A FRIDGE FULL OF FOOD...

Halloween 2020: The At Home Family Party that Rocked

      

These two amazing kiddoes are the reason for our at home Halloween party.   Myia, who is  8 and the  cutest Black Panther-ess out there (okay, I might be prejudiced but look, she's  adorable!) had been very concerned about how this whole Pandemic thing was going to affect her trick-or-treating.  But Aunt Gonnie and Uncle Gene (and Uncle Hal) always take care of the kiddoes at Halloween.  We don't have kids ourselves but we've long thought that having our nieces and nephews around gives them people their own age to play with--especially at Halloween.

In our family, there was also a long tradition started by  our Aunt Bessie who always always had Chili on the stove on Halloween, along with  popcorn balls and cookies for  all the neighborhood kids. I loved that tradition so years ago, after Aunt Bessie was no longer able to entertain, I took over making sure at our house there was, and always will be, Chili, popcorn balls, and treats for all the family and friends.

Because the pandemic has changed so much in our lives, we've had to rethink our Halloween get togethers too.  Instead of opening the house to all, we focused on my brothers and sister, and their children, and grand child.   The  youngest are Junior (above, who started out the evening as a Mutant Ninja Turtle, but as he got hot ended up as mostly a naked child running through the house) and Shamyia, whom we mostly call Myia. All together there were 9 of us able to spend the evening together 

Since this is a food blog, I'll go through the food first, but at the end  I'll also talk about keeping everyone entertained which is also part of the fun of Halloween. There are four recipes: Chicken and Homemade Noodle Soup, Spider Bread, Knorr Spinach Dip, and Jello Spider in the Brain.  And then descriptions of three great activities:  Over the Top Large Halloween Word Search, Solo Cup Bowling, and Mini Cornhole.

For 30 years we've always had Chili on Halloween but this year we voted and they chose the lovely, country Chicken and Noodles  for the big pot on the stove.  And I said "No problem!"--fun change for me too.

 One note as you click on my recipe links, for some reason the blog's photo takes about 20 seconds to load so please be patient with it. I apologize. I'm working to solve the technical problem and hope to have that corrected soon.

 Glenna's Chicken  and Homemade Noodle Soup

If you are in a   hurry, I will say that Rheames makes a great homestyle egg noodle in two different shapes so if you're not in the mood to roll out pasta dough...slip over to the freezer section in the grocery store. Other than perfect shapes, no one will know the difference. 

My favorite food part of the night was Knorr Spinach Dip in my own little creation: The Bread Spider. It was a last minute "Hmm...would it work if I..." thought that  turned out to be my favorite foodie thing we had.  This will definitely become a tradition. Who doesn't like a spider than you can pull off his legs to eat dip with?

Glenna's Hoppin' John (for non-black-eyed pea lovers)

Happy Almost New Year!  Legend has it that eating black-eyed peas (or Cow Peas to be a stickler for exactness) on New Year's Day will bring good luck and fortune in the new year. We can all use a little of that, right?

This recipe is for my version of Hoppin' John, the southern classic of black-eyed peas, bacon or sausage or ham hock, and rice.  The problem is I'm all about eating up the luck but not as hip on black-eyed peas so I cheat and basically make another southern staple: red beans and rice, but add a can of (cooked) black-eyed peas. They actually add an earthy, delicious undertone to the red beans and rice without overpowering it for those of us who aren't big black-eyed pea fans. 

Easter Side: Sweet Potato and Roasted Peeps Casserole

Got the ham? Check. Got the chocolate bunnies?  Got the green beans? Check. Got the deviled eggs? Check.  And to go with all that? How about some serious yum with a little bit of humor?  CHECK! 

Click here for the recipe:  Sweet Potato and Roasted Peeps Casserole

St Pat's Day in the South: Sweet Potato Colcannon

 

 

White potato/kale colcannon is amazing but I also love sweet potatoes and there isn't much that beats the south in your mouth of colcannon made from sweet potatoes and spinach ( or collard greens).  All the goodness of white potato colcannon with the sweetness from the "south potato".  Great by itself as a side or even better on top of shepherd's pie.  It's my favorite St. Pat's Day tradition in our house.

