Oh No! A Mr. Bill Birthday

One of my pals, who is an amazing hostess, was throwing a b-day party for the man friend. I submitted an evite challenge to come up with a theme as all birthday parties have themes don't they? Or maybe this is a phenomenon that is supposed to end once you enter the double digits of age.

In response to the challenge, she very appropriately rose to the occasion and decided that she would craft a Mr. Bill cake out of fondant! Having never worked with fondant, she was quite intimidated, so contacted a pastry chef friend for advice. This friend quickly responded to her by saying, "I HATE fondant!!". Oh Nooooooo!! I don't think this was the response that she was looking for. She persevered, since she is a trooper and must really like this man friend and the result was fantastique!!

Mr. Bill emerged from his foil protective covering and proceeded to light it up at the party.



Birthday boy had a hard time making the initial incisions but was soon enjoying serving Mr. Bill up to the hungry party guests.



Here are some of the other delicious party offerings!

Prosciutto wrapped melon:



Tomatoes with yummy stuff on top (tapenade, pesto, hummus -- I think):



Vegetable frittata-like thing:



Toothpicks with more yummy stuff (mozzarella, basil, tomatoes, olives, artichoke hearts):



Everything was so delicious... and especially Mr. Bill! Thanks F! And Happy Birthday!

Urban Vegetable Garden Series - Part I

Spring has sprung! Well at least it has indoors in New England. It's still a little brisk outside at night to start planting outside, but my gardening calendar on boston.com said it was time to start sprouting some seeds so here we go!

E and I moved into a house with a very sunny patio in August so I've been excited to see what I can grow back there. Since we don't really have a patch of grass that isn't condo owned and operated, I will have to settle with what I can grow in a container.

So far, this is what my babies look like. We have two types of tomatoes, cilantro, basil and jalapenos. The peppers are being fussy I think, but everything else seems to be flourishing under the fake lights so far.

Up close and personal with the Roma tomatoes:


The cherry tomatoes:


Cilantro!


Basil and sad looking jalapenos:


If everything works out well, then I will be making me some mean salsas in a few months. Can't get more fresh and local than my back patio! Hope they will make it through the transfer outside...

Ca Kho To - Vietnamese Catfish In Caramel Sauce

This post comes with a stink factor warning. For those of you unfamiliar with the pungent odor of fish sauce you must prepare yourself for this recipe by opening some windows and turning on all fans in the house full blast. Now, it doesn't stink like durian or anything, but the fishy-ness has been known to be a sticking point in some relationships. Phu Quoc is a island of Vietnam where the fish sauce made is supposed to be especially tasty aka stinky. I heard from someone that it had something to do with the fish diet of squid, but don't know if that's true. Do you know if it is true?

I must admit that I used this recipe but added some vegetables because I am from the "more matters" school of thought. More vegetables that is and not just more of everything!! Now this dish is traditionally made in a claypot, but since I am not lucky enough to own one of those, I made it in my medium sized metal pot and then transferred into a ceramic dish to serve.





The recipe that I followed said something about "smoking slightly", but I would like to vote for more of a moderate smoking factor when I added the fish sauce to the caramelized sugar. But the finished product sure was worth it!

Oscartinis!! An Oscar Party Celebration.

My friend F wanted to roll out the red carpet for us... mostly because her and her man friend were going to have a Super Bowl party for the grand debut of their new HD mantastic television but didn't get it together in enough time for that event.

So the next logical TV event was the Oscars. I don't usually watch the Oscars because all the fluff in the middle just makes me sleepy, but really how can one turn down food and martinis?!

The red carpet led up to the spread which was a make-your-own-pizza buffet! This was perfect as the party included some supreme meat eaters and some vege-types.



Even this feline (nominated for the category of Best Bad Kitty), Biscotti, got to participate as he managed to leap on the table during the preparatory stages and placed a paw on two pieces of prosciutto. Those two pieces got put in his bowl and he was banished to the bedroom.



