SUMMER COCKTAIL PARTY

To throw a summer cocktail party has to be the easiest way to entertain.  Prep time is minimal, guests come for max 1 to 1 1/2 hours, and if you keep it on the small side (20-26 people) you really get to talk with all your guests. I rent wine glasses - they deliver them and pick them up dirty the next day.  For 55 cents a glass it's worth it!

 I served:

Shrimp Cocktail - still a crowd pleaser.  I bought the shrimp already cleaned and peeled but I always make my own cocktail sauce.  It's so easy I'm not going to bother writing out the recipe.  Just pour ketchup in a bowl, add as much fresh horseradish as you like (taste as you go if you like it hotter add more), squeeze 1/2 or a whole lemon in it, and a dash of tabasco or worcheshire sauce.  That's it.

Crudite - cut up whatever veggies you like - I like peppers in different colors because it's pretty on the platter.  I sometimes make my own hummus but quite frankly even your basic grocery store now sells pretty good ones.

Chips and quacamole - another crowd pleaser.  Again I usually make my own quac but we have a mexican take out place that makes fabulous quacamole so I made a quick stop there and plopped it into one of my own bowls.  (I didn't even feel quilty about that).

Smoked Salmon Tea Sandwiches - made these from scratch from an Ina Garten recipe but I don't think people like these sorts of things anymore.  They were very popular in the past.

Rosemary Cashews - MY NEW FAVORITE SUMMER RECIPE!
Every summer I attack my Barefoot Contessa cookbooks.  You should see the folded pages, yellow stickems, and literally splattered dirty pages of the various books that I have of my favorite cookbook writer/TV cooking show host, Ina Garten.  This summer I have been going through her BAREFOOT IN PARIS Easy French Food You Can Make At Home book.  I make a batch of these cashews once a week using the fresh rosemary from my garden.  Please try them,  you will never put out a bowl of plain nuts again.

ROSEMARY CASHEWS

Copyright 2004, Barefoot in Paris Cookbook by Ina Garten, Clarkson/Potter Publishers, All Rights Reserved

Serves 8

1 pound roasted unsalted cashews

2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 teaspoons light brown sugar

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Spread the cashews out on a sheet pan.  Toast in the oven until warm, about 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine the rosemary, cayenne, sugar, salt, and butter.  Thoroughly toss the warm cashews with the spiced butter and serve warm.

I have made these hours before a cocktail party and served them at room temp and they are still fantastic.

CAULIFLOWER SOUP WITH SAFFON

This soup has the most gorgeous golden color and is smooth.  It’s delicious and beautiful.

Serves 8

4 cups chicken broth

¼ teaspoon saffron threads (crumbled)

3 tablespoons butter

½ cup – 1 cup onion (chopped)

1 ½ pounds cauliflower, cut into ½” to ¾ “ pieces

½ cup half and half (optional)

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Fresh chives (chopped for garnish-optional)

Heat chicken broth in soup pot.  Bring to simmer then remove from heat and add saffron threads.

Cover and let steep for approximately 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt butter in another soup pot.

Add chopped onions (if u like onions do a full cup if not use less).  Saute until tender and golden but not brown – approximately 5-10 minutes.

Add cauliflower and stir.

Add saffron chicken broth. 

Bring to a simmer over medium to high heat for a few minutes.

Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until cauliflower is tender – approximately 20 minutes.

Working in batches puree the cauliflower mixture in food processor until smooth.

Transfer batches into another soup pot.

Add half and half if you like (but not necessary because it’s so smooth and creamy).

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Garnish individual bowls with chives if you like.

ASPARAGUS WITH GOAT CHEESE AND ARUGULA PESTO

"Asparagi con Caprini e Salsa di Rucula"

I serve this sometimes as a first course for dinner parties.  It’s a very pretty presentation and you can place it on the table in advance.

Kosher salt (for boiling water)

12 ounces asparagus (cut off ends and shave ends with a veggie peeler)

(count out approximately 4-5 per person)

Arugula Pesto – see below

1 log goat cheese (or fresh mozzarella if you prefer)

a bunch of  radishes

Boil water with some salt in a pot or a deep frying pan to fit asparagus.

Add asparagus and cook until just tender, about 4 minutes depending on thickness of your asparagus.  Test with a fork.

Remove from the water (using tongs) and plunge into icy water – being careful not to break off ends.

Drain asparagus and set aside to cool.

Make Arugula Pesto

2 cloves garlic

½ cup of pine nuts

4 cups arugula (roughly chopped)

¼ cup Olive oil (more if necessary for proper consistency)*

1 lemon (squeezed)

Kosher salt and pepper **

Using a Cuisinart – put your garlic and pine nuts in first – pulse.

Add your arugula – pulse again – using a spatula to clean sides.

While machine is running add olive oil to the top streamer.

If you want a more liquid consistency add more olive oil.

*I like to use a light olive oil when I’m making arugula pesto because arugula can have an intense flavor.

Squeeze your lemon in.  If you prefer start with ½ then add more if you like. 

Pulse again until blended.

Taste – add salt and pepper to taste.

**Arugula has a very peppery taste so you may not even need to add any pepper at all.

Notice I do not add any Parmesan cheese to this recipe.  I like to keep it light.

Arrange the asparagus on individual plates – approximately 4-5 each.

Slice the log of goat cheese into thick disks and lay over the asparagus spears.

Spoon some of the arugula pesto over the cheese.

After washing radish using a vegetable peeler, arrange some slices on the plate.

You can garnish with extra arugula leaves if you like.

You can also serve this dish as a buffet item and place all of your asparagus on a platter instead of individual plates.

If you prefer basil pesto, place that on top instead of arugula pesto.

STUFFED MUSHROOMS

Went to a great family wedding in NJ and had a blast.  Haven't laughed that hard in a long time.  One of the best things about a Jersey wedding is the cocktail hour.  I ate so much then that I wasn't hungry for the main course.  My idea of a perfect wedding is a really long cocktail hour(s) then straight to dessert.  They had passed crab cakes, mini grilled cheese sandwiches and shooters of tomato soup, perogies, and of course STUFFED MUSHROOMS.  Then you could go to the "mexican" table for fajitas. The seafood table, which I went around several times had shrimp cocktail, oysters, tuna sashimi, and clams oreganato.  Move onto to the "Italian" table for cold cuts, cheeses, fresh mozzarella, and my favorite eggplant rollantine.  Are you following me on this - we are talking massive amounts of fantastic food.  There was another table with fruits and breads which I was about to ignore but saw that they tucked in the swedish meatballs over there - oh yea I found them!

This is time consuming but guests always love stuffed mushrooms.  

SAUSAGE-STUFFED MUSHROOMS

Makes up to 50 stuffed mushrooms

2-4 boxes mushrooms - 10 oz. each (depends on size of mushrooms)

2 Italian sausages (I use chicken)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 small onion (finely chopped)

1 stalk celery (finely chopped)

1/2 red pepper (finely chopped)

1 clove garlic (finely chopped)

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 cup Italian breadcrumbs (I like Progresso)

2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

1-2 eggs (lightly beaten)

Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

Set oven at 400 degrees.

Clean and de-stem mushrooms.

Place upside down on baking sheet with a rim (so that the hollow side is down).

Bake for 10 minutes to release juice.

Meanwhile, squeeze sausage out of casing into your pan and sauté until cooked.

Break up sausages as they cook - place in a bowl with a paper towel to absorb fat.

Wipe out sauté pan and add olive oil.

Sauté onions, celery and red pepper.

Cook until soft - approximately 4 minutes.

Add garlic and thyme and cook another 1 minute.

Remove mixture from heat and add breadcrumbs, cheese, egg, salt and pepper.

Stuffing should me moist - if dry do 2 eggs.

Add sausage to this mixture and blend well.

Take mushrooms out of baking sheet and pour out juices.

Return mushrooms to pan turned over (so that the hollow side is up).

Divide stuffing mixture into mushrooms.

Bake 15 minutes.

Visited the house I grew up in.  Was nice to see the front oak tree was still living.  The roots were massive like the amounts of food at the wedding!

MOTHER'S DAY - A Movie Review of TWO WEEKS

Mother's Day is always tricky for me since my mother passed away.  It gets easier each year though.   One son calls me Diamondz, he and his friend bought me a cake and had DIAMODZ written on the top which made us all laugh.  The girl at the bakery didn't realize she spelled it wrong.  My musician son sent me 2 new CDs of female artists.  I depend on him to introduce me to new music.  The youngest video taped us singing in the car on our way to the train station.  We sang like we were on the TV show Glee.  He gave me a sweet card (better late than never) that touched my heart.

I saw a movie this week called,  TWO WEEKS where Sally Fields plays a dying mother and asks her grown children to come back to the home they grew up in to be with her for her last days.  Having gone through that with my own mother and 5 siblings believe me watching this movie can reduce you to sobs but there are so many touching scenes that will make you laugh as well.  The director, Steve Stockman has created a comedy drama that makes you better understand the circle of life and how important family relationships are.

While the aging matriarch, Sally Fields, is on her deathbed there is a scene that made me laugh and cry at the same time.  She hears her grown children laughing at the kitchen table so she scoots out of bed to see them sharing chinese takeout.  Because of her medical complications and medications, she can't eat but the smell and the vision of the family meal draws her to the table.  The daughter suggests she "chew and spit" which she read was acceptable.  There is always one sibling that actually reads the materials that hospice provides and educates the other siblings with useful information.  Sally Fields being one of our most talented female actors certainly of my generation and maybe of all times asks one of the kids to "pass the spareribs".  Can't you just hear your mother saying that?  To watch Sally Fields face as she totally enjoys this experience (the last meal she will ever have) is remarkable.  Then to watch her spit it out is hysterical.  Being a fantastic family (albeit not perfect as they bicker with eachother at times just like every family) they all then proceed to do as their mother and they all "chew and spit" the rest of their family dinner.  It's a touching and funny scene.

The youngest son struggles with his relationship with the older siblings but there is a scene that the director put in that blew me away.  After the morphine starts to set in and she is semi conscious she reaches up her arm.  All of the older siblings are at a loss for what she wants and it's the youngest that says, "hug her, she wants a hug".  I lost it...

The eldest son had started taking videos of intereviews with his mother after her diagnoses of cancer. I was jealous of this as I had often visited my mother with intentions of doing that but alas didn't until it was too late and landed up videotaping her after the morphine set in and she couldn't tell her funny family stories with her special ever so slight "hoboken" accent.  But in the movie Sally Fields jokes with her son as she shares stories of how she feels about each of her children.  Which brings me to another powerful scene in the movie.  After this wonderful matriach dies, each child goes individually to say their good byes to her.  I remember when the oldest son doesn't cry I thought to myself, that that wasn't healthy and sure enough when they all gather at the cemetery to sprinkle her ashes over her father's grave he falls apart in front of all of his siblings.  They all at first seem alittle shocked but quickly go to hold him to help him in his extreme grief.  I'm sure that this mother orchestrated these siblings to come together no matter how busy and different their lives were.  She wanted to be sure that when she was gone they would be there for each other.  I loved this movie - see it but be prepared to cry a little bit.

Dear Mom,  I missed talking to you on Mother's Day this year.  I'm doing great and the boys are fantastic.  Love you and miss you, Megan (Madigan)