this evening we hosted my two longtime best friends and their beaux for the annual christmastime dinner and gift exchange and general holiday being togethery-ness cheer. it was incredible. hubby took care of dinner, i did the gift shopping, cleaned and decorated, and and it went swimmingly.

menu

hors d’ouvres a simple cheese-veg-cracker plate. no need for fuss.
simple salad mixed greens with goat cheese and dried fruits, nuts balsamic
main course steam-roasted lemon basil salmon accompanied by creamy smashed sweet potatoes with apple butter and brussels sprouts with cranberries roasted in brown butter
dessert sugar cookies and swedish papparkakor cookies and fresh locally roasted coffee and various teas

success. finally gave a dinner party. 2 years ago

Made this for dinner on Wednesday evening. This recipe sounded not too difficult, and seemed delicious, but it came out a bit too salty. Pretty sure I fucked up the polenta part and I think it could have baked some more, but it was really hard to tell if it was done. The end result wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t the best meal EVAR. AL, who is a much more experienced baker/cook than I, told me I am too hard on my meals and not every thing has to be soooo good every single time one cooks. I guess she’s right. 2 years ago

A true canadian delicacy. Have spent about three days reading various recipes and comparing the ingredients and methodology until I settled on one. Like many people who reviewed the various recipes, I used vanilla instant pudding rather than custard powder and didn’t have the best chocolate squares for melting on hand. Or heavy cream, though milk was listed as an alternate. If these ones don’t come out too great, I know who to blame. (Myself for not getting the actual right ingredients.) They are chilling in the fridge as we speak, waiting to be cut into teensy squares. 2 years ago

last friday night. came out perfectly. people gobbled and drooled and demanded the recipe. 2 years ago

Didn’t eat out a single night! Oot!

Monday: hubby made mac and cheese
Tuesday: I made tacos with tvp, fresh local corn salsa, and Al made us corn pudding
Wednesday: I made Spaghetti squash stuffed with brown rice, golden raisins, apricots, hazelnuts, walnut and almonds. side of leftover corn on the cob and a green salad with goat cheese and balsamic. Apple crisp from scratch for desssert.
Thursday: Hubby made quail (I did not eat that), steamed broccoli, rosemary roasted fingerling potato medley
Tonight: LEFTOVERS!!!!2 years ago

make these tiramasu cupcakes from the cupcake project2 years ago

Both Mr. Pet and I have both been cooking and baking more often. Having a table at which to sit and eat makes a big difference. Oh, and also having a kitchen that is normally-sized. It’s wonderful. I have made cobblers and cookies and cooked myself entire fancy meals.

The dinner party part does give me pause. AL (roommate) had some people over a few weeks ago and I played the domestic goddess part really well at the onset, but once everything was prepped and people had eaten, I went upstairs to cool off in the AC as the kitchen was so hot from the door opening and closing. I ended up having a panic attack and staying there the rest of the night. I just couldn’t face all those people and what their looks would say about how everything was prepared. I made my way down to clean up several hours later and found most of it done. Which was nice. But how embarassing that I didn’t mix and mingle at party. (An analogy: In the play, I am the set-builder and prop-master, definitely not the lead actress.) I couldn’t help it. Was truly paralyzed with panic. Perhaps a smaller-scale dinner party.

We did have H over for supper Sunday evening which was beautiful. The house was a disaster because we had gotten new furni and hadn’t put everything back in its place yet, but the food was incredi-edible. So, a tiny dinner party victory, at least. 2 years ago

I ate so many they made me sick, but still… still… I kinda want to make them again RIGHT NOW.

this goal has been going swimmingly since moving. SWIMMINGLY. 2 years ago

Please stop talking about borrowing your father/my brother’s circular saw and sawing off the bottom of the pantry cabinet that’s too tall for our basement so you can move it into the basement and then put together our dining table and move that into the kitchen so I can eat at the table like a civilized person, instead of on the couch, dropping crumbs and spilling drinks on the cushions, and just do it already. Thank you.

