We Have a Winner!

A few days ago, I gave you a chance to win a copy of Gale Gand's Brunch!; then of course I got busy & completely forgot to post a winner. D'oh.

Big thanks to everyone who entered...but the winner is: (imagine drum roll here) Pam!

Your book is on it's way. Let me know when it arrives, and I look forward to seeing what you make.

Italian Chicken, Bean & Pasta Soup for Souper Sundays

This was a pretty awesome soup. Making stock from the remnants of this roast chicken, & using the recipe for Pasta and Bean Soup from Tom Valenti's Soups, Stews & One-Pot Meals...proscuitto crisped in oil, then lots of veggies, Stock, water, potatoes, cannellini beans, pasta, & the last of the chicken from the roast.

Full of flavor, & very filling. Or...so Matt says!




Sending this to Deb for her weekly Souper Sundays...

Blog Party#44: Brunch...Worth Getting Up Late For, Again---The Round-Up

Welcome to another Blog Party post-mortem! Forty-four parties, can you believe it?

This time, it was all about Brunch...wonderful breakfast & lunch-y items, served up in little bites, fantastic (and often fruity) drinks to go with.

It's been gorgeous here: sun shining, warm, trees & flowers in bloom. So I wanted decorations that mirrored that whole 'awakening' thing.

Light & spring-y; I found this pretty magnolia pattern to decorate the table. From napkins




to runners



candles!



And music...of course, there's music.

Brunch foods naturally lend themselves to coffee, so what could be more appropriate than Peggy Lee's Black Coffee?




I could not pass on this one: Juice Newton - Greatest Hits. Queen of Hearts, anyone?



Ok...stretching a bit, but why not: The Chieftans 9: Boil the Breakfast Early.




We had a good-sized group this time; clearly, brunch isn't just my favorite meal!

Our first guest, and a nice & early one at that, was Bellini Valli.
BV is definitely a brunch fan, and if you had the chance to taste one of her Baby Spinach, Ricotta and Feta Quiches, you would be, too!

Trust me, they didn't last long...thanks so much for coming, BV!













Next through the door, Deb!

She's been on a rather admirable health kick lately, and she even managed to walk the straight & narrow here! Girl, I admire your restraint, I really do.
And yet, her Aloha Sunrise Power Bars with all that tropical fruit went like the proverbial hotcakes!
Personally, I loved the Papaya-Carrot-Orange Juice Shot the best, but that's just me.
Always glad to see you, Deb!















Natashya was next, sans puppies, sadly, but she more than made up for it with her Banana Pecan Honey Bread; mmmm. Just mmmm.
And those After Eight Cappuccinos got the group warmed up...in more ways than one!
Happy you could come Natashya...next time, smuggle the pups in your carry-on, ok?













I was very happy to see Melody again; it had been months since she BP'd, but life has that funny habit of getting in the way, doesn't it?
It was a triumphant return...in my opinion, at least...when she unveiled her tray of Mini Monte Cristos. Why these sandwiches are so delectably perfect, I may never know. Or care. Yum.
But there was great interest in her blood orange-based Morning Martinis; strong & beautiful.
Great to have you back, Melody!













Our next guest was a new face to BP; there was, of course, a very warm welcome for Suzie!
She may have been a fist-timer, but that didn't stop her from hitting a culinary home run with her Goat Cheese, Potato & Rosemary Tortilla. Nice
And to no one's surprise, her proffered Champagne was happily accepted.
Hope you enjoyed it, Suzie...and do come back!

Another new face as the doorbell rang, with the traditional welcoming of a fellow finger-foodie; hello to Irene!
Also knowing how to make a good first impression, she came laden with these lovely Braised Baby Artichokes with Garlic, Thyme & Parmesan, as well as this Raspberry Madness Coffee Cake. Good call!
It was wonderful to meet you, Irene; please come back again!











Our regulars may miss a party now & then, but it seems like 'brunch' brought everyone back...including breadchick!
She went all nostalgic on us, serving up some hearty Hunting Camp Hash, from the corned beef she'd made earlier. Score for family recipes.
Plenty of Irish Coffee to go around, keeping with our unintentional innocuously tipsy beverage theme!
Always good to have you here, breadchick.










We waited just a bit longer, knowing dear J would be by any minute...and there she was!
She's always worth waiting for, in addition to her wonderful company, she always manages to come up with interesting bites. No disappointments this time: Miniature Eggs Benedicts, little cups of Creamy Scrambled Eggs, & Smokey Tarte Flambe. Yeah, it went over well.
Nice White Peach Bellinis kept the party going...if my keeping you sane produces this? I'm happy to have the job!








