Saturday, January 22, 2011 BYO Dinner Party Success

Look at the colors popping out of that sammich and tell me the first BYO Dinner Party was not a success...you can't do it! Because it looks DDelicious!

My guests came through, bringing such goodies as prosciutto, basil and fresh mozzerella to homemade sour dough bread to BACON!

Oh yeah, screw the diet, I ate me an Elvis sandwich - peanut butter, banana and BACON!

They also brought a ton of cold cuts, so we had a succession of 6 sandwich combinations. I was cooking them up on the vintage Snackmaster and George Foreman Grill simultaneously, slicing them up and supplying the guests with a steady stream of sammiches.

My cheeseburger soup came out fantastic! Here's a brief rundown of the recipe. Keep in mind I made this with my own goose stock and my own beef stock (plus some College Inn Broth I had left over in the fridge), so if you make it at home you may want to consider making some homemade stock, to add a flavor all your own.

1 1/2 pounds browned ground beef
1 big can of crushed tomatoes
3 cups of beef stock
4 cups goose stock

Shredded cheddar, lettuce, tomato and onion for garnish.

Put it all in the crockpot on high and let it come together. Adjust the seasonings if you want. My soup was pretty liquid so I added butter and flour all mashed up together as a thickener. I also dusted corn starch on the bag of shredded cheese before I stirred it into the soup. Garnish with chopped tomato, onion and lettuce.

My soup had a real chargrilled taste because I made my beef stock with a steakbone from my New Year's Eve dinner at Capital Grille. I know it sounds odd, but it's not like it's been sitting around in my purse, it was in the freezer, and it was real tasty!

And the ice cream sandwiches...you can see here how good they were. And how fun they were to make!

Bang on, my peeps!

-HH

Monday, January 17, 2011 The Return Of Dinner

It's been almost a full month since the last dinner of 2010. I've been on break from school, but a vaca it has not been. I've been playing nurse to my husband who had surgery, working on some "behind the scenes" stuff and dieting! Three weeks without meat! I think my body is remembering what it used to feel like. I even went on a walk in the 30 degree weather - 2 miles of bitter cold mixed with sweat. Love it.

BUT! This weeks dinner will provide me with at least one serving of meat... Drum roll please...

It's Soup and Snackmaster Night!

You remember the Snackmaster! That triangular sandwich making machine. Holla if you remember the commercials! (HOLLA!) You could fry an egg in it, make a plethora of sandwich combinations, even apple pie! (YUCK!) I used to bring it to the theatre for "Snackmaster Saturdays" and we'd all sear our sandwiches on it and throw them out the window. Ah, children's theatre.

Although the Snackmaster didn't find it's way onto My Top Ten Kitchen Toys list it is a great toy. More of a novelty than a regular-use item, but it has it's purpose, and that is to feed and amuse.

My diet will be put on hold for the evening as I am making Cheeseburger Soup! Yet another treat I saw on Diners, Drive Ins and Dives. I'm winging the recipe, of course, and using up the last of the goose stock. The soup includes ground beef, cheese, crushed tomatoes and LETTUCE! It's something I wanted to try when I first saw it, so I'm looking forward to the end result.

The guests will be providing the sandwiches - the first in a hopeful series of BYO Dinner Parties! This helps alleviate some of the costs for us and might make dinner parties more doable for others! I don't think it should cost a ton to enjoy a meal with friends. If everyone shares the costs it can be affordable!

I haven't thought about dessert at all. I'm sure I'll come up with something. Ice cream sandwiches?

Stay tuned!

Bang on, my peeps!

-HH

Wednesday, December 22, 2010 Wrapping It Up For The Holiday

Today is my last day in Connecticut before our holiday trip to the Poconos. I have loads of laundry to put away, dishes to do, bags to pack, garbage to take out...but here I sit, blogging.

Last night, in honor of the winter solstice, we had a really tasty meal of roasted vegetables with (drum roll please) goose stock sauce. Oh yeah, baby! And I've got more of it in the freezer still. This is exactly why you should make stock. I transformed a lowly potato, sweet potato and some pre-chopped turnips into a celebratory feast. I tossed them all in some goose fat, sprinkled them with salt and pepper and roasted them in the oven until they started to brown. One cup of goose stock in a saucepan seasoned with ancho chili powder, smoked paprika and allspice and BANG! A really tasty meal.

I also checked out Linda and Los's pad for the Faux New Year's celebration. Plans are going ahead to relocate there for our "baked potato/best of" feast! I'm looking forward to the opportunity to cook in someone else's kitchen - and make a mess, as usual. They have a nice space with plenty of room to sit, stand and play video games.
Food comas are in order, because Arcane Malevolence usually has to go play a show. But this time we're free to eat ourselves into oblivion. And we will.

Baked potatoes topped with ropa vieja, chili, bacon and cheese...I'm even thinking of peas in beurre blanc for Baldwin. Because he never ate a pea until I put them in my Chicken Pot Pumpkin Pie.

I'll let the guests bring desserts and drinks. I'll supply a few munchies like chocolate covered bacon and jerky, but we need to save room for the potatoes. They're gonna be outstanding! I can't wait.

I hope everyone enjoys the holiday - no matter what your religion or lack thereof.

Bang on, my peeps!

-HH

Friday, December 10, 2010 Stock Night! Featuring goose and chicken stock!

Thursday, December 9, 2010 Goose Stock In The Crock Pot

Tonight's Stock Night! I've got the skirt steak in the crock pot with mushrooms, onions and goose stock. It smells delicious already - I can't imagine how good it'll be when it's actually cooked. On top I'm planning on some carrot chips fried in goose fat!

Later on I'll be making some quinoa risotto style with organic chicken stock. I'll add some sliced chicken breast and broccoli for a nice warm salad-ish dish. And on the side some mashed potatoes. Who doesn't like mashed potatoes?

Time management is everything when prepping for these dinners. I plan on busting out my dehydrator again to use as a warmer. So I can have it all done and ready to go when the guests arrive.

The only thing I'll make during dinner is the dessert. Spice cake with rum raisins. Mmmm....

-HH