Love,
Wifey 2 years ago

after three teensy apartment kitchens, we have finally moved into a house with a normal kitchen. it’s glorious. we’e pretty much cooked every night instead of ordering food, and I have baked brownies and apple=strawberry crisp thus far. and my new kitchen table with extra leaves and six chairs seems rather dinner party ready. Now, if I could just get Mr. Petrnotail to put it together. 2 years ago

so I just made chocolate fudgey brownies!
yums. ate enough batter that now i prob dont have to eat the cooked ones.

my hair now reaches past my apron ties ‘round the waist.

hair + baking success. 3 years ago

friday late night I made apple crisp from scratch. loosely followeda recipe and just winged it because i couldn’t find my mom’s.

sunday morning i did all the dishes and made corey and mr. petrnotail chocolate chip pancakes from scratch! 3 years ago

right now, in the oven, bakes the first pan of a batch of chocolate chip cookies i just made from scratch. 3 years ago

I made boiling brownies… from scratch! I used the sifter, even. 4 years ago

with shallots and a marsala reduction. How’s that for fancy sounding? It was ACTUALLY incredibly straight-forward.

Tony, who is not particularly vocal about praising food said “that was really yummy.” YAY!

Roasted cauliflower with garlic and parmesan for the veggie.

Washed down with cheap bubbly, which I popped open as a reward for finally finishing my grad school application! :) 4 years ago

Because I cannot resist a challenge!

So far, I think this might be one of the most rewarding goals I’ve adopted. Thanks for inventing it, my pet! But I haven’t really rolled up my sleeves and ramped up my cooking frequency. maybe it’s time to make a pledge of this sort – that I’ll try not to get take out or eat a frozen dinner for one week.

Tonight, my brother Tony and I had a lovely veggie stirfry in front of the TV. Simple, but very satisfying :)

p.s. Tony made that coffee table. With his own two hands! We’re a great team! He makes the table, and I make the food to put on it! 4 years ago

The good news: Got super motivated and made a pizza from SCRATCH last night!! got the dough stretched out pretty much perfectly – even gave it a few tosses in the air – and had some delicious mozzerella and provolone and parmesan cheese. Gave the sauce some extra oomph with a generous dose of oregano. Topped it with mushrooms and red peppers and red pepper flakes….

The bad news: Got absorbed in 43T while it was in the oven, left it a few minutes too long… Some fresh basil livened up the color a bit and we did still polish off the whole thing :) YUMMY!!! 4 years ago

is a staple of the poor person’s diet. tonight i made dinner for T and H.

fried eggs for T with chocolate chip pancakes (from scratch—with buttermilk!) and red/new potato home fries.

H and I added strawbs to our pancakes and subbed fresh sliced strawbs for the eggs.

I cut my finger slicing the potatoes, but it wasn’t too bad. That’s the hazard of cooking in! T and I have vowed to make food every night this week and not eat out once. we shall see! 4 years ago

well, my intention to make use of the herbs de provence tonight fell through. Tony didn’t bring home the roasting chicken I needed for that recipe. So instead, I made a chicken salad recipe from allrecipes.com with boneless skinless chicken breasts that I grilled on the foreman grill. It turned out MIND-BLOWINGLY good. And I have enough leftovers to make tony sandwiches for lunch this week or a dinner tomorrow night (which he said he’d gladly have a second night in a row).

I used my handy dandy little food processor to make quick work of carrot, celery, apple, and green onions. Tossed in a handful of raisins and about a cup of green grapes sliced in half. I toasted (and slightly burned) a handful of pecans that have been sitting, waiting to be used for something, chopped them up and put them in. And I squirted in a big fat dollop of miracle whip and 1/2 tsp of curry powder.

UNIMAGINABLY GOOD!!!! served it over a bed of baby greens pre-washed from the grocery, with goddess dressing on the side.

HOLY COW! that’s all I can say. 4 years ago

well, saturday I was lazy and gave in to ordering pizza – but last night I made a quick spaghetti and a big salad. It wasn’t really cooking, but I shaved some fresh parmesan on top, took a handful of leaves off the robustly healthy and sorely under-used basil plants, cut them into little ribbons and sprinkled it over the top of the spaghetti. Cracked open a yummy bottle of wine and voila! family meal time!

