Katie Stew | A rich, simmering blend of my favorite things

February 14, 2012
by katie
1,173 Comments

Sweet Potato, Kale, and Bacon Pasty

Ah, the pasty. And when I say pasty, I mean the stuffing filled pastry, not the thing that strippers wear.

Delicious golden brown

I love pasties. I fell for them when I lived in London and they were cheap and available everywhere. Basically, a pasty is a pastry pocket filled with something delicious. Sometimes they are filled with meat, sometimes potatoes and other vegetables, and sometimes it is mostly cheese. Think of them as Hot Pockets, except that these are actually food.

I made some last night and they were absolutely delicious. Seasonal produce in an appropriately wintery package. The filling is based on stuff I had on hand, so variation is encouraged. I find that you can throw just about anything in a pastry and it will be yummy. Just make sure the mixture is moist and the ingredients are mostly cooked. For example with this one, the sweet potatoes will cook some in the oven, but don’t expect them to cook all the way. They should be easily pierced with a fork before you put them in the pastry.

I kept the ingredients simple. There aren’t a lot of spices, because they aren’t really necessary. This will create something comforting and decicious, where you can really appreciate the flavors of the vegetables.

And let me tell you, the smell of bacon and sweet potatoes in a pan will make your house smell crazy good.

Sweet Potato, Kale, and Bacon Pasty

Ingredients
Filling:
4 strips bacon, diced
1/4 onion, diced
1 tsp of red pepper flakes
2 large cloves garlic, chopped
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
about 3 cups of chopped kale
about 1/2 cup of shredded cheese- I did a mix of mozzerella and cheddar
water as needed

Crust:
1 package Pepperidge Farm puff pastry, defrosted in your fridge overnight
flour for rolling the pastry
1 egg white, beaten with about 1 tsp of water

Directions
Preheat your oven to 400.

In a large skillet, saute the bacon, red pepper flakes, and onion until onion is soft and golden. Add garlic and cook 1-2 minutes more. Toss in sweet potatoes and kale. Saute for about 10 minutes, or until potatoes are soft. Add spashes of water as necessary to keep things moist and prevent sticking. (I probably used about 1/2 cup over the course of this cooking process.)

When the mixture has all softened together, toss in cheese and a large splash of water. Mix until the mixture is creamy, adding water as necessary. Take off heat and set aside to cool.

On a large cutting board or counter, toss down some flour and roll out the puff pastry a few inches in each direction. I wanted large pasties, so I cut each sheet out of the box into four large squares. You could cut out more if you want smaller pasties. Brush all around the edges of the square with the egg mixture, about an inch in on all sides. Then scoop about 3/4 cup of filling into the middle of the pastry square. Fold the top over and press down on the three edges that are overlapping. Use a fork to crimp the edges closed. Place this amazing food delivery package on a cookie sheet, either lined with parchment or foil, and then brush the whole top with the egg mixture. Do this until you run out of supplies. Should make 8 large pasties.

Then bake them in the oven for about 25 minutes. They are done when the tops are a beautiful golden brown. Take them out. Let them cool. And enjoy!

Pastry pockets are truly one of the perks of wintertime.

January 20, 2012
by katie
1,071 Comments

I love snow days.

It has been snowing like mad in Seattle the last few days. When I moved to Seattle, being in the north, I expected that I would see lots of snow. I was wrong about that. It snows about as much in Seattle as it did in Arkansas. Which means this. When there are two inches on the ground, people are going to freak out and everything will shut down.

I love that about Seattle.

Now really, Seattle can’t be too much blamed for this reaction. It is a very hilly city and driving around in it can be very hazardous. And in fact, we’ve had about 6 inches over the last few days, which was awesome! What it also means for me, is that I’ve had two snow days off from work this week! I’ve had time to walk in the snow, throw some snow balls, make a snow angel, and even make a snow woman.

I know. She’s awesome.

I find it such a treat when it snows. It is like the heavens open up maybe once a year and cover us in a beautiful, weird substance to play in.

And since I had a few unexpected days off from work, I decided to do some painting.

Wet sidewalks

I was inspired to do this one before the snow started. There had been a lot of rain and I loved the way that the light was reflecting off of wet sidewalks. I found a picture online that reflected the colors I wanted to work with and used it as inspiration. This was a fun one to work on and I’m happy with the variety of color that came out of it.

