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Oct 26

Birthday tortilla soup

We’re a relatively new little family unit here in this house, which means we’re still in the process of creating and writing and forming the household practices that may one day become long-standing family traditions.  Some have started to stick (like the holiday treat boxes we give to friends and coworkers every year, and like how our annual Easter party always turns out to be the biggest and most fun party we have all year), and others haven’t worked out so well (like that oh-so-deliberate set of traditions we “started” on our first wedding anniversary and entirely ignored on our second).

Anniversary_shirts

I suppose sometimes it’s that deliberate quality that causes the downfall of a potential tradition – when they’re too planned to become second nature, and too forced to become a tried-and-true ritual.  And I suppose the best traditions are the ones that come naturally; the ones you don’t realize are traditions until you see that they’ve become a regular part of your life.

Like two-day birthdays. Read more

Oct 18

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Sprinkles and whole milk make almost everything better

You can learn a lot about yourself through spending time in the kitchen.

Are you a patient person? Are you a detail-oriented person? How do you like to learn? Do you like detailed directions, or a basic idea to work with? Are you willing to put hours of time into something that may not work in the end? How well can you deal with failure? When you bake a cake that immediately crumbles upon taking it out of the pan and a frosting that gloops like thin glue, are you a person who throws it away and instead finishes that two-week-old In-and-Out strawberry shake in your freezer, or do you stick with it and eat it anyway?  Maybe with some sprinkles?  And a White Russian?

Cake_sprinkles_whrussian

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Oct 14

Menus for Every Occasion

Menu ideas for home dinners, celebrations and events, and more! All posts with menus are catalogued here.

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Oct 6

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A brunch party

We all have ways to we like to express our affection for friends and family, and I’ve discovered that my preferred strategy is hosting parties. I apparently specialize in wedding-related parties (e.g. showers, bachelor(ette) parties, engagement parties), but will take a birthday party or a going away party or anything else that might be thrown my way. Want to celebrate that it’s Thursday? I’ll throw you a bash that will make Thursday the new Saturday. Oh. Well, that kind of already happened. But that might just be on college campuses, or for other people who don’t actually have to get up and be in an office on Friday mornings (soon to be ME!).  In any case, our Thursday Celebration party will be awesome, and it will have lots of food.

Party_buffet

I love the process of putting together a party meal – pouring over recipes, designing serving style (finger food? cut in slices? circles? spooned?) and picking servingware, puzzling together a menu within the constraints of timing and oven space and transport.  I love seeing it all laid out on the table, and more than anything I love seeing people enjoying the food and getting feedback on what people liked. Read more

Oct 3

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Mambo Italiano, part II

Lately I’ve found myself particularly drawn to the idea of themed meals. Some recipes, a carefully chosen cocktail, a bottle of wine, and appropriate music, and my kitchen is transported to another time and place.  This stems from the same sort of enjoyment we all get from looking at our glossiest cookbooks; those pictures provide a glimpse into the lives, the culture, the stories, and the rest of the context inextricably linked to the recipes and other food writing in the book.

I’m about to share with you another Italian menu, and it’s no secret that I’ve been spending a lot of time with our growing collection of Italian cookbooks.  It’s hard to stay away from scenes of sun-drenched hillsides, freshly caught seafood, rolling vineyards as far as the eye can see, and the ruddy, proud, happy faces of people engaging in the food traditions of their ancestors. It’s also really hard to stay away from this food.

Carbonara
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