 

Click:   Sweet Potato Colcannon Recipe

Food Gifts: Hot Chocolate on a Stick

I always thought there were only two ways to make hot chocolate:  dry mix added to water or the chocolate syrup added to milk.  Welcome to  the third way and not only is it delicious, it makes an adorable Christmas gift or addition to cookie/candy trays:  hot chocolate on a stick.  Basically, it's a soft fudge that when stirred into hot milk, melts into delicious hot chocolate milkness. 

I looked at several different recipes for this on Pinterest but I ended up making my own recipe.  The first batch was too hard and wouldn't melt, the second batch was too soft and never hardened up enough to stay on the "stick", but just like Goldilocks and Baby Bear's bed, the third batch was "just right" and became a huge hit with my family and with everyone who received it as part of a gift.  I will definitely be making another batch or three next year. (And another one in a week or two with white chocolate).

St. Paddy's Day Cocktail: Irish Duck Fart

  

Niece Jordan came over Saturday night after she finished her work shift to help play with St. Pat's Day cocktails. She actually came over just to visit but the "working on St. Pat's Day cocktails" turned out to be a a fun add-on treat since this is her first St. Pat's Day as a 21 year old. Most kids her age would find hanging with Auntie and Uncle boring but I'm thankful my girl still enjoys spending time with us.

We looked at a million Jameson and/or Bailey's cocktails and ended up going with what sounded like the weirdest one: Irish Duck Fart, a combination of Irish whiskey, Irish cream, and coffee liqueur that can be shaken over ice and served as a shooter, or over ice as a cocktail.  To us, even though the combination sounded weird, to be honest, it goes down smooth like an amped up Irish cream.

 

(Click  the "continue reading..." link for the Irish Duck Fart recipe)

For more St. Pat's Day recipes:

Guiness Irish Stew with Roasted Garlic/Rosemary Dumplings

Russet Potato Colcannon

Sweet Potato Colcannon

"Brown Bread" Irish Soda Bread

 

Jansson's Frestelese aka Jansson's Temptation: Swedish Scalloped Potatoes

 Another Swedish dish from James's Birthday menu, these are one of the two best scalloped potato dishes I've ever eaten or made, the other being Cook's Illustrated Scalloped Potatoes with Thyme and Bay. What sets both of these dishes apart from the rest is the amped up seasoning. In the latter it's the thyme and bay, and in the former it's sardines.  Yes, you read that right: sardines. But before you turn your mind off, like I almost did when I read the recipe, let me say that I didn't tell my guests what was in the potatoes until after everyone had already eaten quite a bit and said they'd loved the dish.  It's just a psychological thing, sort of like when I introduced the hubs to sushi. I ordered several rolls, had him eat without knowing what he was eating, and to his surprise, his favorite things were the raw tuna roll and the eel sauce...on anything.

But if you're still a little nervous, like I admit I was when I first made the dish too, only use half a tin of sardines and smoosh them up a bit so they're evenly spread through the layers without any one big bite of them in a lump.  But do try this.  Like the hubs and his sushi, you might surprise yourself.

Hot and Cheesy Bacon Dip with Milton's Original Multi-Grain Crackers

       

 All we really need here are two words:  "bacon" and "cheese".

If pushed, I could probably say a few more words: like yummy to the tummy Milton's snack crackers.  I've been a fan of their gourmet line for many years but the beauty of the snack cracker line is that that crackers are smaller so you get the crunch, the whole graininess, and the slight sweet in a smaller version so you also get bacon and cheese with every bite--that's a win every way there is to win!

Out of the six flavors Gene and I, and lots of other family members, tried these were our favorite flavors:  Original Multi-Grain, Honey Multi-Grain, and Honey & Corn, all yummy on their own or as a great base for chips or chicken and tuna salad.

