YES WE CAN!

Election night, proud American tribute to Obama meal!

Though a bit belated, here's a tribute to Obama! I'm still haven't lost the feeling of glee that filled me when, sometime in the wee hours of Wednesday morning, we learned that Obama would be our next President. A President with a brain? Oh my, what will they think of next? I wish I could have been there in one of the street parties, dancing, crying and laughing. Instead, I attended a small election night slumber party with American ex-pats and indulged in the most American meal we could think of without compromising quality and not resorting to burgers and hot dogs.  Nothing against hot dogs - I love them - but it was just a bit too easy!  The added challenge was that one of us can't eat wheat or cow's milk, but that didn't stop us from gorging on the following...  You can work wonders with goats milk butter and cheese and spelt flour.

ELECTION NIGHT 'PROUD AMERICAN TRIBUTE TO OBAMA' MENU

Potato salad

Obama's family chili - get the recipe on Huffington Post - click here

Spicy 'Buffalo' chicken wings 

Lemon meringue pie

Oat jam bars

Jelly bellies to munch on and keep us awake

THE MORNING AFTER 

Root beer floats

Artichoke dip with corn chips/crisps

Can you remember the last time you had a root beer float?  Not me, but they are so good.  I know the concept may be inconceivable to non-Americans, but I highly recommend it as an indulgent treat.  You can get Bundagerg Australian Root Beer at Waitrose in the UK.  Add a couple of dollops of nice vanilla bean ice cream and you're all set.  (a spoon helps as well)

The Obama chili was good, but needs more spice and salt than you'd think.  Garnished with sour cream, cheese, avocado and onion.

Oat jam bars take me back.  My mom would always make them for me to take to school when it was my birthday or for school pot luck-fundraising-type things.  They look really healthy and innocent, but they taste naughty.  This is the recipe I used - I think my mom found it online. Don't know who it's from, but I promise I'm not using it for profit!

OATMEAL JUMBLE BARS
Servings: 2 to 2-1/2 dozen

3 cups oats
1-1/2 cups flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 jar (10-12 oz.) jar preserves (I used Finnish blueberry and cloudberry preserves)

Pre-heat oven to 400°F. Grease a 13x9-inch baking dish. Combine all ingredients except preserves. Reserve 1 cup mixture. Press remaining mixture into bottom of baking dish. Spread preserves to 1/2 inch from sides of pan and sprinkle with remaining mixture. Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

Yeah, America! Yes we can!

A lemon meringue pie on election night.

How to drive your colleagues crazy, no. 1

Bring Tupperwares to work that look like this:



My lunch tomorrow will consist of spinach and ricotta gnocchi with a butter and rosemary sauce as a starter and roast chicken with my family 'secret sauce' as a main. The smell will be exquisite!

Seriously, though - the Carew way is to cook for at least one more than you need so that someone can take leftovers to work. It's so much cheaper and since you're making the effort to cook, why not make a bit more? And it's ever so fun to walk to your desk with a plate looking (and smelling) like it came from the posh food hall next door and say, "Actually... I made it myself!"

That's the Piggie Tip of the Day!

Birthday

Cooking for eleven can be a challenge, especially in our miniscule kitchen. But somehow I pulled it off for my birthday a few weeks ago. I was too distracted to really take any photos, but did manage to catch the apple-plum pie before it went in the oven and the delicious lemon meringue pie that a friend brought. (Two of five desserts, mind you)

The Birthday Menu - 27 April 2008

Prosecco, Cava and various red wines including a Carménère from Chile and some Rioja

Fennel, beet and potato salad

Fennel, celery, shrimp and calamari salad

Frittata with zucchini, pecorino romano and pecorino sardo

Chicken with olives

Roast chicken with sage, parsley, rosemary, garlic and pancetta

Torta della Nonna (sweet pastry crust filled with lemon, ricotta and pine nut mixture)

Apple - Plum pie

Fruit salad*

Lemon meringue pie*

Marisol's apple tart with custard*

Moscato di Pantelleria (my dad's)

Needless to say, we only got through about four of the five desserts. A success all around with a bit of swing dancing at the end. A * denotes it was kindly made by a friend!

A mighty fine meal: 24.02.08

The photos say it all. A guest over to dinner provides extra incentive for dishing up something visually impressive. Of course, this meal also tastes great and it’s pretty much all seasonal stuff.

Starters: munching on some hard, Spanish cheese and salchichón.
Wine: 1995 Chateau des Bertins, Cru Bourgeois, Medoc (Bordeaux)
Salad: Endive, radicchio, pear and dolcelatte cheese salad (dijon, olive oil and balsalmic vinegar dressing). Did you know that endives and radicchio are both types of chicory?
Main: Roast chicken (stuffed with Italian sun-dried tomatoes and a selection of fresh herbs from the garden)
Bread: from our new breadmaker! More on that later...
Dessert: Marisol’s apple custard tart (one of our moms’ recipes, using Bramley apples)

Yummy.