We started with an amuse-bouche of sweet popcorn in condiment bowls and then had cucumber sandwiches and white chocolate fondue.  Next time, no fondue forks.  Those things are sharp and everyone just dips fruit directly into the barely warm chocolate anyway.

My helper setting the table:

Every civilized tea party has handwritten place settings.  (If Kate Middleton uses any of the names above, there will be another, much larger consolidated tea party and baby shower.  If Kim Kardashian uses any of them, we’re going to Canada.)

A great time was had by all.

- Catherine

Last night I made Ina’s Broccoli with Garlic and Soy Sauce with a  simple rice pilaf and grilled pork tenderloin.  The tenderloin was one of those peppercorn packaged ones, which I shouldn’t admit that I like as much as I do.  They’re so easy and I did make two of the three components for dinner last night from scratch, so I feel no guilt about it.

The broccoli was delicious, but I think next time I’ll roast the broccoli instead of blanching it.  The ratio of garlic and soy were perfect; I’m a little upset this is Ina’s recipe, it seems so obvious that I wish I had come up with it.  I did use less crushed red pepper than the recipe called for and my husband and I just added more at the table.  The adults got hoisin drizzled over our pork; the kids each got little ramekins of “Chinese Ketchup” (hoisin) for dipping.

- Catherine

Last night I made Andra’s Corn Chowder for the first time this year.  Now that corn season has officially started and we can buy it from farmstands by the side of the road, this will replace roast chicken as our new weekly staple.  It is so easy and so good.  Steeping the rosemary is key.  Last night I didn’t use any chicken stock (because the movers come in 18 days and buying any pantry staple items at this point would be crazy) and it was just as good.  I used four ears of fresh white corn.

- Catherine

My Version of Andra’s Corn Chowder

1/2 cup of chopped peppered bacon

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 large onion, diced

2 stalks of celery, diced

1 clove of garlic, minced

3 Yukon Gold potatoes, diced

2 cups of water

2 cups of milk

1 cup of cream

4-6 ears of fresh corn, cut from the cob

Sprig of fresh rosemary

Salt and pepper to taste

Render the bacon in the bottom of a large dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Sauté the pepper, onion, celery and garlic until softened, about 5 – 7 minutes.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Add the water and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, add the potatoes, milk and cream and boil until the potatoes have softened about 8 – 10 minutes.  Add the corn and simmer for 10 minutes.  Blend the soup with an immersion blender to help thicken the soup but not completely puree the soup.  You should still see lots of red pepper and corn.  Turn the soup down to a simmer, drop in the rosemary and let the soup simmer and thicken, about 20 minutes.  Remove the rosemary and add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with extra crisped bacon and shredded cheese.  Pass cayenne pepper or hot smoked paprika at the table.

Who’s Stella, you ask?

This is Stella.

Not sure why my parents named her that, but it’s funny to hear everyone in my family do their best Marlon Brando impression through the side of their mouth.  ”Steeeeelllllllaaaa!!!”

When the moving company reps came to estimate how much stuff we have, I took them to the garage first.  Lose, break or ruin most of our things and we’ll get over it.  But Stella?  She needs to arrive intact.  I think the movers are actually bringing a piece of equipment to lift her.

To give credit where it’s due, my father found Stella at a garage sale.  We figured he deserved naming rights for what has become a member of the family.  My husband calls her a Weapon of Mass Condensation, because on hot days, she can get pretty sweaty.  That can make it hard to read which category you’re pulling your beer from:  the “Maintenance” beer for everyday, the “Family Hold Back” beer for special occasions and/or guests, or the “Swing” beer, which can fall into either category.  (The cans are for the beach, of course.)

My Dad always said that “10 Moves Equals a Fire”.  This will be our fifth move since getting married, but our first since Stella joined the family.  I’m a good sport about moving and try to put on a brave face when strangers are packing up my Great Aunt Josephine’s china and Grandpa Doug’s paintings.  But, watching Stella disappear into the back of a dark truck will be hard.  I just hope there are no bumps on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

- Catherine

Chicken Souvlaki is one of my favorite summertime meals, except we don’t always call it chicken souvlaki.  It’s either “grilled chicken”, “chicken kebabs” or “lemon chicken”, but with the addition of the yogurt sauce, I think I can officially call what we had last night “chicken souvlaki”.

I used store-bought naan, and just put it on the grill for a minute on each side after the chicken came off.

The best part about eating Chicken Souvlaki?  No dishes!  Just throw them at the fireplace and sweep them up later.

