Have a Party

Think of party planning as an opportunity to push the boundaries of your comfort zone. Then, a successful party becomes more than just frivolity. It shows you that you can do something you thought you couldn’t. And that lesson can come from anything.

Sausage, Peppers and Onions

Who among us hasn’t had this Italian classic at almost any street fair in America? Boy do I love this combo on some crusty Italian bread. Here’s how I make this…yummmmmmm



3 lbs. Italian sausage (sweet, hot or a mixture)

2 Vidalia or other sweet onion (about ½ inch slices)

3-4 large red bell peppers (about ½ inch slices)

2 cups chicken broth

½ cup olive oil

2 large cloves garlic (diced fine)

¼ cup of fresh chopped parsley

A pinch or two of crushed red pepper

1 cup marinara sauce (click on the url below for recipe)


Make ahead one or two days. Boil the sausage in a large pot of water (just covering the meat) for about 25 minutes or just until the sausage is cooked but still pink in the middle. It will finish cooking in the skillet.

Cut the sausage in bite size pieces and set aside. Have the peppers and onions cut and the marinara prepared. You can also use a can of crushed tomatoes or paste but then the sauce will need to cook a bit longer.
In a large skillet over medium heat add the oil and heat until hot but not smoking. Add the garlic and a few pinches of crushed red pepper flakes and cook for about 10 seconds or just until the garlic is golden. Add the peppers and onion and cook until they begin to soften. Add the sausage and stir in with the vegetables for several minutes or just until the outside begins to brown. Add the marinara sauce or the tomatoes and cook for several more minutes and slowly add the broth until you reach the desired amount of liquid and taste. Taste the juice and add a bit more broth and or tomatoes if needed. Reduce the sauce for about 5 more minutes. Season with salt, pepper and fresh chopped parsley.

Blini Recipe

These are simply small pancakes, usually topped with sour cream or crème fraiche, followed with caviar or smoked salmon, but the topping can be anything really. The batter is made from buckwheat. Making blini is the same as making pancakes, something I would guess even the non-cooks amongst you have been called upon to do at some time or another. Blini is names from the classic Russian buckwheat pancakes. The plural is blini not blinis. A single would be a blin, which is almost unheard of. Maybe that’s because you can’t eat just one. Make these darlings a little bigger than a quarter. Freeze in zip lock bags or in deli containers. They defrost quickly, even at room temperature, and since the toppings need no preparation you can coast on this one and top them at the last moment if you like. Here’s the very simple recipe for this wonderful Russian export.




3 eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk

1 cup milk

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup buckwheat or whole wheat flour

1/3 teaspoon salt

1 stick butter (1/2 cup)



Whisk together the eggs, buttermilk and milk. Combine the flours and salt. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and whisk again.

Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat. When hot, thoroughly coat the bottom of the skillet with butter.

Using 1 tablespoon of batter per blin, cook for about 1 1/2 minutes on the first side, until golden brown. Turn them when they are dry and slightly bubbly around the edges. Cook another 30 seconds or so.

You can cook 4 or 5 blini at a time in a large skillet, more on a large griddle. Recoat the skillet with butter each time.

Serve with caviar and sour cream or creme fraiche. Makes about 4 dozen

Make-ahead directions: Blini can be prepared a day or two ahead of time, refrigerated, and warmed to room temperature before serving.

3 Questions to ask when planning a party

When planning your party menu ask yourself these questions and plan accordingly. By following this simple formula, you will avoid many of the pitfalls that can snag even the most experienced cooks.


1. What can be made ahead?

2. What can retain its flavor, even if made in large quantity?

3. What can easily be made for small bites?

A Note From the Chef

July began with a bang and a community pot-luck supper on a small beach on Candlewood Lake. Feeding a crowd was no problem, making apparent the famous saying by John Heyword; “Many hands make light work.” But in June, these two hands did most of the work; cooking for event after event, for a larger and larger crowd and a menu to please a variety of tastes. Most people of course are not called on to exercise such culinary feats, but surely, many people find themselves having to, or wanting to entertain. And for some the prospect of doing so can send them into a panic. But really, it’s not that hard if you keep a few things in mind that will make the process not only easy, but fun.


Cooking is just as much about preparation as it is about talent, so don’t let the fact that you’re not a professional chef – or even a good cook – stop you from feeding your guests. The key to cooking for a crowd is preparation and it starts with smart menu planning and three simple questions that hold true regardless of the cuisine.

So for summer 2010, in the sections below I’ll let you know what the three questions are and share with you four of my favorite crowd pleasing recipes.

Enjoy,

Chef Silvia

Good Vibrations

                     
By now most of us are aware that everything has a vibration – even rocks. Naturally food does too, and the higher the frequency, the better it is for us. The highest vibration is emitted from ripe fruit, picked from its source and consumed immediately. No wonder Paradise is depicted as a garden – two innocent beings, strolling through lush bushes laden with berries, munching on their breakfast as they walk…and later a picnic amongst the fruit trees, branches beckoning them to sample a harvest of golden apples, succulent pears, red cherries and pink peaches. My, how far we’ve wandered.


