This cool link was sent to me by my dear Crystal. And seeing as how I am feeling very lazy this week (yes, that was frozen pizza we had for dinner last night..), I thought this might stimulate the competitive streak in you.
Come up with a recipe based on these themes and make it into Amanda Hesser’s cookbook. Too cool.
I just dislike not having at least a little something for you each day. Here’s your little something.
Thank you, Crystal!
xoxo, Patti
But that doesn’t mean I didn’t eat!
Friday evening started with london broil on the grill and salad. Great way to begin the weekend!
Saturday, after I returned from boxing class and while I was blow drying my hair, my darling Eric whipped up a delicious brunch of bacon, melon, eggs and bagels after turning the tv to the Gator game for me to enjoy. What an amazing man I am married to!
That night, we ventured out to midtown Atlanta for a night of burgers and comedy at the Vortex. Alack and alas, the comedy left something to be desired, but it was fun to get out and do something totally different.
Sunday we snoozed til 10 a.m., went to the Goodwill to pick up a great rug for the dining room (this really cut the noise down in there), over to Forsyth Fabrics to check out textiles for draperies and then a surprise visit to Flip. Ohhh, this was tasty! I had the bacon cheese burger and Eric had the farm burger, we shared the crispy, yummy fries and both had a milkshake – the foie gras milkshake for Eric and the nutella and burnt marshmallow shake for me. It was so good. And as the Falcons were playing in town, it was easy to get a seat at this very popular spot.
The evening was rounded out with potato chips and onion dip while watching the VMA awards.
It’s okay to give yourself time off – you can’t be expected to entertain ALL the time.
Have a wonderful week Darlings!
xoxo, Patti
I know I can’t be the only one out there besides Martha Stewart who loves making things beautiful for my loved ones.
Today, via the sweet Tami Hardeman on Facebook, I was introduced to these two sites that utterly enchanted me.
Please take a look while I am whipping up today’s post. You will fall in love, I promise.
And Conversations With A Cupcake
They are what I aspire my little blog to be and they are fabulous.
Be right back with today’s post.
Happy Friday, Darlings!
xoxo, Patti
By now, I guess you have figured out that not all goes swimmingly with every party. I thought I would lighten the mood today with some of my past dinner disasters. No doubt Martha Stewart would concur that not everything goes as planned….
One of my most favorite mini disasters happened when Eric and I lived in a tiny apartment in Tampa and we had invited a co-worker of his to dinner. I had planned a lovely pork tenderloin…that was not cooperating. Instead of freaking out, I decided we should turn the dinner upside down – by starting with dessert. Everyone was decidedly happy and the party was saved.
Another night, same apartment. I had invited one of my best girlfriends for a special dinner in her honor. She brought her two daughters, whom I have known since they were babies. The menu included stuffed clams and veal medallions. Guess what two foods in the world my little darlings refused to eat? You guessed it….clams and veal. A lot of garlic bread was consumed that night.
I’ve already told you of my silly plan to make mini pizzas for a huge party, my pasta problem (thank goodness for Via Elisa!) and the paella fiasco. But there’s more.
Recently, I made a baba ganoush requested by my darling Eric. I have never made baba ganoush before, but how hard could it be? It turned out so bitter, I could not eat it. But not Mr. Eric – he thought it was yummy.
In my early years, I was nothing but kitchen disasters. The first one I can recall is when I was around 10 years old and thought I could make hot chocolate in the tea kettle. As you can imagine, my poor mother was scrubbing hot chocolate off the ceiling for years. Sorry, Mama!
Once, thinking that chocolate covered homemade marshmallows would trump plain ole homemade marshmallows, I dunked said marshmallows in hot, melted chocolate. What I ended up with was quite the melty mess.
Christmas is my favorite time of the year, but one year, after making a gorgeous prime rib roast, shrimp stuffed baked potatoes and brandied mushrooms for ten, the kitchen sink wouldn’t drain and our dear landlord was in Missouri. For two weeks. Not my finest hour for sure.