Tonight I have the ambition of doing something more exotic. I bought a crock of herbs de provence from Williams Sonoma last year and they smell SOOO delicious, but I never use them. I did a search for recipes that use the dried herbs and I think I’m going to try making a roast chicken with them tonight! Exciting… 4 years ago

the brunch party i hosted for my family was today! there were lots of obstacles, mainly the threat of a hurricane and one of my brothers and his wife weren’t able to come. The first part passed through Saturday and today was the most perfect beautiful weather. Sadly, my Josh and Stacie didn’t end up being able to come, but we still had fun.

My niece is a riot. She and the cat met one another with screams. They sneaked up on one another and scared each other—so funny. Plus, Chubbs has never seen a baby or a child before so she was a little freaked at the mini-person. Anna cried murder if the “moew-moew” got near her at first, but by the end of the day, they were old friends. (Still kept their distance, but there were no tears/running and hiding under the couch.)

We originally planned a short afternoon party. Start at one go until three or four, at the latest. No one left until after 6. We were having a good time. Mostly we watched the Ravens game and talked and watched the niece being kooky, but towards the end we went up on the deck and enjoyed the nice weather.

Menu was simple, but everyone seemed to like it. Organic fruit salad of nectarines, strawbs, and white grapes. Made-to-order farm-fresh omlettes—fillings included baby spinach, peppers, tomatoes and extra sharp white cheddar. Organic white and red potato home fries. Also, french toast made with thick slices of baguette. Hubby made an amazing savory tart with cream cheese, gorgonzola, caramelized onions and peppers. That was really the highlight. So yummy. For dessert, my mom made the deep, dark chocolate cake with almond frosting we have for every single fam’s b-day. (It was my dad’s today and lysa and jer’s anniversary is tomorrow.) Hubby brewed coffee; I brewed tea. We also had OJ, white grape juice, milk, iced tea…all kinds!

And best of all, our house was perfectly clean. We finished just in time. There’s still a bit of organizing to do, but a lot of clutter has been taken care of. Now, to keep it up!

Sorry to ramble on and on and on, but I just had such a great day, and I love being hostess. Finally have a nice apartment! It’s teeny but perfect for us. We’re so very happy. 4 years ago

Got up nice and early. Made Tony a ham&cheese sandwich, packed a nectarine and trail mix bar in with his lunch and made him a cup of tea in his to-go mug.

Then he got home SUPER late from work (10pm), by which time I wanted to suggest a frozen dinner or take-out, but he said he didn’t want a frozen dinner and wasn’t that hungry anyway.

However, since he’d only had lunch, I steamed some broccoli made lemon butter sauce to go with it, and grilled a breast of pre-marinaded chicken. Yummy, healthy and REALLY quick and easy! Granted… he didn’t say it was delicious, but he did clean his plate. 4 years ago

Made a simple greek salad two nights ago, and last night pulled out the stops with a delicious vegetarian stir fry – had to use up some of the veggies from making the chicken and brocc stir fry the first night, so I bought some extra carrots and bean sprouts and snow peas and mushrooms and just made a big huge pile of veggies with ginger and garlic and hoisin and soy sauce..

My bro said it was delicious! 4 years ago

My brother’s moved in and now I have a real impetus to get cooking. Since he makes loads of money and I’m making virutally none right now, I told him he could give me money each week to do the grocery shopping and the cooking. He is interested in eating more healthfully than he has been (with constant take-out and fast food) so I promised to make him a packed lunch each day and have a healthy dinner each night.

Today was day 1 of the experiment. It went great. Made a delicious stir fry for dinner with broccoli and red cabbage (two good power foods) and chicken. Threw in some spices, soy sauce, hoisin, sesame seeds, red pepper flakes and garlic. It was delicious.

