided

Directions:
Mix together all ingredients, saving 1/4 cup of the cashews for later.  Spoon into a serving dish and top with the reserved cashews.   Spread on slices of french bread baguettes or similar bread. 

Notes: I doubled this recipe due to the high number of guests expected.  With the amount of food available, we ended up taking home one recipe worth of the dip.  I'm not complaining, but it is worth mentioning.  It is a rich dip. 

SPICY LEMON DIPPING SAUCE- from Alton Brown's cookbook "I'm Just Here for the Food, volume 2.0"

Ingredients:
2/3 cup mayonnaise
3/4 cup sour cream
Zest from one lemon, chopped fine
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon red chili flakes
1 teaspoon dried tarragon
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
In a medium mixing bowl whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, lemon zest, lemon juice, red pepper flakes and tarragon.  Taste and add salt and pepper as desired.

Notes: This really is a spicy dip.  The spice hit on the tongue is a bit delayed.  The recipe calls for 12 ounce of sugar snap peas.  I have found that you will end up with 2-3 times more dip than you need for 12 ounces of peas.  So, either have more peas available or make a smaller batch of dip.  

SUGAR SNAP PEAS- also from Alton Brown


Ingredients:
Heavy pinch kosher salt
12 ounces of sugar snap peas, trimmed and rinsed (approximately 4 cups)

Directions:
Bring 2 quarts of water and the salt to boil in a 4-quart saucepan, covered, over high heat.  Add the peas and cook uncovered for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes.  Drain the peas and immediately plunge into ice water.  Drain and set aside.  The actual time of course will depend on the peas.  These aren't big ole green beans, and few things are as awful as limp sugar snaps.  So stay right with them as they cook.

Even if the dip is perfect and the peas are dead on, the dish will fail if the peas are wet.  Once they've chilled down, dry them well or the dip just won't stick...and that would be sad. 


ROASTED POTATOES WITH ROSEMARY- from the Safeway brand Produce Stand fresh rosemary package

Prep time: 10 minutes--for one batch;)
Bake time: 25 to 30 minutes

Ingredients:
2 pounds small (1 1/2 to 2-inches) red skin or White Rose potatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt, course type preferred
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Scrub potatoes, dry well and cut in half lengthwise.  Pour olive oil into a rimmed baking sheet into which the potatoes fit comfortably.  Heat in oven until oil is hot, about 3 minutes.  Swirl to coat pan and place potatoes cut side down in hot oil.  Sprinkle with salt.  Bake for 25 to 35 minutes or until cut side is golden brown.  Remove from oven, turn with a spatula, sprinkle with rosemary and toss to coat.  Serve immediately.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Notes: We made approximately 9 pounds of potatoes for the party.  Thankfully, Chris and Larry have two ovens.  With two full baking sheets in each oven, the potatoes were ready in 30 minutes.  Be warned, the oil heats up quickly in 450 degrees and starts to smoke.  Keep your fan running when you open the oven door to reduce the risk of a smoke detector going off. 

Friday, 6/25/2010

It was "Meet Your Neighbors Night" at the Ackers home tonight. We've lived in our house for over four years. Three years ago, Mike and Cary moved in a couple houses away on the other side of the street. A year and a half ago, Bonnie and Ian moved in next to Mike and Cary. We've always been friendly with each other, but our conversations have always been brief and outside in front of our houses. We learned earlier this year that Bonnie and Ian are expecting a baby, Oliver, next month. It seemed like a good time to get to know each other better. So, tonight we invited them to come over for dinner.

Our friend Lyn offered to share the recipe for the delicious orange chicken we had at her house a couple weeks ago. I accepted excitedly! Not only did she share the recipe, she gave me most of the ingredients. I only had to pick up cinnamon sticks and chicken breasts. The rest of the ingredients I already had or she gave me. Thanks Lyn! (Recipe at the bottom of the post followed by my comments.)

To go with the chicken, our neighbors brought over several pasta salads they purchased at local grocery stores. They were all quite yummy. We finished the meal with vanilla ice cream with Special Dark Hershey's chocolate syrup. Oh yes, and we had quite a bit of delicious wine. We started with a Malbec, followed it with a Red Table Wine, and then had a Pinot Nior. At the end of the night, we feel like we have some really good neighbors:)

POLLO PIBIL
From "Cafe Pasqual's Cookbook" by Katharine Kagel

It is best to let the chicken marinate for 24 hours.
Serves 6.

Ingredients:
4 teaspoons cumin seeds
1 Mexican cinnamon stick, about 3 inches
1 teaspoon whole cloves
1 1/2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns
1/2 cup achiote paste (see note below)
3 tablespoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons finely minced garlic
2 cups fresh orange juice
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
2 tablespooons stemmed fresh marjoram leaves, or 1 tablespoon dried marjoram leaves
1/2 cup olive oil
6 chicken breast halves

Directions:

To prepare the chicken, combine the cumin, cinnamon, and cloves in a small, dry saute pan over medium heat. Roast, shaking the pan frequently, until the aromas are released, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool. Place the spices in a spice mill or coffee grinder and grind until pulverized. Alternatively, pulverize in a mortar using a pestle.

Combine spices with all of the remaining ingredients, except the chicken, in a blender or food processor fitted with the metal blade. Process just long enough to incorporate.

Put the chicken breasts in a shallow glass dish. Pour the spice mixture evenly over the top to cover completely. Cover and place in the refrigerator to marinate for at least 24 hours or up to 36 hours, turning frequently.

Grill and enjoy!

Ok, if you read the directions above, you know this is a homemade marinade. Usually, I marinade with store-bought packets of seasoning that I only have to add water, oil, and vinegar to. The prep time for this one took me by surprise.

I was not prepared to have to roast and pulverize spices. We have a coffee grinder, but grinding spices in it was outlawed by Ben in our house several years ago after a fennel seed experiment. He could taste fennel in his coffee for weeks. So, I tried to pulverize the spices in our food processor. It worked a little. After letting it "process" for several minutes, I decided that not much more was going to happen there. I tried to crush the big pieces of cinnamon and cloves with a spoon in a bowl. That didn't do anything. So, I sifted out the pulverized spices and tossed out the remaining large pieces. I knew that might affect the balance of the marinade, but didn't have much of a choice. It was already 10pm and I still had work to do.

For the achiote paste, I used two packets of Sazon Goya's Con Culantro y Achiote. The recipe says to use a paste, and the packets say to add water, but I did neither. I just used two packets of this seasoning per Lyn's instructions and it was great. There is already a lot of liquid in the marinade; there is no need for more.

I had to squeeze 7 limes in order to get a 1/2 cup of juice. Lyn gave me 4 and I used 3 that I had at home. All were pretty tough and would not release their juices. That was another time suck. Thankfully, the rest of the ingredients were easy to measure out without additional preparation. I did manage to not read the last bit of the instructions that said to turn the chicken breasts frequently in the marinade. Just saw that now. Oops! I can now say, from experience, that the chicken will still taste wonderful, even if you only use a portion of the spices and forget to turn the breasts over in the marinade.

Now that I know what it takes to make this marinade, I am going to invest in a spice grinder. This recipe is DEFINITELY worth making again.