You hive to bee prepared

Tonight I threw a bash to help members of my church be prepared in case of an emergency. Anyone who wished signed up and I bought the supplies they need for a 72-hour kit. All they had to do was show up tonight and bring the money, and my team had their kits ready to go. Well, almost. There were some shipping mishaps and we didn't get everything in time so we'll be supplementing, but we did what we could.
The theme was "Bee Prepared" and I couldn't help it, the decorating scheme just had to be yellow and black. We tried to keep the budget low, but we were still able to get black and yellow table cloths, balloons, and some caution tape.

The kits waiting to be picked up. Don't they look classy?

As for the program, Sarah and Kalyn briefed everyone on what to do in case of certain emergencies. More information on that can be found on the New York Office of Emergency Management webpage.

Sarah and Kalyn

Amy did a presentation on food storage, and I handed out our fantastic booklets.

Many thanks to Rgs and none to Staples

Ryan was going to come entertain us, but he was called in to work so I donned his costume and did my best.

I did the serious part in real clothes, I promise

I had tons of help setting up, decorating, and taking down which was really lovely, I think the evening went well and hopefully made emergency preparedness a little easier and a little more accessible.

Strawberry Shortcake

Aka the best dessert ever. Well, one of them. I use the Bisquick recipe for shortcake which is super simple and just as fast (and it's on the box):

2 1/3 c Bisquick mix
1/2 c milk
3 Tb sugar
3 Tb melted butter

Mix that together, drop some nice big dollops on a parchment lined baking sheet, and bake for about ten minutes at 450.

Slice strawberries, whip cream, and layer on top of the freshly baked biscuit. What's not to love?

Dinner games

I don't suppose everybody would agree, but I think Boggle and/or Scrabble improve almost any party. Especially when trash talking is involved. I'm considering making it a part of my Sunday dinners, but I'm not sure if word games are as generally popular and well-loved as I'd like to think.

Flickr cakes

I love seeing what other people do for birthday cakes, and flickr came up with 245,065 results for me.

Food & Wine 2008

Some friends of mine just gave me this cookbook, I can hardly wait to try some of the recipes

Easter Traditions

In the Poulson household, at least back as far as my memory stretches, Easter dinner meant about anything but ham and potatoes. Our family tradition was to choose a different country or region each year and enjoy their cuisine. I remember meals from Morocco, Provence, Mexico, and wherever else fancy struck. My first Easter at college I made Carribean food for everybody.
The second half of our tradition, which we did instead of Easter baskets, was to create a runner down the dinner table with that plastic grass and cover it with chocolates. We always had a few of the large, filled eggs from Sees Candy surrounded by a plethora of smaller chocolates.

Triple Berry Pie

Another recipe from Joy of Cooking, this one is listed as Fresh Strawberry (or Raspberry) Pie.

I used the flaky pastry crust again, and then proceeded with the recipe

6 c berries

Rinse, dry, and hull the strawberries; cut any very large ones in half. Do not rinse the raspberries. Measure 4 cups of berries and set aside. Puree the remaining 2 cups of berries.

Whisk together in a medium saucepan:
1 c sugar
1/4 c cornstarch
1/8 tsp salt

Whisk in:
1/2 c water

Stir in the pureed berries along with:
2 Tb fresh strained lemon juice
2 Tb unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, and cook for 1 minute. Pour half of the reserved berries into the c rust and spoon half of hte ot berry mixture over them. Gently shake the pie pan to coat the berries evenly. Cover with the remaining berries, spoon the remaining hot berry mixture over them, and gently shake the pan as before. Refrigerate the pie for at least 4 hours to set. This pie is best served the day it is made.

I didn't get to refrigerate it for the full 4 hours which may be partially responsible for the berry juice that dribbled all down Brook's leg, but I think the pie tasted good no matter what. Also, I didn't bother to measure the berries, I just guessed. I knew I wanted a tall, beautiful pie, so I just kept adding berries until I was satisfied. If I were eating this at home, I would stack on more berries, but this one had to be carried to Harlem so I tried to keep it reasonable.

Peach Custard Pie

Another pie from Joy of Cooking, this one tastes particularly good the next day.

Preheat oven to 400

Whisk together until well blended:
1 large egg or 2 large egg yolks
3/4 c sugar
6 Tb unsalted butter, melted
1/3 c all-purpose flour
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt

Arrange in a single layer, cut side down, over the bottom of the crust:
3-4 fresh peaches, peeled and halved, or 6-8 drained canned peach halves (I used sliced peaches, I daresay it would be prettier with the halves)

Pour the egg mixture over the peaches. Bake the pie for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 300 and bake until the custard is brown and crusty on top and appears firmly set in the center when the pan is shaken, about 1 hour longer. Let cool on a rack.

Easy, no?

