Elegant Appetizzers

I am a big fan of pairing the formality of food with the formality of the affair. When I am having a grown-up cocktail party, here are four of my favorite canapes:

1. Fricco (Parmesan Crisps) with Goat Cheese Mousse

Heat a non-stick skillet to medium-high heat, drop parmesan cheese onto the skillet by rounded tablespoonfuls. Let the cheese melt and then slightly brown on the first side (better a little brown so let it cook –don’t be scared). Flip—when the second side is finished, drape over a small inverted muffin tin or shot glasses. Cups will keep two days in airtight container. Fill with salad or whatever. In this case, I used goat cheese mousse: 6 ounces soft goat cheese, 1/4 cup heavy cream, herbs, salt, pepper.

2. Gazpacho shooter with smoked shrimp

(I roughly used Ina Garten's recipe but just sort of used whatever ingredients I could get from Sam's.)
Roma Tomatoes (big package from Sam’s)
A red onion
1 English cucumber, halved and seeded, but not peeled
2 jalapeno cored and seeded
Garlic (again from Sam’s), Lemon Juice, kosher salt and pepper to taste

Roughly chop the cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, and red onions and put in blender and pulse until it is smooth, reserving some vegetables to finely chop. Mix puree and finely chopped vegetable in a large pitcher and add the garlic, lemon juice salt, and pepper. Mix well and chill before serving. The longer gazpacho sits, the more the flavors develop. Turns out my smoked shrimp from the trial run weren’t that smoky, so I just used boiled.

Tuna Tartare on Wonton Square

1 tablespoon of vegetable oil or Pam
12 wonton wrappers, cut into quarters
10 ounces of sashimi-quality tuna, diced into 1/8-inch pieces and chilled
3 tablespoons of chopped green onions (green only)
3 tablespoons of pine nuts
1 tablespoon soy sauce,
1 tablespoon of sesame oil
1 ½ teaspoons of chopped jalapeños with the seeds removed
1 teaspoon of grated and peeled fresh ginger
Toast wonton quarters, brushed with oil or Pam in oven at 375—goes quickly—these can be saved for later in a ziplock. Mix all other ingredients and top wontons—serve ASAP! Can make cups Thursday

4. Hot Dates--wish I had a picture, but they flew off the plate!
Bacon-Wrapped Dates: (combination of I Love Trader Joe's Cookbook Recipe and one from Martha Stewart Living)
• Pitted dates (we use the TJ's fresh packages)
• Marcona Almonds (again TJ's)
• Manchago Cheese
• Good-quality bacon, halved crosswise
1. Remove Pits from dates,
2. Stuff each date with and almond and a small piece of cheese.
3. Lay a stuffed date on top of each bacon slice; wrap to enclose. If not using immediately, freeze up to 1 month. (which we did)
4. Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet and cook at 400 degrees. Bake until bacon is crisp, about 10 minutes, flipping each wrapped date after 8 minutes. If frozen, bake at 400 degrees.for 10 minutes; flip, and bake 10 minutes more. Transfer wrapped dates to paper towels to drain. Serve with toothpicks. I never flipped!

Pinterest is My Friend-terest!

In 2011, I used a new tool (aka: my new bestie), Pinterest, to make my peacock party even pluckier. If you aren't using Pinteret, you totally should. Here is why: it is a great time-saver for planning. I admit, it can also be a fun time-suck...But once you really get down to planning it can save you time and money. I used it to pull together my old favorite ideas (fricco cups, tuna tartare on wonton squares, hot dates, tenderloin, and latkes) all in one place. My recipes were right at hand and I could see how they all looked together on a virtual buffet. Then, I saw what was missing and asked a few new friends to the party (peanut butter pretzel balls and mini-parfaits anyone?). I knew up front that they would go well and look great together because I could actually see it. Same for my beloved peacocks--I have always loved them but now they live in glittered branches. Glittered. People. I love pinterest so much that I have to decide what to give it for Valentine's Day next month. Bet I know where I can get some ideas!

 

A Forever Home

I haven't written in a very long time; I do hope to actually use this blog one day to document my children's growth, our birthday parties, clever crafts, and recipes we love!

Today, though, I feel compelled to write about something more serious. I was (and still am to a small degree) an attorney for abused and neglected children. The easiest way to explain it is that I represent the children's best interest in the state's custody case against their parents. In the best cases, the parents are able to turn their lives around, learn better skills, and regain custody of their children. It is happy moment to return children to their biological parents, who have truly done the work to repair their family. Sometimes, this doesn't happen and a relative comes forward to care for the child. In still other cases, a parent can't or won't do what is needed to get the child back. The extended family is too damaged or over-burdened to take the children. This leaves children caught in foster care, sometimes for years on end. But there is an answer....

I have been witness to the creation or completion of nearly a hundred families through adoption. Though it is probably highly unprofessional, I have cried every last time. The power of the moment is just too great to ignore. Though I am the first to say that there should always be separation between Church and State, I'll also tell you of the feeling of holiness in the courtroom. It is undeniably a miraculous moment a Judge bangs the gavel and announces that a child who once had none, now has a family forever.

I know that adoption, especially of an older child, is not the right choice for everyone. In fact, it has not been the choice for me. I think I would lose all objectivity and not be able to fairly serve the children whom I represent. But I do want to shout from the rooftops how many children need families. Can you imagine that? Needing a family? I'm not talking about children in far-off lands, but children right here in your backyard. If you feel like you need family too- or an angel sent to complete your family, go to adoptuskids.org and see if your child is waiting for you! I'll leave you with a quote from my favorite crinkled, old poster, "I wasn't there for her first steps, but I'll be there to walk her down the aisle."

Another picture slideshow by Smilebox

Big Girls Don't Cry

We have been hard at work on Annabelle's big girl room around here this week and I made a little smilebox to prove it! Big sister Naomi got a new little slipper chair out of the deal too . I know her room was just done when we moved in, but it just seemed like she deserved a little redesign too (maybe I'll get industrious and make a smile box of her room too)! Thanks to SeptembertheMarch who answered some furniture painting questions for me via e-mail. Now that's finished, I think its time to tackle the Hamentashen (little cookies for Purim).

Make a Smilebox picture slideshow

The Giving Tree

In my last post I mentioned that I recycled Annabelle's second birthday party centerpiece into part of our holiday decor, and said that I didn't like to use the same stuff twice. I was wrong, I do like to use stuff again and again. We used the sticks yet again for our Valentine tree. We painted them white, "planted" them crushed up pink and red construction paper, and tied on hearts with the names of our loved ones on them (I am so proud because our pre-K student, Naomi, wrote most of the names). So to recap, Naomi and I picked up the sticks in the yard, tied them together with floral wire, spray-painted them green to make both the very hungry caterpillar centerpiece and our holiday decor and then painted them white for Valentine's Day. ...... And we aren't finished yet!!!! Look for these sticks to be reused once again in Annabelle's big girl room ala' PBKids, who gave me an idea in their catalog!