Here is my yummy pizza - eggplant, olives, basil, mozzarella and a few dabs of tomato sauce. A couple of martinis to wash it down and the good company made watching the best sound, lighting and make-up tolerable. I guess I better go out and see Slumdog Millionaire now!

Japanese Hot Pot Party!

Before I attended this feast I was ignorant to the fact that Japanese Hot Pot and Shabu Shabu are two separate things. Both involve cooking at the table, but in Japanese Hot Pot everything is put in at the same time, whereas with Shabu Shabu, the meat is put in at various times throughout the meal. The thinly sliced meats make a specific "swishy" sound which is where the name comes from. Ponzu sauce is an integral component of this meal as it lends a lot of flavor to the meat -- in this case it was halibut and chicken meatballs. Towards the end of the soup-fest, we added udon noodles. Yum!

Our gracious hosts had us over in January, at a time in Boston when hot soup is very much appreciated! They had a very fancy hot pot apparatus which they brought with them from Japan when they moved over here.



There were several tasty appetizers - an asparagus dish and a tasty Japanese fried chicken that Japanese boys have a particular liking for. My friend Mayumi (the chef), claims this is very easy to make and that her husband can even make it, so has challenged the other boys to also make it for themselves. That sounds like a Japanese fried chicken throwdown!




Some happy hot pot participants!

A Budding Tea-rista!

My niece, Fionna, really likes preparing people beverages. I remember when she was not even the ripe old age of 2, if you were hanging out in the kitchen she would ask you, "Kafeee?", which translated from toddler-speak into "Would you like me to help you make some coffee with the Starbucks Espresso machine?". She even knew the steps involved and the correct order to perform them in. Should you deviate from the plan, she would waggle a little scolding toddler sized index finger at you and redirect.

Now she has moved into the specialty teas. My brother was having some friends over for the weekend, probably to play some nerd-tastic role playing games or something, and Fionna thought they would enjoy some refreshments!

How lovely! Everyone is amazed when they see these flowering tea balls and even more amazed when they are presented to you by a preschooler! They start out looking like this.

Kinda looks like an owl pellet if you ask me!



Then... wait for it...



Wait for it...(Fionna is looking a little anxious that her guests won't be enthralled)



Tadddaaahh!



What a lovely hostess!!

Burnt Marshmallow Hot Chocolate (parental guidance advised)

I bought a bunch of Halloween themed Peeps intending to make Ghost Hot Chocolate, but everyone was too stuffed after eating the food that we never got around to making it. A few years ago, we inherited a culinary torch from a friend that was moving overseas. I don't make many desserts that require torching, so the torch has stayed in the original packaging until I had a very morbid yet delicious idea for its use.

I was a bit of a pyromaniac as a child. I never really burnt anything of significance down, but as my older brother will tell you, we used to spend a lot of time frying various critters of the insect kind with a magnifying glass in the backyard and also putting grapes in the microwave to start little mini-globe shaped fireworks. I also distinctly remember my brother putting a piece of raw meat near an open window with a screen and flaming the mosquitoes that landed outside with a lighter and an aerosol can. It's a wonder that we didn't turn out to have antisocial personality disorder with all the torturing of insects we did as children, but I guess that applies more to kids who torture animals that are cuter than bugs. Anyway, I digress.

I much prefer the taste of charred marshmallows to just melty ones. I know that the carbon is a carcinogen, but it's not as if burnt marshmallows are a staple of my diet, so I figure just once in awhile is okay.

So here goes, step-by-step:

1) Make some hot chocolate and buy some marshmallows (peeps or otherwise)



2) Float marshmallows in HC



3) Fire up your torch! Boooooooooo!!!



4) Ooh! A little too burnt, but smells lovely!



5) Turn crisped mallow over to get other side which will be a little harder to torch because it is wet, but will look quite lovely and inviting to drink!