Tuesday, December 6, 2011 Nailing Down The Menu

Looks like it's another one of those times when I have no idea how many people are coming. Whateve's.

I've seriously considered several menu options, and I'm not set on too much right now. I'm definitely making some version of the Pulled Pork Corn Cake Muffin we had at The Big E. Other than that I'm not too sure. I bought some Apple Butter and Pumpkin Butter in the grange building at The Big E, so maybe I'll make dessert pizzas with those and some nuts and ricotta cheese.

I'm thinking of making small batches of potato chips for our guests. We've done that before, seasoning the batches differently with Old Bay or rosemary. My deep fryer, while a fun toy, really has no capacity for serving a large amount of guests. I'm guessing people will be coming in at scattered times, hopefully the little fryer can keep up.

I've got an AWESOME song by a kick-ass band for the video - Good King Wenceslas by Demented Dream States \m/ I'm very excited to be back in the video making biz for the moment.

This'll probably be the last video for 2011. I've made way less videos this year than I did in 2010. We'll see if I get back in the groove in 2012. Between school, the re-emergence of my playwriting career and the passing of our little bunny 2011 was a tough year for dinner parties. Next year I'm hoping to go ahead with my scaled down dinner party plans. I'm also looking to branch out into private cooking lessons...and maybe more. Stay tuned!

-HH

Monday, December 5, 2011 It's Not A Christmas Tree (pronounced a la Ahnold in Total Recall)

This coming Sunday we will be trimming a tree for the first time in quite a few years. My relationship with Christmas as an adult has been touch-and-go to say the least; come-and-go and yes-and-no say more on the subject. I spent many years working on and performing in the annual Christmas Show at the Spinning Wheel Inn, so I was in the Christmas spirit all those years. When you start singing carols in October that's going to happen. But we haven't had a tree since I stopped doing the show 5 years ago.

As a kid I loved Christmas! And my atheist parents celebrated gladly. We'd trim the tree and hang our stockings and watch all the Christmas specials. When I was young it was all about Santa, but then I learned the story of the nativity through both osmosis and by going to church with my friend Michele when I'd slept over on Saturday night. But I never believed it, and I guess this is where my conflicted relationship with Christmas began. It's always been a sticking point, I guess you can say. A soft spot.

There's a special look you get from some people when you tell them you're atheist. You can tell right away they'll never really connect with you again, you're an immediate outsider. All those things about you they liked immediately have no value.

And sometimes you get the questions. "How did we get here?" "What happens to you when you die?" "How do you have morals if you don't believe in God?"

I'm back at recess in the school yard; back on the phone when they'd call and harass me. Seriously. Junior high crap. From adults.

This is all partly the subject of the new play I'm working on, Showers of Happiness. So writing this is helping me write that. But the focus here is my tree trimming party, so back to that...

I'm being very conscious of not calling it a Christmas tree, because I'm not celebrating the birth of Christ. I am celebrating the ancient Pagan Winter Solstice, the tradition of getting together with family and friends and decorating a tree.

I know. It's a whole thing. It's an attack on Christmas and the Christians are feeling persecuted. My Catholic therapist and I touched on the subject, quickly saw we had a difference of opinion and changed the subject before it all went south. She was upset the White House was trying to call the Christmas tree a Holiday tree. (There goes Obama trying to please everyone again, I don't mind when it's me he's trying to please.) Pagans were decorating trees long before Christianity began. December 25 is not the day Jesus was born. I really don't know what else to say on the subject.

So, I'm not attacking Christianity by not saying Christmas tree, I'm being honest. My tree is not a Christmas tree. You may have all the Christmas trees you want; you may call them what you want. But don't give me the stink eye because I choose to honor the origination of the holiday, in the ancient Pagan traditions that my ancestors surely passed down through the generations to my atheist parents.

Happy Holidays \m/

-HH

PS - Check out my #UnoccupyTheMall article on Alternative Control \m/

Thursday, December 1, 2011 Knitting Again?

I opened my knitting cabinet for the first time in two years the other day. I couldn't believe how much yarn I had in there. I wasn't even sure what I'd bought some of it for - bright orange and lavender? They don't go together, do they?

I've been a beginning knitter for at least 8 years. Dishtowels are my specialty, but I've also managed a few baby sweaters and a re-usable shopping bag or two. Now, after years of use, my dishtowels are all falling apart so it's time to knit me some new ones :)

As you can see I've re purposed my Saugatuck Craft Butchery bag. Double green, yo! We went there the day after Small Business Saturday and got some ground beef for chili dogs. Incredible stuff, it's not even the same color as grocery store meat. If you haven't been yet you're missing out. Go. I'm serious. Stop reading this.


In other news I'm writing a new play titled Showers of Happiness. Right now I'm about 50 pages in, but it's off to a solid start. I also have an #UnoccupyTheMall article coming out on Alternative Control soon. And I've been asked by The Mercurial to share some of my blog content with their site. It seems the Headbanging Hostess empire is expanding at a rate similar to my waistline.

The next big event here in Headbanging Hostessland will be our tree trimming party. I spent 50 bucks on pipe cleaners, felt, pom poms, popsicle sticks and other glittery whatnot's so our friends can create the ornaments for our tree. The menu hasn't been decided but we're running for 6 hours so it should be a challenge. Plus, I want mostly finger foods...so we'll see what happens.

What are you planning for the holidays?

-HH

Friday, September 2, 2011 Dinner Party Classes in Trumbull and Ridgefield!

Check it out, folks! This October I will be teaching Dinner Party classes in Trumbull and Ridgefield, CT. I'll also be teaching a Ten-Minute Playwriting class in Ridgefield.

The Dinner Party classes will not be a cooking class, it's a planning class. Learn how to create and execute one-of-a-kind menus that your friends will be talking about for years to come. Students will learn how to create a meal around a theme and with the tools they already have in their kitchens. You don't need to be a chef, you just need to have a plan!

And the Ten-Minute Playwriting class will explore the form and students will have the opportunity to write their own plays and share their work with the class.

I'm really looking forward to both classes! I can't wait to share my knowledge of both subjects and I really can't wait to see what the students create! That's what it's all about for me, the creation.

Spread the word and sign up with your friends! I hope to see you in class!!!

-HH

Click here for Trumbull Continuing Ed

Click here for Ridgefield Continuing Ed