- Catherine

Chicken Souvlaki

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 2-inch pieces

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (juice from about 3 lemons)

1/2 cup olive oil

1 garlic clove, chopped

1 Tbsp dried oregano or 2 Tbsp fresh

2 tsp honey

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Whisk the lemon juice, olive oil, garlic oregano, honey, salt and pepper together until emulsified in a container large enough to hold the chicken.  Add the chicken pieces and marinate for at least a couple of hours.  Thread the chicken on skewers, discard the marinade.  Grill over medium high heat until cooked through, turning as necessary, about 15 minutes.

Serve with store-bought naan and yogurt sauce. (And corn on the cob if they sell it on the side of the road where you live and your daughter insists on eating three ears of corn at each meal.)

Yogurt Sauce

3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt

1/2 medium-sized cucumber, peeled and grated on a box grater

1 tsp lemon zest

2 Tbsp lemon juice

1 garlic clove, crushed

2 Tbsp fresh mint, finely chopped

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients and season to taste.  Serve with the chicken and naan.

My father-in-law visited us last weekend and we had his absolute favorite meal at our house, mushroom lasagna.  He always asks, “What do you call this thing?” when we’re eating it, which I think is funny.  I think he has a hard time calling something “lasagna” which looks totally different from the classic towering colossus of meat, cheese and red sauce that most people associate with the term.  The presentation of this lasagna is elegant, but the mushrooms provide plenty of meatiness to serve it as an entrée.  This is an Ina Garten recipe, but I’ve made some adjustments; I add more mushrooms and use the Barilla no cook noodles, which I soak in warm water before assembling the lasagna.  I’ve also toyed with the cheese mixture.  I’ve added a little fontina, which melts nicely and when I make this for my family, I add chopped spinach.*

- Catherine

* I might toy with the recipe, but not the ritual.  I always drink a Miller Lite while I assemble it, as evidenced in the photo below.

Mushroom Lasagna (adapted from Ina Garten’s Portobello Mushroom Lasagna, Barefoot Contessa at Home)

2 lbs baby portobello mushrooms, stems removed, sliced about 1/4 inch thick

4 cups whole milk

12 Tbsp unsalted butter

1/2 cup flour

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1 1/2 cup parmesean cheese

7 ounces Barilla Lasagna noodles (the “No Boiling Required” flat ones)

Preheat oven to 375°.

In a large glass measuring cup, heat the milk in the microwave until hot, but not boiling.  In a medium saucepan, melt 1 stick (8 Tbsp) of the butter.  Add the flour and cook over low heat for about a minute, stirring constantly.  Pour the hot milk into the butter-flour mixture and whisk until thick, about 5 minutes.  Add the nutmeg, 1/2 Tbsp salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.  Remove from heat and let cool.

Heat 2 Tbsp of butter and 2 Tbsp of olive oil in a large sauté pan (I use my huge 13″ French skillet for this).  Add the sliced mushrooms, salt and pepper and sauté until the mushrooms release some of their juices and become just browed on the edges.

Prior to assembling the lasagna, lay the dry lasagna noodles in a rimmed plate and add hot tap water.  Let the noodles soften for about 10 minutes.

To assemble, layer a ladle-full of the white sauce in a baking dish, ensuring the bottom is completely covered.  Then layer noodles, sauce, mushrooms and a heaping 1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese, repeating at least twice.  Finish with a layer of noodles and more parmesan.  Dot the top with 3-4 small pieces of butter and bake for 45 minutes.  Let sit for about 15 minutes before serving.

That is a picture of a bacon-wrapped hot dog.  Enough said.

Hope you had a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend.

- Catherine

Last night, I ate Mexican Pizza for the first time in about twenty-five years.  I decided to make a meal I knew would be a home run for my kids after a week of very adult eating.  My mother didn’t make meals aimed at getting kids to eat; she didn’t have to, everything she made was delicious for everyone at the table.  I can’t imagine my mother ever owning a book like we all have now with surreptitious ways to get vegetables into children or creative plating tactics to “trick” kids into eating a balanced meal.  Mexican Pizza was as close as she came to tailoring something for us.  That’s what I thought when I made it last night, anyway.

But, then I ate it and remembered how good it is.  I got worried there wouldn’t be any leftovers for me to eat today standing in front of the refrigerator alone, Nigella-style.  Forget kids, I’m making this the next time we don’t have to arm wrestle those jerks to get the last piece.

We piled each piece with lettuce, tomatoes, diced avocado, jalepeños, salsa and used plain Greek yogurt as a stand-in for sour cream.  So, even for a “kid’s meal”, it wasn’t entirely unhealthy.   No sneakiness required.

