Friday, May 28, 2010 Fashion Night the Video!!!

Old Clothes Are Fashion!!!

And the DEBUT OF MY APRONS!!!

Check it, yo!

Bang on, my peeps!!

-HH

Fabulous Fashion!!!

Three days of prep culminated in 4 hours of non-stop eating – with no trips to the vomitorium! We’re not models, binging and purging our way to fame! We’re hungry mother fuckers! We want to eat a 6 course meal and savor every bit of it as we feel the calories and fat deposits accumulating on our headbanging asses!

What’s the best way to start a meal like this? Fried Pasta!!!

Bow Tie Pasta Chips are crunchy tasty with various seasonings available to pump them up. Old Bay, Penzy’s Black and Red, Powdered Rosemary – whatever you put on it, when it meets up with the sea salt it’s just killer. They’re a great way to use up some day old pasta.

The Italian Wedge was scrumptious with layers of authentic Italian deli meats (although The Headbanging Hostess feels a bit like an idiot attempting to pronounce Sopressata. I don’t feel qualified to order it as Super-sod.) Fresh Mozzarella from Stew Leonard’s teamed up with big, juicy, red tomato slices, romaine and basil between two layers of baguette created that familiar taste with an authentic kick.

Next came the Beggar’s Purse with Mushroom Caps. I made enough filling to feed an army but when it came time to serve them there were only three of us here. I made the crepes and struggled with tying them up with the freakin’ chive! The ones I bought weren’t long enough – they almost became Beggar’s Clutches, but I got it done. The mushrooms were earthy, the crepes very familiar. Essentially they’re what I know as Hungarian Pancakes. So eating one with mushrooms instead of apricot jam was an oddball experience for my mouth. They weren’t bad – nothing to write home about. But by the end of the night I realized they gave my palate a chance to reboot as I got ready for the piece de resistance.

OLD CLOTHES!!!

Ropa Vieja. Skirt Steak cooked for 8 hours in the crock pot with tomato, peppers, onion, cumin. The meat fell into long tendrils of tastiness. I swirled it on my fork like pasta. Fried Shoestring Potatoes gave the dish a spot of texture. I can’t say enough about this. I’ve been introduced to a new cut of meat and a new kind of cuisine. Hello. Glad to meat you.

Dessert is always my favorite part of the meal. The Orange Chiffon Cake paired perfectly with the Chocolate Silk Ice Cream. As I prepared this weeks dinner I searched for the reason it was “silk” ice cream, to no avail. But tasting it I realized that somehow the lack of egg yolks (less than half of last weeks Sour Cream Ice Cream) allows the milk to shine through, giving the ice cream a silky texture as opposed to a thick, frozen custard. And it had a familiar taste! We all searched the dark recesses of our minds to find what it reminded us of. My husband came up with Choco Malt, Rob said Breyers, to me it was possibly one side of those individual Hood ice cream cups. Whatever it was it had the commercial ice cream taste, without any of the preservatives! Milk, cream, egg yolks, sugar and cocoa powder. Bang.

The biggest hit of the night was, of course, my headbanging apron!

Wait for the video! You’ll get to see all three! Stay Tuned!!!

Bang on, my peeps!

-HH

Thursday, May 27, 2010 It's Fashion Night!!!

It’s 6:00 AM on the big day. Because it was so hot yesterday I put off baking the Orange Chiffon Cake until the evening hours. I didn’t start it until 8:00. The Ropa Vieja found its way into the Crock Pot at 3:00 in the afternoon and found it’s way out at 11:00 PM. As I went in with the tongs to take the meat out for cutting it fell apart into long tender strings of tastiness. It’ll only taste better today. That’s the thing with crock pot food. The leftover Beef Goulash from Hungarian Night was somehow yummier than the day I made it – I didn't think that was possible!

I have a ton of shit to accomplish today - Pasta Chips, Italian Wedge, Beggar’s Purses and Shoestring Potatoes. I’m headed out to Stew Leonards for some of their incredibly fresh mozzarella cheese and some other last minute things and, of course, A&S for the cold cuts.

Dave made dressing for the sandwich last night. He won’t be around during the day today so it all falls on me. In fact, I’m gonna shake a leg and head out.

Stay tuned for a complete review and THE DEBUT OF MY APRONS!!!

Bang on, my peeps!

-HH

Monday, May 24, 2010 Drumroll, Please...

It's Fashion Week! Overnight my condo has been turned into a scaled replica of Bryant Park - complete with a gelato stand on the corner. NOT!

I spent last night googling recipes and fabrics. Thankfully, I spent yesterday afternoon with some friends at Linda's graduation celebration. Their fresh minds came up with a few great ideas. A Headbanging Hostess will always listen to suggestions. "Artists create, geniuses steal" - says my brilliant friend Ron Destro.

So...without further ado...


The Fashion Night Menu!


Bow Tie Chips

Italian Wedge

Beggar’s Purse with Mushroom Caps

Ropa Vieja with Shoestring Potatoes

Orange Chiffon Cake

Chocolate Silk Ice Cream


Accessories and fabrics dominate the menu. But what is this "Ropa Vieja?" OLD CLOTHES, baby! My kinda fashion! A Caribbean dish - as the story goes a man was having his family for dinner but he didn't have enough meat. So he got some of his old clothes and imbued them with his love. When he cooked the clothes his love for his family turned them into some kick-ass beef stew.

Reminds me of the modern day crock pot joke - you can cook a shoe in it and it'll taste good! That's actually not a joke. That's true. Try it!

So I have a busy week ahead of me. Today I'll start out slow. Off I go to get some candy necklaces and ring pops!

And STAY TUNED for the debut of my hot-ass aprons!!!

You won't be disappointed!!!!

Bang on, my peeps!

-HH