I could go on and on, but I will end with the most hilarious kitchen disaster of all. The college birthday cake massacre. My darling friend Vickie and I decided we would bake a cake for our dear friend Donna’s birthday. In these days, baking from scratch meant a jiffy cake mix, which we made and seemed fine. But the cake needed icing, so we whipped out the powdered sugar and mixed it with some milk and put it on the cake. The cake soaked up every bit of icing…what to do? Check the fridge – we have some frozen blueberries! That will be pretty! Time to decorate the cake with those charming candy letters from our childhood. Happy Birthday – check! Donna…not so much. Clumsily we broke all the letter Ds, Os and Ns….what are we going to do now? Vickie, the ever creative, came up with this cake greeting – “Happy Birthday Virgil Ray”…which caused a laughing fit the likes I have yet to see again. We laughed so hard we were laying on the floor, holding our stomachs.
There is hope for all who aspire to bake and cook. Keep trying and let me know how you are doing.
xoxo, Patti
Who doesn’t want to be thought of as the perfect guest? Everyone wants to be the guest that hosts clamor to invite. What is the best way to accomplish this? I’m going to clue you in.
1. Bring A Gift. This should be a no-brainer, but I never show up empty handed to a party. Ever. Your host/hostess has planned a perfect evening on your behalf, let her know you appreciate her efforts. Wine, cheese, a candle or a book you know your hostess would enjoy are all good. Anything she might have to fuss with is not (i.e. – loose flowers, puppies, a jello mold). It helps to have a little stash of gifts to grab at the last minute if need be. Just wrap a ribbon around it and you are good to go. Sending flowers the next day is a nice touch, too, if the party was particularly spectacular. Recently, we were invited to a party where we could view the Paul McCartney concert in Piedmont Park on a rooftop pool deck, catered in the most amazing home. That definitely warranted flowers the next day. Use your best judgement.
2. Don’t Arrive Too Early. I remember one party years ago a guest arrived as I was blow drying my hair. I was mortified and she felt terrible. Avoid this at all costs. Those last few moments before the start of the party are when I pour myself a little wine and take a deep breath. Every hostess deserves this bit of calm before the social storm. Let her enjoy it.
3. Contribute To The Conversation. Read the paper before you arrive, or at least glance at CNN.com to get an idea of the top stories of the day. It couldn’t hurt to see a movie or a play now and again, either. The best guests know what’s happening. But, you never know what will come up in the conversation. We once had dinner with a co-worker and her husband who had had a role in a horror movie. Our mutual interest in zombie films fueled the evening and we all had a hoot of a time. If you aren’t interested in current events, be interested in something. And speak up. Trust me, as long as you don’t drone on, everyone will be interested in what you have to say.
4. Don’t Be Late. Be on time. This holds especially true if this is a sit-down dinner. Preparing a special meal for friends takes a lot of work and I know you would hate to be the guest that caused the souffle to fall or the flambe to fizzle. If you are chronically late, either you think your time is more important than that of those waiting for you or you have spread yourself too thin. People who are chronically late inevitably end up on our long list. I’m not sure how a host that takes three hours to get paella on the table fares in this situation, but I’ll get back to you on that.
5. Keep A Open Mind Regarding Cuisine. As I invite guests for dinner, I always ask about food allergies and dislikes. I’ve cooked for vegans, veggie haters and once, for two Haitian brides. If you are willing to eat just about anything (allergies excluded), you will be invited back again and again. There is nothing more satisfying for a hostess than seeing everyone devouring her meal.
6. Leave At A Reasonable Time. Is your hostess turning off lights and yawning? There’s your sign to exit the party. If it looks as if everyone is going strong playing the new Beatles Rock Band on the Wii until the wee hours, then you are safe. Have fun!
7. Watch Your Alcohol Consumption. Besides the danger of a DUI, you wouldn’t want to be the guest that decided to swim with the koi, would you? Be a free spirit, get a bit tipsy (if you are not driving) and twirl in the backyard, if you don’t think you’ll feel silly in the morning. Make sure you check yourself before you start dancing in the champagne fountain.
My darling husband summed it up perfectly: “ultimately it boils down to what makes a good person: a friendly countenance and an interest in people”.