I had a few dishes, too...keeping with that 'hey, its Spring' vibe.



Crostini with Chopped Egg & Asparagus

Crunchy bread topped with a tarragon mayo-flavored egg & asparagus salad.



Smoked Salmon Cake with Chive Cream Cheese

Pretty little morsels; pancakes that were essentially crepes, topped with a whipped chive cream cheese & smoked salmon, served with a mustard vinaigrette-touched salad.



Raspberry Jam-Filled Mini Muffins

Sweet & tiny muffins, harboring jewel-like bursts of raspberry jam.

Mango Lassi

Creamy, filling, sweet. Yum.



I apologize for my tardiness; though I suppose, with the theme of being a little slow & laid back, I'm really just following suite, right?

You ladies never let me down...your various interpretations of Brunch foods wowed me yet again.

Thanks to all of you, not only for joining in but for your patience!

Hope to see you all back next month...which, as it happens, is only days away!



Tagged with: Food and Drink + Blog Party + Events + Appetizers + Cocktails + Canapes + Parties + Finger Food + Mocktails + Brunch + Blogging

Invitation to Brunch...

Cath and I are co-hosting a new edition of Cookbook Spotlight on April 17 with Gale Gand’s new book.

You may remember from the last few Cookbook Spotlights that food bloggers select recipes from the same cookbook, make the dish, and blog about it. We follow with a round up of everyone's choices and pictures. It’s always fun and interesting to me to see what different people pick to cook or bake from the same book.

This go-round we’ve been offered a chance to cook from Gale’s new book, Gale Gand’s Brunch!

I have an extra book and would like to invite one reader to participate.

If you would like to join this food blogging event, please send me an email at thehappysorceress (AT) gmail (DOT) com with your snail mail address by noon EST on Friday, March 27. I’ll have Donegal randomly select one person to join us. If you don’t have a blog but would like to participate, I’ll be happy to post your blog entry here.

Look for the event on April 17 and the round up on April 20!

Blog Party Reminder

The Web's favorite virtual cocktail party is letting you sleep in this month, as we're down-sizing the best brunch bites, and mixing up the dandiest daytime drinks.

Want to join the party? There's still time; just get those entries to me no later than Friday night (thehappysorceress at gmail dot com).

Hope to see you there!

The Giant (Birthday) Chocolate Chip Cookie

Taken to school so Alex could celebrate his birthday...again.

To my surprise, more than half came back. What am I supposed to with it?







This month, we're sleeping in a little late, but the party won't suffer...we're having Brunch!

RSVP by Friday, 20 March


















This month, we're sleeping in a little late, but the party won't suffer...we're having Brunch!

RSVP by Friday, 20 March

The Baseball-Playing Rockstar Batman-to-be Turns Six

Yikes! Today was Alex's 6th birthday, though he informed me he didn't feel any different from 5.

He wanted Pad Thai for dinner (beams with pride, his mother does), so we packed up the ingredients and our rather large wok & had Southeast Asian food with his grandparents.




Peanut butter cake, with milk chocolate frosting. Songs were sung, flames were extinguished (rather saliva-free, thankfully).




The cake; it was happily consumed.





And among the gifts? This very nifty Superman jacket!! Yes, he wants to be Batman, but that doesn't mean he can't like Supes, too.


Happy Birthday, little man. Stop growing up so fast, will ya?









This month, we're sleeping in a little late, but the party won't suffer...we're having Brunch!

RSVP by Friday, 20 March

Bi Bim Bap A Whomp Bam Boom

I've only had Korean food once before, and I have Sarah to thank for that, via the dormant Dine & Dish. I ordered the Bi Bim Bap, and while at first skeptical really enjoyed it.

I thought it a good dish to recreate, which is hilarious when you realize exactly how many mini recipes are required, but what the heck; did it anyway.


I used this recipe; skipping the spinach, and opting to not saute the carrots & cucumbers. Also, oddly enough...at no point does the recipe tell you to actually cook the marinated chicken. Um...yeah. Went ahead & did that, anyway.

And yes, it was good. But the reason I wanted to make this, really? So I could make the gamja jorim, a sweet & spicy braised potato dish, for which Ellie had given me a recipe.

When first served this, among many other 'sides', I didn't know what they were & was pretty sure I didn't want to. Then Matt tried them, said 'potato', and suddenly I looked down & all my taters were gone! So good.

So when I asked for help, Ellie stepped in & made the dish her grandmother had taught her mother and her mother had taught her, and graciously shared it with me.

LOVED it. Great texture, and yes, sweet & spicy. Served them right in the bowl, to be mixed with other toppings.

So thanks to both Sarah & Ellie for this one!






