Casual Friends Soiree

We headed back to the Mo’s aunt house for a 2nd round of noodle soup for brunch.  Since the broth had an extra day to simmer, it was even better the 2nd time around (similar to spaghetti sauce tasting better the next day).

I signed up for a free trial at the new Best Fitness in Lowell since I was NOT going to drive all the way to Woburn on my days off just to work out.  They were kind enough to extend my free trial to the end of the year instead of the usual 7 days.  After some cardio and pumping some iron, I felt a little less guilty about the rest of my day.

Nat’s festive cookie jar and napkin holder (that I wanted to steal)

Between 2 PM and 5 PM, I happily “slaved” in the kitchen, prepping and cooking for a casual dinner get together with some great friends.  My friend Nat was kind to host and we all brought dishes to share among friends. Her house is more “kids friendly” aka no wild dogs running around clawing their newborns and eating people shoes, purses and brand new car keys.

Our gracious host brought out the Belvidere vodka, an assortment of fine wines (I’m used to drinking $4.00 brands) and allowed us to help ourselves around the kitchen and fridge. I think we’ve all become too comfortable… but that’s a different story.

For tonight’s soiree, I made a variety of appetizers and entrees.  A holiday party wouldn’t be tradition without my usual goat cheese spinach stuffing but since I forgot to pick up goat cheese, so I made a seafood & spinach stuffed mushrooms instead.

(Raw Mushrooms ready for baking)

I hate to admit, but I have to give credit when credit is due, I also made Marcia’s recipe for sweet and sour meatballs.  It’s someone I work with that makes it for all our work “pot luck” events. She usually makes it with turkey meatballs. The recipe is so easy, meatballs + grape jelly + chili sauce and set it in the slow cooker and forget it.

I vamped it up a little bit and added sweet Italian sausages and jalapeno peppers to give it a little kick.

Another staple of mines, is fried chicken wings, any style. For tonight’s gathering, I made combination of habanero mango and “Asian Zing” using sauces from Buffalo Wild Wings.  Wings are always are hit at any party and they are cheap and easy to make and everyone loves wings!

No holiday dinner is complete without stuffing. I prepared an “out of the box” Stove top stuffing and added sausages, raisins, vegetables and topped it with fried onion bits and shredded cheddar cheese.

 I made a chicken parmasean baked ziti that I left in the broiler for a few minutes too long since I was too busy taking shots and what not, I was a bit disappointed in the outcome. It was a bit dry and a little burnt.

Everyone loves eggrolls and my friend Nat prepped some delicious eggrolls. I’m pretty particular about my eggrolls as people tend to skimp out on the filling but hers were perfect.

Most of the pictures were taken at the beginning of the night and I forgot to pull out my camera for the rest of the dishes that everyone brought.

Our friend Nang ordered 3 quarts of Legal Seafood’s delicious clam chowder that was served with oyster crackers.  This was a hit! He wanted to do something different and he definitely succeeded! I don’t think I’ve ever been to any gathering that served Legal’s chowder, if only I got invited to presidential inaugurations then that would be a different story.

Thien and Lemar served my favorite spinach salad with goat cheese (my absolute favorite) and walnuts tossed with a raspberry vinaigrette.  Funny story, Lemar sent Thien into the grocery store and advised him on the ingredients she needed for the salad and Thien took it upon himself to pick up croutons and bacon bits for the salad. Needless to say, those ingredients were set aside and served “a la carte” for those who wanted it.   

Syn picked up mouth watering roasted pork from China Star and everyone feasted on that delectable goodness.  This dish always goes pretty fast.  Its so simple but so very satisfying.

For dessert, Sophea aka Fifi intended on grabbing a wonderful cake from H-mart but with the shit-show traffic on that road, it was impossible. Her mom made a delicious Cambodian coconut jelly dessert with tropical fruits and jelly.

I also ordered chocolate covered berries from Shari’s berries using a groupon/living social special.  It was originally intended for my sister for our family holiday gathering but since it was postponed another week, the berries wouldn’t last that long.  It was a dozen of their gourmet, Hand dipped cocktail strawberries  (Champagne, amaretto and rum flavored)

It was a great night, we shared drinks, lots of laughter, I tricked a parent into letting me hold their baby (buzzed…. not DRUNK.. haha) and I learned that Burma was an actual country and not part of Indonesia (yes… I’m pretty ignorant these days)..