All of you are my favorite guests!
xoxo, Patti
Labor Day always inspires a party. This year was no exception. Before leaving Los Angeles, Eric and I purchased a 3 ft. wide paella pan and paddle with the intention of using it on this September holiday.
Remember that parties of this size are easier when you have help. And boy, did I. Armed with the most amazing coterie of comrades that are more like family, we whipped up a fantastic celebration. Dessert was a South Beach flan inspired by Gloria Estefan, created by our own John “Flan Jovi”, the fried, stuffed potato ball hors d’ouevres were provided by our own “Potato Princess”, Holly, Crystal came up with the most creative and beautiful caprese salad I have ever seen and my girls came to the rescue for the prep of the paella. My darling and ever patient Eric and our sweet Teague were in charge of cooking the paella outside.
A trip to the Dekalb Farmer’s Market was our first order of business. It was a madhouse on the Sunday before Labor Day. But I did get a chance to meet one of my Facebook friends that I have only met online, which was super cool (shout out to Ashley and Alison!) It was so crowded, that they had employees directing traffic in the aisles. We got out of there in one piece, fought our way out of the parking lot traffic and the millions attending the Decatur Book Festival and arrived home.
But first, the prep. What seemed like light prep became KP at our house. While Holly and I peeled and deveined 4 pounds of shrimp, Vickie peeled and chopped five cups of onions and three garlic gloves and Eric roasted and peeled 10 large poblano chiles. While that doesn’t sound like a lot of work, you stand up and peel and devein 4 pounds of wet shrimp and chop a ton of onions, garlic and peppers. It is not glamorous. Earlier in the week I had rolled all the silverware and placed it in a cute basket, so that was taken care of. But the table needed setting, the bar needed to be moved and filled with wine glasses at the ready, the drinks were to be iced down and the backyard sprayed for bugs. We were also taste testing the potato balls, which was Holly’s first time cooking. After frying a couple that looked gorgeous and crispy on the inside and well…frozen on the inside, we had to figure out how to make them work. We all decided the best tactic was to lower the frying temperature, then place the balls in a 350F oven to cook the insides. They were fabulous! And there was no need for back up chips and salsa!
The giant paella pan was taken from its special spot in the laundry room (the only place it will fit) and taken outside to the stand made of bricks contributed by Rick and Denise (thanks, y’all), which housed the propane burner (thanks, Crystal and Teague) that would cook the paella. That lived in the house that Jack built. Wait….that’s another story.
We used a recipe by Rick Bayless, which, when calculated, should have taken one hour to prepare. As I had said to the girls on Saturday at our slumber party, “how hard could it be? it will turn our beautifully”. Best laid plans……
The paella took THREE hours to cook. Do you know how tipsy folks can get watching paella cook? Plenty. Eric followed the recipe to a T. He heated the pan, placed the chicken thighs in to brown and they just sat there…looking pale and flabby.
It took a while, but eventually they looked like they had cooked a bit, but never got that crispy brown to them. The chicken was removed to make room for the chorizo and poblanos. This step was much more promising. Not only did it look great, but it smelled incredible. Next came the 8 pounds of rice. This is a LOT of rice, people. It was cooked with a two gallon mixture of chicken stock and water. Good Lord, this was a ton of rice – it grew like something from a science fiction movie. After the rice was cooked to a reasonable texture, the mussels and shrimp were added. The whole shebang should have been ready when the shrimp were pink. Now, if you have ever cooked shrimp, you know it takes no time at all, but we were not so lucky. It seemed to take forever for that shrimp to get pink. Between watching the shrimp and wrangling stray mussels from Karen’s little canine jaws (since when do dogs like seafood?), it was quite the endeavor.