This month, we're sleeping in a little late, but the party won't suffer...we're having Brunch!

RSVP by Friday, 20 March

Why Having a Pastry Chef for a Grammy is a Good Thing

Because, if you're Alex, she'll decorate your birthday present with cookies she made & decorated just for you.




Two of his favorite things: Superheroes & baseball (that would be a Pirate next to te baseball).








This month, we're sleeping in a little late, but the party won't suffer...we're having Brunch!

RSVP by Friday, 20 March

Wartime Wednesdays: Angel Cake

Standard Method of Mixing Cakes Without Fat

Cakes without fat depend for leavening largely upon the air beaten into the eggs. The whites and yolks of the eggs may or may not be separated, depending upon the kind of cake. If using the whole egg, beat it till thick and lemon-colored; if using only the yolk, beat till thick and light in color; add the sugar gradually and beat after each addition until the sugar dissolves.
Add the flavoring and liquid, if there is any, and fold in the sifted dry ingredients.
When the whites have been beaten separately, they are added last, using the folding motion. Do not beat the mixture after the whites have been added. Place at once in a slow oven(300-325 F).
---The Victory Binding of the American Woman's Cook Book; Wartime Edition; published 1943


I've had a craving for Angelfood cake lately; and oh look; the VBotAMCB had one. Convenient.

Seven egg whites, beaten with sugar, cream of tartar & salt till 'stiff foam', vanilla mixed in (couldn't find the almond extract also called for, which is fine by me), the 4x sifted flour & a big of sugar folded in, then poured into an ungreased tube pan. Bake in a moderate oven till done.

Good flavor, nice crumb. Much more dense than expected, but tasty. Freezing the rest to save for grilling this weekend.










This month, we're sleeping in a little late, but the party won't suffer...we're having Brunch!

RSVP by Friday, 20 March

Smoked Gouda Potato Gratin

What's not to like? Potatoes, cream, smoked Gouda, mixed together with milk, garlic, thyme, sea salt & pepper. Baked till potatoes are tender.




With a recipe as easy as this, and a final product so good it practically melts in your mouth, unless you're lactose-intolerant, there is no excuse for not making it.





This month, we're sleeping in a little late, but the party won't suffer...we're having Brunch!

RSVP by Friday, 20 March

Beef & Potato Empanadas

Maybe it's because Brilynn finally joined Twitter, but I had this sudden urge to make empanadas.

Quick search found this; the pastry was fantastic. The filling, good (using Morningstar Farms crumbles for me) but could use a little something else. Cheese, vegetables, more spices. But it was a solid foundation, and I know I'll be making them again.






This month, we're sleeping in a little late, but the party won't suffer...we're having Brunch!

RSVP by Friday, 20 March

Scenes From a Party...in Space

From Alex's party yesterday; the theme was outer space and yes, he dressed as Mars' most famous son, J'onn J'onzz. He was trying to look all serious, and super-hero-y here.



With the mask...which was pretty nifty.



Live-Action Comics!







This month, we're sleeping in a little late, but the party won't suffer...we're having Brunch!

RSVP by Friday, 20 March

Look! It's an Unweildy Fondant Object!

Because spring break begins at almost the exact same time as Alex's birthday, and just about every classmate jets off to some fabulous location leaving him with virtually no party guests, we've learned to move his birthday party up a week.

Yes, it's confusing (No, this is just your party; your birthday is next weekend.), but we figure he attends every single birthday party he's invited to, we didn't want him to celebrate without his friends.




We're having the party at a science museum; very hands-on. There's a shuttle the kids can play in (and everything white glows, including teeth...very neat), a planetarium, fossils, fish/spiders(gaaaah!)/you name it, some sort of parabolic dish reflectors (look it up), and more.

We decided to go with an outer space theme; Alex is dressing up as J'onn J'onzz; the Martian Manhunter (photos to come), the goody bags include Alien Test Tubes of Slime & Astronaut Ice Cream.

We're even serving up Romulan Ale. No, really. On the TV series, it was just blue Gatorade! We're classing it up a bit by adding a ginger syrup but it's still blue.

And then there's the cake. A giant, lighted, UFO cake.

Not my best work, by far. It's actually a bit on the simple side, although Matt's string of lights makes it look pretty cool.

It is extremely heavy. 20 pounds, at least. Terribly difficult to move, or rotate, or...well, anything. So getting it from here to the car to the party room...may require nerve-calming drugs. For ME.



Just how big? Here; the base cake is 16" across & 2" high. The dome is 8" x 3". It's...a big cake.









This month, we're sleeping in a little late, but the party won't suffer...we're having Brunch!

RSVP by Friday, 20 March