Tomorrow I’m going to try find a vegetarian recipe for dinner. He loves beets, which are another power food, so I’m going to see if I can make a nice beet salad with balsamic dressing and something to go with it. Any suggestions for healthy dinners will be much appreciated!! (He doesn’t like seafood or fish or mushrooms – alas.) 4 years ago

i am mailing 4 invitations to the fam today to come for brunch on 7th september to celebrate dad’s b-day and my bro and sis-in-law’s anniversary (one day apart). we’ll do omlettes and pancakes and fruit salad, methinks. my mom is bringing a cake.

so, everyone will get a chance to see cute apartment. of course, if the weather is bad, we can’t sit out on deck which has the most room and view of city skyline, so we’ll see what happens… weather wise. borrow H’s table to put out on the deck is the plan for now. here we go, commence testing out official small-scale party. going to break out linen napkins and everything!!!!!!!!!!

if all goes well, may have to give a dinner party for friends soon, on a nice night before the weather turns. 4 years ago

but the K, G, H party was a smash. I worked very hard making things spic and span – it’s not perfect, but the apt. looked good! I made my special hors d’ouevres by opening a box of crackers and putting out cheese platters. I got to use the awesome cheese plate my in-laws gave me for my bday, made out of a refurbished wine bottle—very cool. I also sliced pita and spooned some hummus into a dish. So far from gourmet… but well, opening is my specialty. That’s why I married a chef.

Good news is, in-laws come for dinner this week so now i can make our place perfect over the next few days. I’m excited to finally be finished.

Yay party! 4 years ago

recipe is on eatingwell.com, the burgers are half beef, half minced portobello, with some thyme and bread crumbs mixed in. They don’t hang together very tightly, but they come out quite delicious and much lower fat than all-beef burgers. You add a bit of pickle relish and a slice of cheese at the end, and they’re quite delicious.

I made a tomato salad on the side.

YUUMMMMMM4 years ago

We went grocery shopping today and bought a modest amount of yummies. Not quite ready for dinner yet (we’re late eaters) so i make a salady snack out of grape tomatoes, white grapes, goat cheese and raspberry vinaigrette. It all just sort of happened. It’s so delish. Serendipity! Don’t want to tamper with it, but it could use a bit of crunchy texture next time. Nuts, perhaps?! What a world… 4 years ago

Had some left over topping I’d made for tacos and worked it into the most delicious tomato salad I’ve ever tasted:
Tomatoes, green onions (the white and a little of the green), red onions (fine dice), shallots (fine dice), cilantro, lime juice, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, goat cheese.

It sounds like a bizarre combo. It started with the mexican flavors, and then when I incorporated more tomatoes and the typical tomato salad dressing, and threw in the goat cheese because I needed to use it up… holy cow. Mind blowingly good. I think it would be amazing as a bruschetta topping. (boy am I going to love finishing my health challenge at the end of the summer so I can bake up some crusty bread!)

THIS WEEK’S MISSION – to prepare sit-down dinners for myself, even though I’m the only one home. No Eating while standing in the kitchen! Not only is it leading to a degradation in my little sphere of civilized life (just read the miss manners posting from a few months ago – very interesting), it’s also keeping me chubby. I guarantee if America could all decide somehow, together, to return to the old idea of gathering everyone together at the dinner table, childhood obesity wouldn’t be skyrocketing the way it is. Life would be better. I want to get this routine down cold, so that when I finally have babies it’ll be an ingrained habit and I can raise my kids with a memory of a family routine (one I definitely didn’t grow up with). I really think that would be something great to aspire to. 4 years ago

without a recipe! (Look mom, no cookbook!)

Actually I take that back, I did check a cookbook to figure out the best oven temp and cooking time. But the rest was pure winging it, which made me feel very proficient. I just chopped up a bunch of rosemary, thyme, garlic and sage, put some in the cavity and some under the skin with butter, and a 1/4 lemon in the cavity, too. It came out GREAT!!!! I loved the smell of chicken and herbs that filled the apartment. Then I made some gravy with the pan drippings. Very decadent but also easy. It made me want to bake some fresh bread to go with it, but bread’s a no-go on my current diet. Oh wells. Yay for cooking! Roast chicken just might be my favorite home-cooked dinner… at least tonight it is. 4 years ago