Featured Recipe: Herby Asparagus and Leek Gnocchi with Scallops
Yippeee! yahooo! It’s SPRING!
Why am I so excited, you may ask? Well, you probably don’t ask–who doesn’t like spring?
I am so excited because… Continue reading
Category Archives: entertaining
Spring Fever: Asparagus!!!
Laissez les bons temps rouler: Gumbo
Featured Recipe: Gumbo
Fat Tuesday is tomorrow! This is one of my favorite holidays of the year because I get to pay homage to some of my favorite food: Creole and Cajun food. Continue reading
Anniversary Wine & Dine #2: Ridge Lytton Springs
A scenic walk to Lytton Springs
Featured Recipe: Balsamic Marinated NY Strips
Featured Wine: Ridge Lytton Springs Zinfandel
Sometimes, there’s just a moment you remember. No context, no recall on how that moment came to be, just that moment sticks in your brain forever. Continue reading
Anniversary Dinner(s) #1: Champagne Charles de Fere
Featured Recipe: Cioppino
Featured Wine: Charles de Fare Blanc de Blancs
5 years ago I married my best friend, and I couldn’t be happier. We have an amazing family, great friends, and just a wonderful life together. As I think back on all of our years together, I’m so overwhelmed at all of the wonderful memories we’ve created. Continue reading
Super Easy Super Bowl
Featured Recipes: Baked Buffalo Wings, Slow Cooker Chili, Guacamole
Sniff. Sob. Waaaa.
No, that’s not K, darling child that she is almost sleeping through the night. That’s me, mourning the end of yet another football season. Continue reading
Winter “BLT” Night: Grilled Gruyere with Salami Relish and Slow Roasted Tomato Soup
Featured Recipes: Grilled Gruyere with Salami and Cornichon Relish, Roasted Tomato Soup
First, a tale. Then, winter BLT that is actually salami and gruyere. Continue reading
Gourmet Mommy B&B
Oh happy day, our friends came to play. Which means something so different than what it meant in pre-kids days. Even with the 4 kids running around underfoot though, we can still manage to have good food, good wine and good conversation:
“How’s your book coming along? Nicholas PUT THAT DOWN.”
“Jo Jo stop moving the furniture. Great, almost done”
“I can’t wait to read–WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH”
Ok, well at least we can have good food and good wine.
Julia Child’s Boeuf Bourguignon and boiled potatoes. A cheap cut of meat simmered in wine and bacon all day. Yeah, it didn’t suck. It could also all be made ahead so I wasn’t spending too much time in the kitchen, unless I was trying to escape the chaos.
I also made breakfast ahead so when the kids woke us up at 5:30am after a big night of visiting, we didn’t need to worry about cooking. Just turn on the oven and pop in the Southern Breakfast Strata. An hour later it’s done.
So, the menu for an effortless weekend of entertaining with 4 kids?
Dinner
Julia Child’s Boeuf Bourguignon
Buttered Parsley Potatoes
Apple Fennel and Celery Salad (a la Gourmande in the Kitchen)
Wine: Coates du Rhone
Breakfast
Southern Breakfast Strata
Wine & Dine: California Chardonnay
…an occasional series on all things wine
Before we had Nicholas, Dan and I went out for a movie night. This is worth talking about because a) it was one of the last times we were in a movie theater (now we have kids), and b) it has to do with wine. I’m getting there.
Bottleshock was playing. No brainer, right? California wine country, 70′s, Alan Rickman (love him: Sense & Sensibility, Love Actually, Robin Hood, and probably a ton of better movies that actually made him famous), the dude from Star Trek, an underdog story…
But no. Dan and I spent $30 or whatever movie tickets cost these days to see Indiana Jones 4. Worst. Movie. Ever.
So anyway, when Bottleshock came out on dvd, Nicholas was sleeping pretty well, we had some time to ourselves again, so we made a night of it. I bought a really nice California Chardonnay (couldn’t afford Chateau Montelena), and created a recipe to pair beautifully: Salmon Pot Pie.
Good movie, good wine, good food. Great night with hubby.
Talk to me. What kind of menus to you make that start with the wine?
Meat Loaf and meatloaf
New Year’s Resolution #2: Work out more. I’m going to need a little inspiration for that one. Who do I turn to? Pandora of course. Station: Meat Loaf. Really, you say? I don’t really even like Meat Loaf. Yes, trust me. Just do it. You don’t have to like Meat Loaf. You just have to like music that rocks and is awesome. That’s the beauty of Pandora.