In this area, southwest Missouri, they can be found at Wal-mart, Target, and Sam's Club.

 

Glenna's Buttermilk Pound Cake

 What most people I know think of when you use the generic term "cake" is technically a butter cake, typically eggs and butter or oil beaten together and the dry ingredients then added, as opposed to a  chiffon cake, a lighter textured cake where the egg whites are whipped separately and folded into the batter.  Pound cake is butter or chiffon cake's sweet, voluptuous cousin, with rich, velvety crumb, created from not just eggs and butter but LOTS of eggs and butter!

Originally named "pound cake" for the simplicity of its ingredients: pound of butter, pound of sugar, pound of flour... it has long since been cut down to what we think of us "regular" cake size and customized in endless variations. This buttermilk and vanilla recipe is rich and. satisfying with straight-forward, simple ingredients that showcases what, to me, is almost a religiously divine combination: butter, flour, and sugar...and an oven. .

To fancy it up, add fresh strawberries or a drizzle of chocolate or caramel sauce. For me, I just cut a slice, pick it up, and don't bother dirtying a fork and plate.

Caviar and Pheasant, Fig, & Cognac Pate: Not Everything Great is Home-made

Gene and I first had caviar at the Petrossian piano/martini bar inside the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas. We'd walked by the little bistro several times and one day we just decided to stop in for a drink and a nosh.  Neither of us had ever eaten caviar before so we decided to splurge and give this new-to-us delicacy a try.  Delicious! 

I think it was one of the first times we've ever tried something we didn't know how to eat that we simply asked the waitress to tell us what to do. That seems like a simple concept but it. was a learning experience for us in several ways.  I don't know why I thought the waitress might be snooty, my own insecurity, I guess. As Auntie Miranda said, only a stupid server wouldn't make sure a patron had a great experience with new food or they'd be burning their own tip money up. 

 

 Since then we've been very loyal to Petrossian and splurge on caviar and fois gras every other New Year's Eve or so.  We've been building up quite the tradition:  a good pasta, home-made bread, and a fresh salad, followed by poker or other family games, and a midnight caviar, a good bottle of champagne, and/or dessert buffet with Auntie Miranda, James and Lynn, and Corbin and Jenn. 

(See posts for Baked Mostaccioli with All Day Slow Cooker Meat Sauce,  Baklava, and Jenn's Pretzel/Rolo Bites)

The Petrossian caviar is overnighted from New York inside cold packs.  To serve, all you have to  do is open the tin it comes in, place over crushed ice in a secondary bowl to keep it chilled, and dip it with a non-metallic (to avoid the metal giving the caviar a weird taste) spoon.  Ours happens to be mother of pearl, ordered from Petrossian our first year.  Caviar can be served on soft (our preference) or toasted baguette or regular bread toast points, blinis, or crackers of any kind. Toppings are a personal choice but common sides are chopped hard-boiled egg, sweet gherkins, dill gherkins, capers, minced red onion, scallions, or chives, kalamata olives, and creme fraiche--a type of sour cream with a higher fat content and less acidity.

We served this little mini buffet on a lazy Susan to keep us, lazy celebrators that we are, from having to pass everything around a million times.  I made home-made baguette and bought two kinds of crackers: one light and crispy and the other more toothy and whole-grained.  Along with the caviar, we also ordered a duck fois gras pate and a pheasant, fig, and cognac pate.  Everybody tried many different combinations of toppings with the caviar but it seemed like the favorites were either simply the caviar on a thin slice of baguette or any of the breads topped with caviar, creme fraiche, capers, and chopped sweet gherkins.  There is something about that combination that meets the magic taste combination of salty, sour, sweet, and savory. Mmmm... I'm already looking forward to next year even though this year has barely begun. 

Other purveyors of caviar:   Caviar Galore

For more information on caviar types and terms:   Caviar Info

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