I’ve also become addicted to Pinterest recently. If you don’t know what that is, you should check it out. It is basically a place where people find interesting pictures that link back to interesting sites and share them with their friends. You create “pinboards” that save all of the fun stuff that you’ve found interesting. I have found it very addictive to look through all the interesting things my friends have found.

Anyways, I came across a really wonderful photo shoot for a new clothing collection. In it, they were trying to get the look of 18th century portraits, while showing off the clothes. There was one photo that I used as inspiration for a new portrait.

Portrait in Pale

I’m pretty happy with how this one turned out as well. It was a challenging and yet fun color palette to work with.

Happy snow day!

January 9, 2012
by katie
1,201 Comments

Crystal Bridges

Unfortunately, I’m home from work today because I’m sick. Boo. However, fortunately for you, that means I have plenty of time to tell you about Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.

I was most fortunate to be able to visit Crystal Bridges with my family on Christmas Eve this year. (Ironically, I was sick then too. What is the point of flu shots if you still get a bazillion colds!? Anyways…) I was really impressed with the museum. It is now one of my favorite museums that I’ve seen in the US. The museum is the baby of Alice Walton, one of the Wal-Mart Waltons, who wanted to bring a world class museum to Arkansas. When plans of this museum surfaced, and Alice started buying up tons of classic American art pieces, critics in New York and LA complained saying, why take these great works of art to Arkansas? Who will go see them? Why should we have to go there?

However, the museum opened on 11-11-11 to great success. The first two months it was open, you had to reserve a time slot to visit because so many people wanted to go. Now it is open to the public and free to everyone for the next ten years. Ten Years! The critics who visited the museum have been eating their words. Not only is there an amazing collection of artwork, but the architecture of the building itself is stunning.

This is the main hall when you first enter. They have a restaurant and cafe on site. Perfect to grab a coffee before you start!

This is the view of the second main hall from the first. You can see that the museum is built over a stream in the woods. It is beautiful how it is surrounded by nature. I want to see it again in the spring, as you can see right now, there isn’t a ton of water underneath.

One of the coolest parts? They let you take pictures! So, I was able to take photos of many of my favorite pieces in the galleries. I’m going to share them with you today. Obviously, they were taken with my phone and aren’t great, but I hope to give you a sample of the collection. As a note, if you click on the photos, you will be rewarded with larger images. Check them out!

The main galleries are laid out in a timeline of American art from the early 1800s all the way to modern art. I didn’t take an photos in the early galleries, because I didn’t realize I could. But this was one of my favorite things that I saw in the early galleries. I was entranced by the details and the layers. The way that you could see through the waves to what was behind and the use of color is amazing. Be sure to click on this one to see a bigger and better image.

Along the Shore by William Trost Richards 1903

This one I thought was just beautiful. The details and delicacy were stunning. Don’t you just wish you were there with them in the sunshine?

Summer Day by Frank Weston Benson 1911

This one was another that I loved the detail of. Possibly my favorite still life of fruit I’ve seen. Don’t you just want to grab one and eat it?

Basket of Peaches by Joseph Decker 1885

This one I fell in love with because of the woman’s attitude. She is just so sassy. And this is considered a wonderful use of black on black, as her dress and the background are so similar and yet so distinct.

Jessica Penn in Black with White Plumes by Robert Henri 1908

Now we begin moving into more modern and abstract artwork. I loved this one, as I tend to have an affinity for sailboats anyways.

Sail: In Two Movements by Charles Demuth 1919

I loved the lines and color palette of this one.

Schlossgasse by Lyonel Feininger 1915

Needless to say, with this next one, it was the colors that got me. However, it is fun to look at more closely, as it is supposed to depict a cafe scene. You can make out a woman with a hat and a man and a glass if you look closely. Also, the word in the title, Synchromy, was part of a movement this artist created called Synchromism, which means “with color”, just as the word Symphony means “with sound”.

Au Cafe (Synchromy) by Stanton MacDonald-Wright 1918

Now, at this point the gallery hits the world of modern art proper. There was a Warhol and a Roy Lichtenstein piece and lots of fun and odd things. But, none of the pieces in this hall really moved me. It wasn’t my favorite Warhol. This one was of Dolly Parton and was lovely, but not my cup of tea. However, for some reason I kept getting drawn back to this one. I’m not sure why, but it had great appeal for me.