- Catherine

Mexican Pizza

1 lb of ground beef, cooked using Andra’s taco recipe

3 oz Monterey Jack Cheese, grated

3 oz Cheddar cheese, grated

1 can of refried beans (I used pinto beans that I mashed myself)

6-8 flour tortillas

Preheat oven to 400°.  Line a non-stick baking sheet with flour tortillas, overlapping as necessary, leaving about an inch overlapping the edge of the pan.  Use a spatula to spread the refried beans over the tortillas.  Spread the beef mixture and top with the cheese and bake until cheese has melted and the tortillas are crisp and starting to brown, about 15-20 minutes.  Cut into squares and pass Greek yogurt, lettuce, diced tomatoes and avocado and salsa at the table.

We eat Thai-style chicken curry often but I’ve never posted it here, mostly because it’s hard to take an appealing picture of braised meat and vegetables swimming in a brownish/reddish curry sauce.  But it’s so delicious I thought it was worth mentioning.  I’m not Thai and I’m sure my version is nowhere near authentic, but I’ve eaten curry at enough Thai restaurants to know what I’m going for:  thinly sliced pieces of chicken and vegetables in a curry sauce with an almost stew-like consistency finished with lots of fresh basil on top.  And it needs to come to the table piping hot with Jasmine rice on the side.

I make this when I have small amounts of a variety of vegetables that need to be used and I have all the necessary canned items in the pantry.   These are all from the Asian section of my grocery store and it’s by no means cosmopolitan here, so I’m sure they’re in yours too.  I prefer the red curry paste, the one on the bottom, but I keep the more mild, yellow one on hand as well.

There are two keys to great Thai curry at home.  The first is to use a lot more curry paste than the recipe on the container calls for.  I discovered this because the recipe on the container uses metric measurements and I have a strict policy of ignoring the metric system in my kitchen.  I only realized later when I did the math that I was doubling the recommended amount.

The other key to great curry is to let the mixture cook for at least 30 minutes, longer if possible.  When I first starting making curry, I had a liquid management problem.  When the chicken, vegetable and coconut milk mixture looked like it wouldn’t yield that piping hot sauce I wanted, I would add chicken stock, water or more coconut milk.  The result was either watery or overwhelmingly coconut-y.

The solution is to not panic when you see that your curry needs liquid and wait for the vegetables to release their starch and liquid into the sauce, thickening it up.  That’s why a longer cooking time and using vegetables that will release lots of water (like cauliflower or bell peppers) will get you the consistency you want.

Last night, I used most of a head of cauliflower, three small diced potatoes, a red bell pepper and the canned bamboo shoots and straw mushrooms above.  I only used two chicken breasts and four of us ate with enough leftovers for another meal or a couple of lunches.  (I should mention that two of us are under five-years old.)

Pretty in pictures or not, it’s delicious.

Thai Style Chicken Curry

2 chicken breasts, thinly sliced

1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp of red curry paste

1 13.5 ounce can coconut milk

1 onion, diced

1 bell pepper, roughly chopped

3 small potatoes, diced

1/2 head of cauliflower

Bamboo shoots, canned

Straw mushrooms, canned

Non-flavored cooking oil, I use canola

Heat 2 Tbsp of canola oil over medium heat.  Add curry paste, breaking it up with a wooden spoon and cook until fragrant.  Add 1/2 can of coconut milk and stir until combined and thickened with the curry paste.  Add the chicken and cook until liquid boils, then reduce heat to a simmer and add the remaining ingredients.  Cover and continue to simmer until the vegetables soften and the mixture is thickened.  Season to taste and finish with fresh basil.  Serve with Sriracha sauce and bowls of Jasmine rice.

This salad was inspired by a Tyler Florence recipe, but I made some changes based on what I needed to use and what I knew my kids would eat (more hard-boiled eggs than his recipe calls for and diced apples).  Wilting the spinach gives it a more substantial texture.  Together with the warm vinaigrette, this feels hearty and would make a great wintertime salad.  Perfect for these freezing New Jersey Spring evenings.

Wilted Spinach Salad with Warm Black Pepper and Honey Dressing

(adapted from The Ultimate Spinach Salad with Bacon, Black Pepper and Honey, Tyler’s Ultimate Cookbook)

6 large eggs

4 bacon slices, cut crosswise into thin strips

1 onion, sliced

2 garlic cloves, sliced

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

2 pounds baby spinach

1 apple, diced

3 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper