June Wing-ding

Our Family Bash was quite fun. We had friends and family and lots of food. Italian was the theme with a sub-theme of being lazy. We cooked some and also saved time with a mixture of store-bought items. All in all, it was a tasty afternoon.

This was the menu:
Artichoke and Red Pepper Bruchetta
Sausage and Bread Spiedini
Meat Ball Sandwiches with Balsamic Onion Relish
Orzo Salad
Antipasta Tray
Cheese Cake with Apricot Glaze

The photo at the left was not food on the table cloth but a clear glass plate that looked like we ate on the table cloth. Honest, we didn't.

The meat ball sandwiches were great with Balsamic Onion Relish, a recipe I found on Acme Instand Food. Thanks, Kevin it was a hit.

I know there has been discussion about using store bought but I have to voice an opinion. Sometimes I just don't have the time to fix everything from scratch. I pick the products I serve my family and friends carefully being aware of food additives; Doodles is mucho allergic to MSG so that is a no no here. Bottled dressing? Yes, when I'm feeding a crowd and there are wonderful products to choose from. I agree most things are better from scratch but only when it makes sense.

Doodles here: I must agree on the store bought versus from scratch. Here is my take on the whole thing. Why have a large gathering of friends and family and spend time in the kitchen preparing? Doesn't make sense to me. Oh yes I am wildly allergic to MSG and one just has to be a label reader cause manufacturers are beginning to use MSG more than in the past few years.

The above mentioned Wing-ding was a blast, but then when we are all together it's always fun. We combined a few birthdays to complete the celebration.

Editors Note: You might wonder, where is our lil bird? Well, she and her darling husband and two doggies did join us, she was one of the birthday celebrators, but she was whisked away on a business trip so has not had time to add to the postings.

Orzo Salad and Antipasta Tray

The Orzo salad was a Doodles creation and it was abundant with fresh items. We went to the Farmer's Market for some but finished at my local market for what was lacking. It had lots of good textures and flavors. This pix doesn't do justice to the bright colors. Here are the ingredients:

• orzo
• fresh asparagus, blanched
• roasted red pepper
• green onion
• garbanzo beans, marinated overnight in the dressing, Newman's Own Low-fat Sesame Ginger
  
• carrots
• cucumbers
• chopped cilantro

The antipasta was pretty easy, just assemble and serve. It did have my very favorite Mortadella with Pistachios and Garlic. It also included some beautiful Culver City Farmer's Market tomatoes and red peppers.

Sausage, sourdough and red pepper spiedini

These we used as appetizers with a bruchetta of french bread slices toasted with garlic, salt and pepper and spread with Trader Joe's Artichoke and Red Pepper Tapenade mixed with grated Parmesan cheese and broiled until bubbly. Doesn't the color of the red onion just set this off?

• 6 tablespoons Sherry wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 2 garlic cloves, pressed
• 4 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary
• 1 cup olive oil

This makes more than you need for the spiedini but is good on tossed greens, too.

Whisk first four ingredients in a small bowl, then whisk in the oil. Season dressing with salt and pepper. Skewer pre-cooked sausage and sourdough bread alternately with roasted red peppers and red onion slices; brush liberally with dressing. Grill turning often until sausage is nicely browned.

Cooking with tea

Ever get a hankerin' (later, I'll swear I didn't use that word) for smoky BBQ ribs but you just can't get outside? America's Test Kitchen elves really dreamed up an odd combination to recreate that smoky slow cooked flavor of BBQ ribs done on the grill. I grill outside all the time but I was interested in their tricky way of adding the smoke flavor; Lapsang Souchong tea. Would this work?

Doodles and I adore Peet's Tea blend, Russian Caravan but for this recipe you'll need the full strength "kick-ass" tea not cut with anything else. Twinnings in the individual bag is best because it's finely ground, if not, whir it in the coffee grinder.

The quick basics to this was:

• Rub and refrigerate ribs for 24 hours then freeze 45 minutes. I used my rub but ATK has one in the recipe.
• Heat pizza stone in 500 degree oven until really hot. They say 45 minutes.
• Sprinkle the smoky tea on sheet pan, then place ribs on rack above and cover all with heavy foil.
• Place sheet pan on stone and cook ribs for 30 minutes.
• Lower temp to 250 and pour 1/2 cup of apple juice in bottom of pan.
• Continue to roast for about 1 1/2 hours or until the meat comes off the bone.
• The ribs will be pale so I sauced them and put them under the broiler.

Now I love the show but the two Test Kitchen folks were just so amazed at how smoky the ribs were. They're always amazed, thrilled, or just plain starved but it's their show and their cooking. I didn't find the ribs to have the same wonderful all-day smoked flavor they raved about though I followed their method exactly. What I did have were some tasty fall-off-the-bone, little bit smoky, ribs that were quite easy and could be done ahead and sauced and broiled later. What I love is they are willing to try some odd combos and this makes me more adventurous in the kitchen.

Recipe on ATK

Editor's note: That BBQ sauce is from Trader Joe's and has no HFCS.

Feeding a crowd, or just hungry

Everyone has one of those dishes you make for large parties. Something so tasty that guests talk about long after the party is over. I use Giada De Laurentiis' Chicken Tetrazzini. This is easy to prepare the day before and pop in the oven an hour before the serving.

My only deviation from her wonderful recipe is to reserve the breadcrumb Parmesan cheese topping until right before I put it in the oven. That's something for me to say since I modify every recipe I find, this one is darn near perfect. The recipe states it serves 6-8 but I've found at a buffet or a potluck, when you are serving other dishes, it will feed more like 8-10.

This is also one of the "bullet-proof" casseroles that can be reheated without any problem so next day lunch is most tasty. After a big party the last thing you want to do is cook but reheat, yum.

This is one of my go-tos, what about sharing some of your party pleasers.

Editors note: Pardon this crummy photo. I had ten in the buffet line and forgot to take the beauty shot before I called them to dinner. Never try to come between hungry guest and the food. Sheesh.