Trinity by Adolph Gottlieb 1962

Ok! So those are the photos I took from the main collection. Then they also had a separate collection called “Wonder World: Nature and Perception in Contemporary American Art”. There were some great things in this hall as well.

White Brazilian Orchid after Martin Johnson Heade by Vik Muniz 2010

Now this orchid one was a really cool piece. The thing I liked best about it though, is that it was made through paper collage. It was then copied and this is a digital image, but it still had all the depth of image that the original collage would have had. Here is a close up to show what I’m talking about. And by the way, this thing was huge.

Close up!

What is not to love about this one? Angry seagull flying through an explosion? However, seeing this painting in real life is enough to give you nightmares. That is one scary bird.

Carney Gull #3 by Jamie Wyeth 2009

This one was one of my mom’s favorites. It is an excellent example of photo realism. It is crazy to look upon and think that someone painted it. The detailing on the rail of the ship was what really made it for her. It really looks like a photo.

Antarctica by Richard Estes 2007

I loved the delicacy of the feathers in this one. They float through the air and almost out into the room.

Airborne by Andrew Wyeth 1996

And the final room I visited had two Soundsuits by Nick Cave. I’ve seen a couple of his works before and they are just so whimsical and playful. I wish they would just start dancing around the room.

Soundsuit by Nick Cave 2010 (both are named the same)

I hope you’ve enjoyed my mini tour of Crystal Bridges and are now inspired to visit it yourself. This is but a tiny, tiny sampling of what the museum has to offer, but they were some of my favorites.

January 5, 2012
by katie
879 Comments

What am I Reading again?

The holidays included a lot of travel and therefore, lots of reading. There are a few books I’ve wrapped up in the last few weeks that I don’t want to break down into individual posts, so I’m just going to do a short reading update.

First up: A Storm of Swords

This is the third book in the George RR Martin series that begins with Game of Thrones. I think the series is called “Song of Ice and Fire”. I have to say, this one might be my favorite of the three so far. It was full of all kinds of crazy twists and turns. I couldn’t put it down. If you haven’t read the series, I highly recommend it. The characters are well developed and get into more trouble than you can imagine.

I think the thing that I like most about his books is that it isn’t always very clear cut as to who the good guys and who the bad guys are. There are characters you love to hate and characters that you love until they decide to do something terrible and there is always the chance for a bad guy to turn his life around. And one of the most original things about his writing is that he has no qualms about killing off people that you think may be the hero of the story. The good guys do not always win and the bad guys are not always defeated. It keeps the books interesting and keeps the readers always on their toes. It is impossible to predict what will happen next, and I think that might be the best part.

This was a great read and I have just started the fourth book and can’t wait to get into it next.

Wyrd Sisters

I recently wrote a review of “Thud”, the latest in the Terry Pratchett Discworld series. I believe that I mentioned that it restarted my passion for his books and that I wanted to do some rereading. And so I have.

I purchased a few of my favorite from the series and gave them another go. This one is probably my favorite. It follows the story line of some of the witches on the Discworld, Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg, and Magrat. This book is all about theater. And as a theater geek, it is pretty awesome. The witches and a local traveling theater troop fall into a situation much like Hamlet. It is full of parody and hilarious references to the play and theater in general. It was a ton of fun and an excellent book for my plane ride. I think this would be an excellent starting point if you wanted to jump into the Discworld series.

Explosive Eighteen

Speaking of plane rides, I read this entire book on my flight to Seattle from Arkansas, after finishing Wyrd Sisters. I’m a fan of the Stephanie Plum series and have been reading the books since Janet Evanovich first started publishing them. They are perfect for plane reading, as they are light and fun. Each book is utterly hilarious, a little sexy, and full of action and adventure.

The books follow Stephanie Plum, a woman who works as a bounty hunter and is really terrible at it. She is clumsy and always getting into the worst situations. She has a number of crazy sidekicks and an insane grandmother that carries a large gun and loves going on the adventures as well. Wackiness happens around every corner. She also has two ongoing love interests in the books, the sexy cop Joe Morelli and the dangerous bounty hunter, Ranger. Which will she choose? Well, we are 18 books in so far with no end in sight so I imagine we won’t find out anytime soon, but it is certainly fun to follow her dilemma.

Oh, and in just about every book, she gets her car blown up.