I came home and found Kashi instant oatmeal in my purse… not sure why/how… but I’m sure there is a story behind that!

12 days of Eating….

and eating.. and gorging… and drinking…

For the past 2 weeks, I’ve attended numerous social gatherings with friends that included lots of cheese, creamy dips, and many bottles of wine.  I’ve gone out to multi-course luncheons with customers and indulged in our awesome office holiday party and even participated in a  work cookie swap (which I won, “Most Creative Cookie!” for my “Mrs. Claus Whoop Ass Whoopie”)

Cook Swap Samplings

From succulent lamb lollipops and baked stuffed two pounds lobster at the Beacon Grille, the absolute best gnocchi at Strega Waterfront to    PF Chang’s “Great Wall of Chocolate “ cake, my dress pants are definitely getting a bit tighter. Tis’ the season to gain a few holiday pounds… after all I still have a few more days until New Years to get on those resolutions.

Beacon Grille’s Sirloin

Beacon Grille’s Lamp Lollipop

Salvatore’s Arancini Fiorentina

Salvatore’s Margarita Pizza

Fried Calamari

Salvatore’s Mussels Napolitano

 Having the next 4 days off work gives me the time to go grocery shopping at a variety of stores (not just Market Basket) and prepare some labor intensive or time consuming meals.  Most importantly, it also gives me time to BLOG!

For the next few days, I will post food pictures of the many meals I plan to make or indulge in over our short time off.

Cambodian Noodle Soup “Ka Thiew” Courtesy of Mo’s Aunt

We began our long weekend of great eating with the Mo’s aunt noodle soup.  This is a staple in most Southeast Asian countries where noodles and beef or chicken or pork broth makes a hearty meal and satisfies almost every tummy.  Having a mother that is also a great cook, it’s sometimes difficult for me to eat other people’s cooking and enjoy it or not be biased.

This is NOT the case with Mo’s aunt noodle soup broth. She simmers the beef bones for hours to maximize the beef broth flavor just as my mom does.  It’s absolutely delicious and I know we will be back at least one more time for a 2nd round of noodle soup.

When I went food shopping at Market Basket, Delmonico steak was on sale.  I got 2 decent size portions for under $ 10.00, which is quite a steal!  The Mo loves steak so I wanted to surprise him and serve it for dinner.  Although steak doesn’t necessarily need to be marinated, I went ahead and used this recipe found on allrecipes.com.

Onions, Rosemary, Steak Sauce, Worcestershire Sauce, Garlic, Salt, Pepper and olive oil in a mini food processor

Delmonico Steak

Adding the marinade to the steaks

With already chapped skin and a super dry face, it was probably not the best interest for me to be outside grilling in 30 degrees weather so I decided to cook the steak indoors using a combination of pan searing and baking in the oven.  For sides, I made oven roasted Yukon potatoes and a zucchini and summer squash casserole.

Potatoes tossed with garlic, Italian herbs, salt, pepper, crushed red peppers and olive oil

Zucchini and summer squashed pan fried with butter, Italian herbs and fried garlic

Crush croutons for a crispy topping for the vegetable casserole

Layer casserole with shredded cheese, crushed croutons and fried crispy onions

Bake at 400 for 10 mins

To cook the rib-eye steak (aka Delmonico), I used Alton Brown’s Pan-Seared Rib-Eye recipe. Since my meat was already marinated, I did not add the extra salt or pepper. Also, I left the steaks in the oven for 5 minutes on each side for a perfect medium well” done-ness.” It was great paired with Merlot.

It was my perfect steak yet, I’m not sure if it was the marinade or the cooking method, but I will sure make this recipe again!  Not only did the Mo finish his steak but he ate half of mine! 🙂

Happy Holiday and cheers to good eating! 

7 Appetizers under $ 10.00

With the holiday season in full throttle and the Evites and Facebook event requests for family gatherings and office potlucks start to pour in, one may start to feel strapped for cash.  It’s not bad enough that you already have to buy gifts for your family, then add yankee swap gifts and food or liquor to every party you go to?

Everything seems to add up and that Christmas bonus is not coming quick enough.