You’ve got Meat Loaf of course, already excellent workout music–Bat Out of Hell anyone? Then you throw in some Queen (I Want it All), Bon Jovi (Livin on a Prayer), and Journey (Any Way You Want It) just to rattle off the first few songs on the station.
Right, so anyway, this post is actually about meatloaf the food. 
Like Meat Loaf the artist, do not underestimate it’s potential for awesomeness. Make a classic recipe for your family, it’s comfort food that can last a whole week. Make a cumin-scented lamb meatloaf over couscous and you’ve got an exotic twist on an old favorite. Or make Red Wine Glazed Meatloaf over Parsnip Puree for company and you’ll knock their socks off.
Oh, and it’s only 8 Weight Watchers points, if you care about that sort of thing (see New Year’s Resolution #1).
Plus, make a Parsnip Puree for baby. Feed while playing Meat Loaf Pandora station. Katie has been in this world for 5 months; it’s time she learned to rock. And eat parsnips.
Do you Fondue? and other New Year’s Eve at home ideas
Dan and I have never celebrated New Year’s Eve in the traditional way. Well, if traditional means spending a fortune to be crammed into a restaurant or hotel with a few hundred of your closest strangers for 6 hours.
We’ve worked events together, although standing on a freezing loading dock waiting for Young MC during the midnight countdown isn’t exactly my idea of a great New Year’s Eve.
We’ve gone to concerts with a big group of friends, and while very fun we did pay too much and it was way too crowded.
And since we’ve moved about an hour away from many of our friends, we’ve had dinner parties at home. A few friends that stay over night, amazing food that you don’t have every day, and a wonderfully good time. Even pre-kids that was our favorite way to spend the holiday. And now that we have kids, it’s totally the way to go. No need to find a sitter, spend a fortune on tickets to an event. Use that money towards a really special night at home.
Here are a few ideas…some we’ve done in years past, some we’ll do one of these years soon!
1. Fondue: so, you got a fondue pot for your wedding, or on a whim. Now be honest, how many times have you used it? Here’s an excuse to break it out! This year we’ll be fondue-ing it up with Dan’s parents. I like this recipe from Food & Wine. 
2. Champagne tasting: Dan and I got married in February, so around New Year’s we were looking for just the right champagne to serve at our wedding. Just the right $10 not-at-all champagne. So, I went to the local wine shop and picked up their finest $10 Cava, Prosecco, California sparkling, and French sparkling. We put them all in bags and did a blind tasting. A really fun way to spend the evening, since we’d be popping the bubbly anyway! Oh, and the winner? Charles de Fere, a French sparking wine. You really can’t go wrong for $10 a bottle.
3. Prime Rib dinner: Nicholas isn’t a big steak-eater yet, so we don’t really make big roasts for just the two of us. But invite a few friends over and treat them to a prime cut of meat. I like Tyler’s Ultimate recipes for this one:
Menu:
Prime Rib
Parnsip Puree
Creamed Spinach
Stag’s Leap Wine Cellers Artemis Cabernet: a big, bold California Cab
4. Oysters & Martini’s: Oysters are in season right now, and they’re pretty easy to find at your local Whole Foods. Have the seafood market shuck them for you, then serve raw with mignonette or old school Rockefeller.
A Ketel One martini is the perfect accompaniment. James Bond made shaken martinis famous, and it’s a shame in my book. You want the vodka as cold as can be, but not chewy with ice chips. Put the vodka in the freezer hours before, chill the glasses, then gently stir the vodka with ice before straining and serving.
And don’t forget to serve something else…no one will make it to midnight on oysters and martinis alone!
Menu:
Raw Oysters with Mignonette
Oysters Rockefeller
The perfect martini
5. Wine-centered meal: Do you have a bottle on the shelf that you’ve been saving for a special occasion? Break it out for New Year’s Eve! We’ve got a Barolo d’Alba we carried back from Italy 5 years ago that’s just about ready to drink. We’ll probably make a big Bolognese lasagna when it’s time for our Barolo. Grab your great bottle, then find a perfect match on Food & Wine.
How do you like to spend New Year’s Eve?
auntieangela
gourmetmommy