The first time I read one of her books on a plane, it made me laugh so hard that tears were falling down my face and I had to hold my hand over my mouth to muffle the giggles so people would stop looking at me. If you’re looking for a fun time, Janet Evanovich can hook you up.

I’m also excited to see that apparently they have finally made a movie from this series. Can’t wait to see it.

And finally: Soul Music

This is another that I read in my “getting back into the Discworld” kick. I love this book because it parodies Rock and Roll. The one liners are priceless and the story is really fun. I’m not sure it is the best place to jump into the series, as it is one of the books that follows the character of DEATH, and “Mort” would be a better place to start in his storyline, as it is referenced in this book. However, this book is an absolute ball and would be a really fun read for people into music and humor.

And I have to say, DEATH is one of my favorite characters in the Discworld. He tries so hard to understand humanity and he tends to get close, but always ends up just a little bit off from whatever the point was. It is entertaining to follow. Check it out. This is a great read.

Hope you had a chance to read something fun this holiday season as well!

January 4, 2012
by katie
1,232 Comments

New Year Food

I hope you all kicked off the new year right with the appropriate New Year’s Day foods. That’s right. In case you didn’t know, there are foods that are considered lucky and unlucky for the first day of a new year. I read an interesting article about it a few days before and made sure I did it right this year.

There is an old adage that you should “eat poor on the first day of the year to eat rich the rest.” The traditional foods for new years day are black eyed peas and collard greens. The peas are representative of coins and the collard greens represent cash, because of their green color. All over the world people eat beans and green things on the first day of the year, though the specifics vary from place to place. Oh, and cornbread is a proper accompaniment, as it is of course, gold in color.

I also did not know until I read this article that there are bad luck foods for the new year. You aren’t supposed to eat chicken, because when they scratch the ground they do it moving backwards, which means that you would be moving backwards in your year and not forward. You also are not supposed to eat lobster, because they also move backwards.

I was staying with my boyfriend’s family over the New Year holiday and we decided to cook dinner for his parents. Since our visits are generally short, I’ve never had the opportunity to cook for them. So, we did it up right. We made spicy black eyed peas, collard greens, cornbread, pork chops, and finished with an apple pie.

After eating our fabulous meal, we were all too stuffed to eat the pie right away. (It was the Grandma Ople’s Apple Pie that I’m apparently addicted to.) My boyfriend and I went to go visit his brother, and a few hours later he got a text from his mom saying the pie was “Spectacular.”

Needless to say, I was pleased as pie.

Anyways, back to the main meal. The spicy black-eyed peas recipe came from Paula Deen. I found it online that afternoon, as I had never made black-eyed peas before, and figured Paula was the kind of person to trust with an item like this. They were wonderful. The pork chops were good, but all I really wanted was a big bowl of the peas and greens. They were so good! I’m pretty sure I’m set on the good luck front for this year now. Thanks Paula!

These were really easy to make. My boyfriend made them while I was doing the greens, so I can’t really take any credit for them. But, they will be my staple next New Years. (Minor adjustments are added in the ingredient list.)

If you haven’t had your peas and greens, I bet it isn’t too late for some good luck. Give these a try.

Spicy Black-Eyed Peas from Paula Deen
Total Time: 1 hr 30 min.
Prep: 30 min.
Cook: 1 hr
Yield: 8 servings
Level:Easy Cheesy

Ingredients
4 slices bacon
1 medium onion, chopped
1 (16-ounce) package dried black-eyed peas, washed
1 (12-ounce) can diced tomatoes and green chiles- (We used Rotel.)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 cups water (We made ours with chicken stock for extra flavor.)

Directions
In a large saucepan, cook the bacon until crisp. Remove the bacon, crumble, and set aside to use as a topping for the peas. Saute the onion in the bacon drippings until tender. Add the peas, diced tomatoes and green chiles, salt, chili powder, pepper and water. Cover and cook over medium heat for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the peas are tender. Add additional water, if necessary. Serve garnished with crumbled bacon.

January 4, 2012
by katie
179 Comments

Bud

Welcome back everyone! Here we are in 2012. I had an excellent holiday and have a number of fun post ideas that I can’t wait to share with you. I hope your holidays were full of fun and magic.

Let’s start with Christmas.