By 9:00 p.m., we were ready to eat the paella (thank God Holly made those crazy tasty potato balls, otherwise we would have starved to death and had been on the floor in a drunken stupor). By this time, we had lost 4 guests. Three were our wonderfully cool friends Natalie and John and their awesome daughter, Madeline (bedtime calls) and Denise, who was just tired at this point. But those that stayed were treated to a very yummy paella. The recipe claimed it made 25 to 30 servings, but this must have meant lumberjack servings, because we could have easily fed 60. Easily. We had approximately 25 folks at the party and there was a LOT left over (mostly rice – surprise!) Lisa and I stood in the kitchen afterward scooping rice into Ziploc bags and separating the seafood and chicken. Then the flan was served. This dessert was so delicious that I spied one of our adorable guests eat three of them. It was flan-tastic! I ate plenty as well (thank goodness for my boxing classes so I could work it off).
On Tuesday night, Eric and I were still cleaning. This was not the cutesy clean up of my first post – no, this was more like industrial kitchen cleaning in between me musing if we should ever throw a big party like this again. I always say, “never again”, just to hear the siren song of another party waiting to be planned calling to me in the future.
Stay tuned.
xoxo, Patti
What to do when one of your dearest friends completes a three year project? Why you invite them over for wine in the middle of the day!
My darling friend has been working on a very public project for three years and was finally finished. I suggested she swing by for a glass of champagne. She countered that she was hungry – she had been up since 4 a.m.
Should a friend dropping by for lunch be cause for panic? Never, if you are prepared. And yes, I was. I had just grilled a passel of chicken breasts yesterday and decided to whip up some dilled chicken salad. In this case, grilled dilled chicken salad – because that sounds funnier.
And since my darling friend had been so busy she had not had a chance to read my blog, I had her undivided attention. Perched on a stool at my island with a glass of wine and my laptop Mac, she read while I made chicken salad. This is such an easy recipe, I thought I would share it here. It gets rave reviews every time I serve it. For parties it goes into tiny tart cups, it could go into scoop chips or you could serve it over lettuce and make yourself feel healthy.
Grilled Dilled Chicken Salad
Mix the mayo, onion, dill and salt and pepper in a big bowl. Dice up all of the chicken into bite size pieces and put in bowl. Mix. Serve.
Although it is much better if you have time to let the flavors meld before you serve it.
That’s it. Isn’t it easy? And you look like a superstar.
We ate our fill of chicken salad and polished off a bottle of Kendall Jackson Chardonnay in the middle of the afternoon. It was a celebration! This is certainly not an everyday occurrence, but it was a ball!
After my friend left for a much needed nap, another friend stopped by and I had the opportunity to feed her too! I made a fresh pot of coffee and whipped out my freshly made chicken salad for her. Then we got out the Wii and spent an hour shooting zombies. Nothing kills stress like zombie shooting.
Everyday is an opportunity to show your love and appreciation for those who make your life sweet. Grab that brass ring and don’t miss a beat!
xoxo, Patti
For a look at the sweetest party my friend Kathianne gave on her birthday, follow me to:
http://www.nourishcreatebloom.com/
xoxo, Patti
This weekend one of my dearest friends from Florida is coming to visit. Lots of planning to get ready for the holiday. Monday we will have 30 of our nearest and dearest for a paella party, so I will have a ton to report on Tuesday.
As you can imagine, I have been to-ing and fro-ing everywhere gathering up last minute buys at Ikea (wine glasses, extra chairs and those .49 napkins), Target (yard spray for those hideous mosquitos that love me as their banquet – I wonder if they blog about me?) and today to the liquor store for all the makings of a tasty sangria (both white and red). Sunday all my girls will be together and we will trek to the Dekalb Farmers Market for the paella ingredients so everything will be super fresh. Sunday night we are attending a huge taco party with Kingsized as the entertainment at Ryan & Jennifer’s place. I am so looking forward to meeting these cool folks and eating some tasty tacos as well as dancing to great music! Other fun weekend activities include a slumber party at our darling Holly’s house up in Cumming on Saturday after we watch the Dragoncon parade downtown at 10 a.m. Friday night we are supping at Holy Taco in East Atlanta. I haven’t been there yet, but will review it next week.
As you can see, not a lot of cooking until the big day on Monday. We will be cooking the paella outdoors over an open flame (I will post photos, of course). I will be chopping tons of onions and garlic so I will leave you until Tuesday with this Special Tip: After chopping onions and garlic, rub your hands on something that is stainless steel (the bottom of a kitchen sink works really well) and no more odor. It’s kitchen magic.