In 1992, Bruce Taino of Taino Technology, an independent division of Eastern State University in Cherry, Washington, built the first frequency monitor in the world. He determined that the healthy human body vibrates between 60-80 Hz; ripe, fresh fruit, 80; raw green vegetables between 60 and 72; wild fish, 50-55; chicken and beef, 40-45; and cooked inorganic vegetables, 13-21. The further food travels from its source to our table and the more manipulated by technology it is, the lower on the frequency scale it falls, until we reach the lowest category – processed food. It has a frequency of zero. No wonder we think of it as empty food. Technically, even calling it food is misleading. Maybe this is why the more convenience-oriented we’ve become, the unhealthier we are. Considering the pace and habits of modern life, I’m surprised that everyone isn’t sick. Maybe we are and it just takes some time for it to show up. Most people assume disease is a natural part of the aging process. Personally, I don’t think there’s anything natural about it.


Given that so many of us strive to be healthier, look younger and live longer, it’s interesting that we still choose our food based on how it tastes. Considering what we now know about energy, shouldn’t we select what we choose to eat according to its vibration? If we did, would every meal taste the same, consisting of nothing but fruit and raw vegetables? If so I wouldn’t get too excited about trying new restaurants, they’d all have the same menu. There’d be no need for chefs or the Food Network, cookbooks, big grocery stores, fishermen or sushi. I might get bored.


Yet we can’t dismiss the impact of frequency and vibration. It’s an expression of energy – it’s everywhere and in everything. We’ve all experienced the let-down we feel around people with bad energy, so why would we willingly ingest (and pay for) food loaded with negativity? It’s no wonder our bodies rebel. Perhaps our minds should follow their lead.


Surely somewhere in this backward approach to doing what we all must do every day, must be a way to eat food that tastes great and arrives on our dinner table laden with good vibrations that truly nourishes us. We’ve heard it said, over and over again (and I’m one of these voices) that the intention (vibration) with which we prepare food has an effect on how it tastes. Now we know why. And the effects of energy don’t stop there because it’s never static. It moves and merges with everything in its path. Food created with friction and ingested in anger cannot possibly emit the same frequency as food lovingly prepared and consumed slowly, in a beautiful environment, shared with people we adore.


Most of us know from experience that eating when we’re upset leads to indigestion. In Italian slang, we have a great word for it…agita. Ironically it refers to both an upset stomach and people or situations that aggravate us.


Intuitively we know that food is far more than a way to satisfy hunger. Our relationship with food is a complicated one. What we eat, where it comes from, how we cook and share it speaks volumes about who we are as a culture and as humanity. It’s an interrelated process – an energy dance between all parties, a symphony of flavors and factors and colors. Each ingredient, each step in the process of farm-to-table, each handler along the way emits an energy contribution to the whole…One more example of the fact that nothing is really separate.


In celebration of this symphony of energy comes this month’s recipe, which practically waltzes on the plate…

Crusted Wild Salmon Over a Salsa of Fruits and Vegetables

This recipe is especially versatile and can be altered to fit any body. The fish can be any firm filet (or a grilled vegetable such as eggplant); the crust can be made from virtually any grain or nut. I’ve chosen to make the crust gluten-free by substituting bread crumbs with rice chips (Lundberg makes a bag that has a hint of lime that goes especially well with fish). It’s crunchy and flavorful. The salsa of course is always a changing melody of seasonal fruits and vegetables. Create your own version. You’ll never tire of this one.

Serves 4

4 filets of wild salmon
4 cups of salsa
1 cup of topping for crust
Salt and pepper to taste
• Place fish on a baking pan (sprayed with a cooking spray)
• Season with salt and pepper and a drizzle of olive oil
• Cover the top completely with the topping
Bake, covered, in a 350 degree oven for approximately 15 minutes (depending on the thickness of the fish) or until the fish turns opaque with a pink (uncooked) line in the middle. This will assure that the fish is not overcooked. Remember, everything continues to cook even when it’s removed from the heat.

Serve on individual plates over the salsa.

Crust

½ bag of Lundberg rice chips (or 1 cup of bread crumbs, corn flakes, pine nuts, etc. or combination of nuts and grains)
1 sprig fresh flat leaf parsley (stems removed) – optional
A drizzle of extra virgin olive oil (enough to just moisten the crust)
Place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse to a course grind
Salsa
1 cup of grape tomatoes (sliced vertically in half)
1 mango
1 orange
2 kiwi
1 red onion
1 green pepper
1 cup seedless grapes (sliced in half, vertically)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley or cilantro


Except where otherwise noted, cut all the fruits and vegetables into a small dice. Place into a mixing bowl, season, add parsley and oil, toss and add to a platter or individual plates. Top with the fish and serve.