Apple Crumb Pie

I never can seem to make a pie with a top crust, especially when a crumb topping is an option. This pie was based on a couple of different recipes. The crust was Joy of Cooking's flaky pastry dough, the filling recipe came from my sister, and the crumb topping was from Joy of Cooking's apple crisp. Next time I think I'm going to aim for a gooier inside.

Crust:

Using a rubber spatula, thoroughly mix in a large bowl:
2 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 tsp white sugar or 1 Tb powdered sugar
1 tsp salt
Add:
1 c solid vegetable shortening or 1/2 c shortening and 8 Tb cold unsalted butter (I prefer this half and half method myself)
Break the shortening into large chunks; if using butter, cut it into small pieces, then add it to the flour mixture. Cut the fat into the dry ingredients by chopping vigorously with a pastry blender or by cutting in opposite directions with two knives, one held in each hand. AS you work, periodically stir dry flour up from the bottom of the bowl and scrape clinging fat off the pastry blender or knives. When you are through, some of the fat should remain in pea-sized pieces; the rest should be reduced to the consistency of coarse crumbs or cornmeal. The mixture should seem dry and powdery and not pasty or greasy. Drizzle over the flour and fat mixture:
1/3 c plus 1 Tb ice water
Using the rubber spatula, cut with the blade side until the mixture looks evenly moistened and begins to form small balls. Press down on the dough with the flat side of the spatula. If the balls of dough stick together, you have added enough water; if they do not, drizzle over the top 1 to 2 Tb ice water. Cut in the water, again using the blade of the spatula, then press with your hands until the dough coheres. The dough should look rough, not smooth. Divide the dough in half, press each half into a round flat disk, and wrap tightly in plastic. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, and preferably for several hours, or for up to 2 days before rolling. The dough can also be wrapped airtight and frozen for up to 6 months; thaw completely before rolling.

Filling:

8 apples
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp ginger
1 c brown sugar
1/2 c water
Boil and then add chopped apples

Topping:

Combine:
3/4 c all-purpose flour
3/4 c sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
Add:
8 Tb cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
Cut butter into dry ingredients

My sister sent me a bunch of aspic cutters a little while ago and I decided to try fancying up my crust with one of them. It turned out alright, but I think I need some practice

Chocolate Cream Pie

Being a fan of fruit desserts, I often tend to forget about chocolate. As I was planning all of the pies to take to Becca's, I thought a little chocolate would be in good order to go with all the fruit. I decided to try Emeril's Chocolate Cream Pie from the Food Network and while it was easy enough, I can't say I was thrilled.
I almost never do crumb crusts for two reasons: 1) they tend to be all crumbly, and 2) they look you cheated. And I hate looking like I cheated. Clearly I didn't buy this one, it would have stuck together if I had, but really. A real pie has a pastry crust. It just does. And then there's the puddingy filling. Yes I made it from scratch and yes it involved multiple steps, but yes it looks as though I poured Jello Instant Pudding into the crust. And I'm too proud to be okay with that.
As for flavor, I hear it was good. I can't say it tempted me.

Pi Day

While Pi Day is wonderful in and of itself, to me it has the added dimension of being Becca Shim's birthday. Becca embraces the duality of her holiday by celebrating her birthday with pie. This year she is providing the salty (pizza), and I am providing the sweet. I made a variety of pies: apple crumb, peach custard, chocolate cream, and triple berry. Horrible photos and delicious recipes will follow.

Pingg

I was never sure about evite, but I had to admit that the online invitation idea was tempting. I sent out my first evite last month and it went well enough, but I wasn't won over. I heard about Pingg the other day (thanks for sharing that Megan!) and decided to try it out. The verdict is in and I love it. I still prefer beautiful mailed invitations of course, but those aren't always quite the thing.
So why do I like Pingg? First of all, I love the clean aesthetic of the invitations. I love how the invitation itself comes in an email and is separate from the rsvp page, and how guests don't even have to go there, they can rsvp right in the very email. So much easier, so much cleaner, and so much prettier. And what's not to love about that?
As if that's not enough, let me tell you, Pingg is so much easier to use than evite. The process is faster and clearer, and you can import selected contacts straight from your email account. And get this, for a small fee, you can even have your little design sent out as a physical post card! Genius. Ooh, and you can keep your invitation and rsvp lists private, should you so desire. It just gets better and better.

Paley Pecan Bars

It looks ugly I know, but once I put the chocolate on it looked better and the aroma more than makes up for the looks

In graduate school I spent some time researching Princess Natalie Paley, a French style icon of the late 1920s through the '40s, who also appeared in a few American films. At the same time I was doing this research, I had volunteered my services as baker for one of my classes. We met once a week and were always hungry, so my classmates would provide me with money for ingredients and every week I would bring a different treat. One week I made these toffee bars and they were immediately dubbed Paley Pecan Bars (I combined recipes and made a few changes, so I feel perfectly justified in renaming), to serve as pendant to my class's favorite of my recipes, Lelong Lemon Bars. Lucien Lelong was the subject of our group research and our eventual class exhibition, a sort of capstone project, and was Natalie Paley's first husband. The recipe for those will go up another day.