So, my darling readers, I bid you adieu until Tuesday. Have a wonderful and safe Labor Day weekend!
xoxo, Patti
You know them. You are one of them. Take it or leave it, there is always a type of dinner guest. Good, bad and freaky. The good you keep, the bad you don’t and the freaky you long list and only invite when there is a large crowd and their proclivities will only enhance the party.
1. The Best Friend: Lucky for me I have a few of these fabulous beings and if you don’t, you are not living right. This is the friend who arrives a bit early and steps right up to help. She stirs the sauce, sets out the hors d’ouevres and lights the candles. She’s a godsend. I once overextended myself while throwing a huge Christmas party and decided to make mini pizzas. This was insane. My two darling friends didn’t miss a beat and baked every pizza while they shoved me out of the kitchen to get to hostessing. You can’t buy friendship like that.
2. The Clinger: For some reason this guest wants to monopolize all of the host’s time and refuses to engage in conversation with other guests until they are full of adult beverages. This guest is dangerous and should not be invited back. The only exception is if the reason for said clinginess is something traumatic (i.e – recently loss of family member, spouse, pet, job, brand new to town, static…lol) you get the idea. Introduce her to all of your gracious guests and hope they acclimate.
3. The Star: It’s always fun to have someone of note at your parties, if you can. One time, I surprised one of my best girlfriends with the arrival of an actor friend from her past who spent the evening regaling us with stories of being on the set. It was a ball and no one minded that all eyes and ears were on our special guest. My favorite star guests include my darling girlfriend Lisa who owns the Cabbagetown Market and her boyfriend Bob, who writes about restaurants for the AJC. They are both incredibly well versed about beer and new restaurants, as well as just delightful people.
4. The Life of the Party: This can be a good or bad thing, depending on your point of view. As the evening progresses and everyone is lubed up with yummy things to drink, there always seems to be that one partygoer who steps it up a notch. Hopefully they will be tempted to sing, dance or recite poetry instead of loudly announcing that your toilet is clogged and where’s the drano, or worse yet, crying. Call the cryers a cab and keep the budding Keats and Whitney Houstons. You can always call them a cab after their performance. Free talent!
5. The One Who Can Do it Better Than You: Lord, this guest has done it all and knows it all. If you went to Mexico, they went to Tibet. If you learned to hang glide, they are an expert parachutest. You built your own house, they built the Taj Mahal. You get it. They will always try to one up you. And that can be entertainment in itself, if you let it.
6. The Expert: I love these guests and I am fortunate to have loads of them. Although they may seem shy about tooting their own horn, when they finally share their knowledge, it’s always a joy. I have friends that are architects, interior designers, fashion experts, traffic experts, experts on current events, beer and restaurant experts. Put these guests at the middle of the table and let them shine. They are never obnoxious, but their sheer knowledge of all things fun and cultured make them the most desirable guests of all.
7. The King of the Table: These guests hold a special place in my heart because they are almost always big personalities with something to say. Place your clinger next to one of these folks and they will be happy and the King will have someone to hold court with. Everybody wins.
8. The Late Arrival: For some reason, this person is always late. They had something pressing they had to attend to. Now I understand if you are late once in a while, but this person is chronic. My suggestion to you regarding this guest is just start without them and maybe they’ll get the hint. Or long list them for times when promptness isn’t as important.
9. The Eeyore: The economy is in the dumper, they are always ailing, their ovaries are dried up, their cat can’t get a date…it is always something with this type. They are a Debbie Downer to the nth degree. One solution – don’t invite them. They always put a damper on your nice party.
10. The Bon Vivant: Tales with which to regale, witty bon mots, a compliment for everyone. This guest is so desirable that one is always surprised and pleased when they have time to attend your event. They are the perfect guest, always prompt with a handwritten (!) thank you afterwards. They are funny, charming and sought after. Hopefully you are as lucky as me and know several.
There you are. There are others, but these seem to be the most typical. Pick and choose your guest list wisely and you will never have a dull moment.
xoxo, Patti