This summer I did a painting of one of my parent’s dogs, Bud. Of their four corgis, he is one of my favorites. When I finished the painting, I almost put it up here, but my boyfriend told me to hold off and keep it a surprise. So I took the excellent advice and waited. I gave it to my mother for Christmas and she loved it.

I’m happy to share it with you now.

The Noble Bud

He looks so innocent and earnest. That is what I like best about him. I really enjoyed working on this one. Apparently animal paintings are some of my favorites to do.

Happy new year!

December 20, 2011
by katie
1,084 Comments

Chewy Ginger Cookies

This year for Christmas, I decided to make some assortment of baked goods for my team at work. I went with the banana bread I’ve written about before and I decided to try something new.

This month’s Bon Appetit had a recipe for chewy ginger cookies. The picture was irresistible. Also, I was intrigued by the variety of ginger inside. There is ground, fresh, and crystallized, giving it serious ginger appeal.

So I baked these over the weekend and I’m very pleased with the outcome. Company this weekend enjoyed them, I enjoyed them, and I’m pretty confident that my colleagues are likely at home chewing down on them right now. I know I am.

Before I baked these, I tasted the batter. Honestly, I wasn’t excited. They weren’t very sweet and I worried they would be too strong. But, once I rolled them in the raw sugar and baked them, I was blown away. The chewiness of the cookie is in nice contrast to the crunchiness of the sugar. And the best part of the sugar crust? It makes the cookies sparkle. They are just awfully darn festive.

Sparkle!

Chewy Ginger Cookies- Bon Appetit

Ingredients
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large egg
1/2 cup blackstrap (robust) molasses
2 teaspoons finely grated peeled ginger
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger
1 cup raw or sanding sugar

Preparation
Arrange racks in lower and upper thirds of oven; preheat to 350°. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk flour, ground ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. Using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat brown sugar, shortening, and butter in a large bowl, scraping down sides halfway through beating, until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce mixer speed to low. Add egg, molasses, grated ginger, and vanilla; beat just to blend. Add flour mixture; beat on low speed just to blend. Mix in crystallized ginger (dough will be very soft and sticky).

Place raw sugar in a shallow bowl. Using a tablespoon measure, scoop out dough. Using a second spoon, scoop dough from tablespoon measure into bowl with raw sugar; turn to coat well. Roll into ball. Transfer to prepared baking sheet. Repeat with half of remaining dough and sugar, spacing balls 1 1/2″ apart.

Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until edges are firm and centers appear cracked, 10–12 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks and let cool. Repeat with remaining dough and sugar, using cooled baking sheets and new parchment.

This is probably the last post of the year. So Happy Holidays everyone!

December 20, 2011
by katie
1,010 Comments

The crabmeat cheesecake

This weekend I discovered a beautiful thing. It was a thing that at first sounded unlikely, but then a world of possibility opened up and there it was…
The crabmeat cheesecake.
But cheesecake is supposed to be a sweet thing, I hear you say.
Wrong my friends. It can be so much more.

Last week I offered to host a friend’s birthday party. We planned to eat food, play board games, and enjoy a few cocktails. Since I had not had the opportunity to make the amazing Gumbo Ya Ya from Mr. B’s bistro this year, I thought it might be perfect for this event, as I would have extra stirrers around to help.

Continuing with the new Orleans theme, my good friend and coplanner for this evening found this recipe.

As a group, the attendees of this party are more savory people than sweet, and she knew her boyfriend, the birthday boy, would be more interested in a great appetizer than a cake at the end. So, she made this crab cheesecake, we lit candles on it, and it was served before the gumbo.

This recipe is killer. It is a win. It is a keeper.

The cheesecake itself is decadent. It is a crab dip that is so creamy that it melts on your tongue, in a crust that is salty and nutty, but it is firm, like a cheesecake. Then the sauce. Oh my, the sauce. The sauce is basically butter and hot sauce with some sautéed mushrooms, drizzled over the top. It is spicy and creamy and absolutely decadent.

There have got to be some occasions to make this again in the new year.

However, this is an epic undertaking. A multi-hour process. But, if you are so inclined and have a special occasion, it is totally worth it.

Enjoy.

This is not my picture. I found it online, but ours looked very much like this one.