Natalie Paley

In any case, here is the recipe for Paley Pecan Bars:

Crust: (I prefer to double this part of the recipe, I like lots of buttery crust)
I c butter
2 c flour
1/2 c powdered sugar
1/2 tsp salt

Mix and pat into a 9x13 pan, bake for 15-20 minutes

Topping:
5 Tb unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 c light brown sugar
2 Tb honey
1 Tb milk
1/8 tsp salt

Boil together, uncovered, for three minutes. Remove from heat.
Stir in:
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups toasted pecans, chopped

Add to crust, bake an additional 17-20 minutes
Sprinkle with chocolate chips, about 1/4 cup
Let cool, cut and serve

St. Patrick's Day Feast

Bon Appétit's March issue refers readers who may want to host a St. Patrick's Day party to their website for a complete menu and preparation guide with everything from recipes to a shopping list and timeline. I am especially intrigued, as usual, by the dessert, a rhubarb and raspberry jam roly-poly with a vanilla custard sauce.

ps- according to wikipedia, the New York St. Patrick's Day parade is the biggest in the world. Oh, New York, how I love you.

Eggshell votives

I just love these eggshell votives from the Martha Stewart website, I think they would be a lovely accent down the dinner table.

Project Runway Finale

My friends Doug and Tamara hosted a Project Runway Finale party tonight. Our pre-show entertainment was a design challenge - creating a gown with only the Village Voice and masking tape in only ten minutes. I walked in halfway through this challenge and joined Doug's team.

Meredith and Reagan consulting while Tamara worked busily, just out of sight

Doug and Kim's friend working on Kim.

With about four minutes left, I joined in and tried to help them a) realize their vision, and b) actually finish the thing. I did not succeed. So, we didn't quite make it work.

Kim and Reagan. Kim's dress is nearly trashed at this point, trust me it looked a little better once

Doug wanted puffed sleeves on it and the judge insisted on more of a skirt than we originally had, and I thought it could use some sort of bodice. I tried my best to pass all off as an homage to the Gibson Girl, but Ryan wasn't fooled. Alas.

Mickey Mouse Cookbook

Yesterday as my coworkers and I were talking about meatballs, I had a sudden memory of my first dinner party. I'm guessing I was about six or seven and my little friend Leslie and her mother were coming over for dinner. I have absolutely no memory of whether my mother instigated the invitation or if I did, but I do remember poring over this cookbook with her and choosing the Lady and the Tramp Spaghetti and Meatballs. I also remember how I felt as I was preparing for that first dinner party, all of the excitement and trepidation, and I have to say it hasn't changed a bit for me since then.

Mistakes I've made v.5

Sunday's main dish was a little on the heavy side so I thought a light and tart dessert would be appropriate. I chose baked apples with brown sugar and pecans, and I was going to make a caramel sauce but I forgot. That didn't much matter in the end, as the mistake to which I referred in the title overshadowed the lack of an extra topping. When I took the lasagna out of the oven, I automatically turned it off. Normally this is a very good thing. The not so good thing is that, moments later, I proceeded to put the apples in and walk away. I was busy with my guests during dinner so I didn't even think about the apples until it was time to take them out, at which point I thought it was odd I hadn't smelled them yet. So to the oven I go, only to open it and discover that it is, indeed, off. And the apples are still raw. Unheated ovens always make me think of the scene in Sabrina when she fails the souffle course due to forgetting to turn her oven on. I couldn't find a clip of that by itself, but watching from 5:20 to 6:40 does the trick.

Vegetarian Lasagna

Image from foodnetwork

For dinner this Sunday I made a lasagna with spinach, eggplant, portobello mushrooms, and a beschamel sauce. I followed Emeril's recipe except I added the eggplant, I just thought it sounded good. I took a couple of ill-advised shortcuts with the sauce, which weren't major but could have been responsible for the soupiness that became something of a joke at the dinner table. We decided that after the lasagna was gone, I could just purée the rest and have a lovely soup. The flavor was a little bland but I'm always a little on the stingy side with the salt and pepper in the cooking stages just in case, so that was probably my doing. In any case, I think it's worth another go, perhaps putting a little more cheese and a little less sauce next time.

March, finally

I've had enough of this, thank you

I'd like some of this, please

Now that the dreaded month of February is over, my mind has turned to spring. It may still be in the thirties and probably won't warm up for another month, but the light is at the end of the tunnel now and I couldn't be more excited. Just think, soon it will be time for picnics, strawberry shortcake, camping, blooming gardens just waiting for me and my Polaroid (neither of the above images is mine, but both are of Fort Tryon Park), light jackets, strappy sandals, mani pedis, Mr. Softee, fresh peaches, Gotham Girls Roller Derby, and lots of sunshine. For the moment I'm going to ignore the accompanying humidity, dirt, vermin, tourist influx, and everything else I dislike about warm weather. Hooray for spring!