Top 10 List: Foods to Have on Hand for Impromptu Holiday Entertaining

1. Mixed Nuts – Have a can or two of deluxe mixed nuts (without peanuts) on hand. These can be warmed in the oven at 350°F for about 5 minutes (toasting releases flavor and aroma).
2. Marinated Olives – Pick up some at the deli counter or marinate yourself with good quality olive oil, lemon zest, cracked peppercorns and fresh rosemary. I like large green olives stuffed with pimentos, garlic, almonds and jalapenos.
3. Soft Cream Cheeses – A wheel of brie or camembert can be easily paired with crackers, crusty bread or fresh fruit. To add flair, wrap in puff pastry and bake at 400°F for about 25 minutes or top with sautéed fruit or a prepared chutney.
4. Fancy Crackers – Flavored crackers, bagel chips, pita crisps and flat breads can be eaten alone or served with dips, cold cuts and spreads.
5. Cold Cuts – Keep slices of ham, turkey, salami and other meats on hand to create an antipasto plate with a moments notice. Garnish with olives, artichoke hearts and sun-dried tomatoes from the pantry. Leftovers make a great snack or weekday lunch.
6. Dip Mixes – Whip up a batch of dip in mere minutes with a dried dip mix and some sour cream, mayonnaise or yogurt. Choose bold and exotic flavors like lemon dill or wasabi ginger!
7. Prepared Spreads – Serve flavored hummus from the refrigerated section of the deli with precut veggies and pita crisps or use ready made pestos and relishes with cream cheese to create a savory spread.
8. Cookies – A tin of good quality assorted cookies in the pantry will satisfy your guests’ sweet tooth, especially the little ones.
9. Coffee, tea and hot chocolate – Brew a pot of fresh ground coffee or offer your guests a choice of traditional and flavored teas. Have premium hot chocolate (and marshmallows) on hand for the kids.
10. Chocolates – A stash of individually wrapped Belgian or Swiss chocolates is a sweet way to end any visit.

The Vintage Caper

Before I cooked, I read. And I read a lot. As I kid, when I finished all the Nancy Drew books in our little neighborhood library, I moved on the the Hardy Boy series (hey, it was a small library) just to have something to read.

Readers fall into two catergories ... they either focus on a specific genre like science fiction or murder mysteries or romance novels or they follow a specific writer. I am the latter ... except for the once in a while cheesy paperback romance to pass the time on a long flight. Through the years, I've read Ann Rice (vampire series), John Grisham (A Time to Kill was the best), Dan Brown (he uses the same formula for each book) and of course J.K. Rowling!

About 13 - 14 years ago, I discovered Peter Mayle who writes about life in Provence. His books are a magical combination of travel, cooking and wine ... three of my favorite things in life. I started with "A Year in Provence" in which he descibes his first year living in a little town in Provence ... each month its own chapter that describes in glorius detail the food they ate, the wine they drank, the season's festivities, the changing weather and the nuances of their neighbors. His next book, "Toujours Provence", was a collection of short stories about specific people or events in his day to day life including buying truffles from "Mr X" and learning to appreciate pastis.

A few years ago, he started writing fiction in the form of longer novels. Still set in the south of France, with the food and wine theme running throughout, these books centered around a simple mystery that usually involved a hint of romance. For me, each book was a mini-vacation in which he took me on a scenic tour of Provence, perusing the menus of the region's Michelin starred restaurants and local truck stops and getting a whiff of the finest wines in the world.

Needless to say, like a schoolgirl waiting for the next Twilight movie, I was tickled that he would be publishing a new book this year. With the date marked on my calendar, I waited paitently for "The Vintage Caper" to arrive. I tried to pace myself, but in the end, I blew threw it. Mostly set in Marseilles, it follows the theft of $3M of rare French wine from a collector in LA to a prominent businessman whose home overlooks the old port in Marseilles. There's a quick stop in Paris for clues (and lunch and dinner), followed by day trips to the finest wine chateaus in Bordeau and of course lots of fresh seafood in Marseilles served with local rose wines!

I hated for it to end. It'll be at least another two years until the next escape!

Practicing for "Casseroles for Your Company" Class

I'm happy with 4 of the 5 recipes for the Casseroles for Your Company Class. The last post had pictures of the Sausage and Pasta casserole, here's what the others look like.

Chili Hash Brown Bake:

Ham, Egg and Cheese Strata:

and Bread Pudding:

One more to go ... Shepherd's Pie ... tonight's dinner.

Comfort Food

Yesterday was Halloween. Instead of it being a nice, cool, crisp day that led into a brisk evening for the trick or treaters it was gray and overcast all day. Just before the trick or treaters were set to come out, it started to drizzle and then a light constant rain. The temperature started to drop as the evening wore on.

With few kids ringing the door bell, I had enough time to put together this casserole: spicy sausage and pasta. It's one of the recipes I'll do for the Casseroled for Your Company class.

Testing Christmas Cookie Recipes

Christmas may be two months away but it's time for me to finalize recipes for my Christmas Cookie class. I want to do two classes this year: one featuring classic Christmas cookie recipes like sugar cookies, gingerbread cookies and spritz cookies; the other featuring a cookie assortment suitable for giving which will include different flavors and techniques. Here's some photos of what I'm working on.

Madelines. This is a delicate French cookie that has the texture of a poundcake. I flavored this with vanilla bean paste. It uses a special pan that results in the finished cookie looking like a shell. I'm going to try a couple more version using lemon or orange zest and extract.

Ribbon Cookies. I like these because they look like bacon. You start off with one dough that is divided into three parts. Each part is then flavored and layered in a loaf pan. After chilling overnight, the dough is sliced very thin and baked. They are yummy!

P.S. My baking is a lot better than my photography!

Bacon Chocolate Bar

I am a firm believer in the "everything is better with bacon" and was excited to checkout Mo's Bacon Bar. It's a milk chocolate bar with applewood smoked bacon and alderwood smoked sea salt.

Since no one at home was brave enough to try it with me I decided to take it to the office ... the guys there will eat just about anything. Not the case.

We waited until mid afternoon to break into the bar ... no one thought chocolate, bacon and morning coffee was a good combination. The first bite was weird ... there was the chocolate taste, then the saltiness and finally dried bits of bacon. The second bite was better but overall it wasn't the fantastic experience we expected.

I'm not giving up ... I think one of these days the state fair will come up with the perfect combination.

Baked Mac and Pimento Cheese

I'm a big fan of the blog of Cream Puffs in Venice. The writer, "Cream Puff", does an amazing job photographing the fruits of her labor and sometimes she also includes pictures of her progress with the recipe.

Here's a photo of my own ... I made it about a month ago ... I was practicing the baked mac and pimento cheese for the Childhood Favorites For Your Adult Palette cooking class later this month.

Whaddaya think? It was as yummy as it looked (even if I do say so myself).