Palace Cafe Crabmeat Cheesecake

Ingredients
Pecan Crust:
2 cups pecans
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons fine salt
5 tablespoons butter, cold
3 tablespoons ice water

Filling:
1 cup diced onion
1 tablespoon butter
4 ounces crabmeat
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup Creole cream cheese or sour cream
2 eggs
1 tablespoon hot pepper sauce (recommended: Crystal brand hot sauce)
Kosher salt and white pepper

Meuniere Sauce:
1 lemon, peeled and quartered
1 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 cup hot pepper sauce
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 pound butter, cold, cut into small cubes, and divided
Kosher salt and white pepper

Garnish:
2 cups sliced mixed wild mushrooms
3 tablespoons butter, softened
24 crab claw fingers
Kosher salt and cracked black pepper

Directions

Preparing the Pecan Crust:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Finely grind pecans in a food processor. Add flour and salt. Mix well. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and cut in butter, working butter into flour with 2 knives until dough is in crumbs the size of small peas. Add ice water and evenly incorporate into the mixture, which should remain fairly crumbly. Roll out dough to a 1/8-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Press dough into a lightly greased 9-inch tart pan, starting with the sides and then the bottom. Bake crust for 20 minutes, or until golden.
Note: Dough can be made ahead of time. If doing so, wrap dough tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate. Allow dough to come to room temperature before rolling out.

Preparing the Filling:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
In a skillet, saute onion in butter until translucent. Add crabmeat and cook just until heated through, then remove from heat. Blend cream cheese until smooth in a mixer fitted with a paddle, or by hand using a wooden spoon. Add Creole cream cheese and mix well. Mix in eggs 1 at a time. Gently fold in the crabmeat mixture. Stir in hot sauce and season, to taste, with salt and white pepper. Spoon filling into prepared crust. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until firm to the touch.

Preparing the Meuniere Sauce and Garnish:
Combine lemon, Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce in a heavy saucepot. Reduce over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wire whisk until mixture becomes thick and syrupy. Whisk in heavy whipping cream. Reduce heat to low and slowly blend in butter, 1 cube at a time, adding additional butter only after each cube has been completely incorporated into the sauce. This process is called “mounting the butter.” Remove from heat and continue to stir. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Strain through a fine strainer and keep warm.
Saute mushrooms in 2 tablespoons butter until tender and all moisture has cooked off. Excess water from the mushrooms may break your sauce if it isn’t cooked off. Stir mushrooms into Meuniere sauce. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a saute pan and warm crab fingers over low heat. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
To serve:
Slice cheesecake and top each piece with warm Meuniere sauce and 3 crab claws.

December 8, 2011
by katie
845 Comments

Party Snacks for the No Cooking Night

There are times, especially now in holiday season, when you have people coming over for a drink in the evening. Nights where you get off work and have just enought time to swing by the corner store on your way home and then frantically clean your house before people show up. These are the nights that you don’t want to have to cook snacks for your guests, but you realize that if you just give them wine, they will be too wobbly when they leave your house.

Last night I had some girlfriends over and not only did not have time to cook cute little appetizers, I didn’t feel like it. I wanted something easy. So I ran by the corner store on my way home and I grabbed the things I needed to make a basic party platter. Maybe this post is too obvious. It isn’t complicated to throw some snacks on a tray for people. But, I thought I would write about it anyways, because when you are without ideas and people are on their way, it is good to have a standard.

Not only is this a standard for easy party nights, I usually do a similar cheese/meat platter for all my parties in addition to whatever else I’m making. Because really, who doesn’t like some salami and cheese?

So the picture above is what I threw together for my ladies. I like to serve on a cutting board and I put a few of the items on/in cute plates and bowls. Presentation is everything. When my boyfriend got home before the ladies showed up and saw the set up he said, “You like your girlfriends better than me!” I replied, “I feed you every day.” Though perhaps it means I could work more on my daily presentation.

For the platter, I included the following items:

salami
brie
crackers
premade artichoke dip
grapes
and a bowl of milano cookies

This covers people’s general snacking needs. Sweet, salty, creamy, and some fruit to cleanse the palette. When in doubt, artfully assembling these items will look like you worked really hard to feed people and it will keep hungry, wine-filled tummies happy.

Other easy items to consider adding:
hummus
baguette slices
mixed nuts
other fruits like sliced apples or strawberries
sugar snap peas
various other italian meats like procuitto
various cheeses

You can make it your own, just be sure to make it easy. Not every hosting event has to be work. I hope this helps next time you have people heading your way and need some snack ideas!

December 5, 2011
by katie
166 Comments

Thanksgiving Part 3- Dressing, Turkey Gravy, and Cranberry Sauce

I’ve never been a big fan of dressing or stuffing. It was generally one of those things that I thought just took up space on my Thanksgiving plate. However, I’ve had a change of heart. I understand now. It is really a device to eat gravy.

The dressing. Behind it is that collard cobbler!

I found this dressing recipe this year and just loved it. It was originally an Emeril Lagasse recipe, but I made some changes and the recipe listed below is my version. Eating a bowl of dressing with gravy for dinner the other night was one of my favorite Thankgiving leftover experiences so far. (Though the turkey sandwich on the rosemary dinner roll with mayonaise was really, really, really good too.)

Mmmmmm. Rolls....

This dressing was easy and made an excellent staple in the meal.

Buttermilk Cornbread Dressing

Ingredients
1/2 pound bacon, chopped
2 andouille sausages, cut in half lengthwise and then sliced into 1/4 inch slices
1 chopped yellow onion
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
5 large eggs
3 cups buttermilk
2 tablespoons Maple syrup
Dash of Tabasco Hot Sauce
Dash of Worcestershire Sauce
2 teaspoons salt
4 cups crumbled leftover cornbread
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 2 quart glass rectangular pan with the butter. In a large saute pan, render the bacon until crispy, about 6 to 8 minutes. Add the sausage and onions and saute for 4 minutes, or until soft. Season the onions with pepper. Add the garlic and remove from the heat. In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, buttermilk and syrup together. Add the bacon mixture and stir well. Season the mixture with the hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Add the cornbread, salt and cheese. Mix well. Pour into the prepared pan. Bake until the pudding is golden brown and bubbly, about 55 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Yum.

For the turkey gravy, I adapted a recipe I found from Tyler Florence. Since we were frying a turkey, I wasn’t going to have any pan drippings, so I improvised on the original recipe and came up with something awesome. This was a really easy and absolutely delicious gravy. I will be making it again. I want to eat it on everything. Below is the recipe I created.

Simple Turkey Gravy

Ingredients
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 large turkey thigh, uncooked
1/2 medium onion, chopped
4 carrots, chopped
2 to 3 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon celery salt
1/2 bunch fresh sage
1/2 bunch fresh thyme
8 black peppercorns
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 400.
Choose a medium pan that can work on both the stovetop and in the oven.
Cut the turkey thigh in two and place it in the pan. Drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt, pepper, rosemary, and celery salt. Add onion, garlic, and carrot and toss everything together.
Roast in the oven for 30 minutes. This will really pull together the flavors.
Remove from the oven and place on the stovetop on medium heat.

Add one cup of the chicken broth, scraping the brown bits off the bottom. Then add the rest of the broth, the sage and thyme and bring to a boil, skimming any foam that rises to the surface. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Strain out and discard the solids and set aside the stock in another container.

Add the butter to the original pan and cook until melted. Add the flour to the pan and, using a whisk, stir constantly to incorporate the fat and flour. Once you have a consistent paste add the warm stock in a steady stream while you stir to work out any lumps. Cook until the gravy has thickened, about 10 to 15 minutes. Season well with salt and pepper and serve.

And now for the last dish I’m going to post about from this Thanksgiving, cranberry sauce. Much like dressing, cranberry sauce was never something I really understood the purpose of. I think it is something that I just needed to grow into. It is so tangy and tart and a slightly disturbing color on my plate that I think I was confused by it as a child. But now I get it. In the midst of all of the carbs, cheese, and richness on a Thanksgiving plate, it gives some brightness and tang. It tries to balance the scales a bit on your palatte.

This cranberry sauce came from Emeril Lagasse and I made it just how it said to and it was tangy, sweet, and delicious, with just a tang of orange. It was super easy and a definite keeper. And beautiful!

Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
2 cups cranberries
Juice and chopped zest of 1 orange
1/4 cup Port
1/2 cup sugar, or more if needed
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon cornstarch

Directions
In a small saucepan combine cranberries, orange juice and zest, port, sugar and cinnamon.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmering and cook until cranberries are tender, stirring occasionally. In a small cup make a slurry with cornstarch and 1 tablespoon water. Whisk cornstarch mixture into cranberry sauce and cook, whisking, until sauce thickens. Taste and add more sugar, if necessary.