In an effort to reduce the stress, (plus my friend Amsi, emailed me asking for recommendations yesterday), I’ve decided to come up with a list of appetizers that are not only tasty but definitely fit the budget for holiday parties or even Superbowl parties for next month!

Disclaimer: Prices are based on my local grocery store (Market Basket) and Costco’s and is subject to change.  Variation of brands also affect pricing.

1. Slow Cooked Kielbasa in BBQ Sauce–
Slice Diagonally (3) 14 oz packages of Smoked Sausage or Kielbasa.  You can also buy it a 3 pack at Costco’s.  I prefer the Hillshire Farms brand. Heat a skillet to a high temperature and sear the sausages until it is browned.  Add the browned sausages and 2 bottles of store brand hickory BBQ sauce into a slow cooker and set on High for 3 hours.
Optional: Add a shot of Jack Daniels for a hint of whiskey
Optional: You can use turkey or lite sausage

Sausage: (3) x $ 2.49 = $ 7.47 Sale price (regular price 2.99 ea)
Store brand BBQ Sauce (2) x .99=  1.98
Total: $ 9.45 for almost 3 pounds of Savory Smoke Sausage

2. Meatballs in Sauce
For those who are Italian, please do not take offense to my non-homeade sauce.
Mix 2 pound of ground beef and .5 pound of ground pork with 1 egg, 1 cup of bread crumbs. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper.

Optional: Add a dash of Adobo seasoning to mixture
Mix thoroughly and shape the mixture into meatballs
Bake in oven for 15 minutes at 400 degrees or until lightly brown.
Remove from oven and drain fat
Add meatballs in slow cooker with 2 cans of Hunts Tomato Sauce for 3 hours on High

Previously Frozen Ground beef 2 pounds: Around $5.00 (give or take since the package sizes vary)
Previously Frozen Ground pork=  $1.50
Store Brand Plain Breadcrumbs= $1.00
Hunts Tomato Sauce (2) x $1.00=2.00

Total: $ 9.50 (estimate)

3. Spinach and Cream Cheese stuffed Mushrooms
Remove the stem of 2 packages of mushrooms and wash and drain.  In a saucepan, melt one stick of butter     and 1 sleeve of store brand butter crackers (similar to Ritz).  Set aside to cool. Thaw one frozen package of chopped spinach in microwave or hot water.  Drain spinach and add half of the package to the cracker/butter mixture.  Add one bar of store brand cream cheese.  Spoon mixture into mushroom caps and bake for 15 minutes at 380 degrees.
Optional: Lightly toss the mushrooms in oyster sauce for extra flavor before adding mixture


Optional: Substitute  cream cheese for goat cheese (extra money)

Mushrooms:     (2) x 2.99= $5.98
Crackers:        (1) x 1.50= 1.50
Frozen Spinach(1) x 1.00= 1.00
Cream Cheese (1) x 1.00 = 1.00

Total: $9.48

4. Cheese and Crackers
You can’t go wrong with cheese and crackers! My favorite crackers are by Pepperidge Farms (although we won’t discuss the caloric count!) If you don’t have time to prep a dish or you are afraid you will burn the kitchen down, try this.

1 box of Pepperidge Farms crackers, I prefer the “Entertaining Quartet” if you are only going to buy one package.  Pick up 2 packages of presliced cheddar cheese and a wedge of brie.

Pepperidge Farms Crackers: (1) x  $3.00= 3.00
Sliced Cheddar Cheese (2) x $2.00= 4.00
(I do have to mention the cheese is really only $2.00,presliced and everything! It’s a steal!)
Brie Wedge (1) x 2.49= 2.49
Total: $9.49 for cheese and crackers

Note: As basic as cheese and crackers come, it is very important to display it nicely. Put some effort into it.

5. Wings, Wings and More Wings
I can write a whole blog about wings as there are so many variations on how to make them. For my last party, I made, Battered BBQ Wings, Buffalo wings and naked wings to accommodate all preferences.  A 10 pound bag of wings at Coscto’s usually cost less than $16.00 so that is about $1.60 a pounds. If I wanted to, I could even save more money and big the wings by the case at the local Asian stores.  Obviously the $16.00 bag is more than the $10.00 budget, but its 10 pounds! You can split the bag and prepare it for 2 different parties, so that comes out to about $8.00 for 5 pounds.

Since there are so many variables, its hard to give an estimate on how much the wings will cost in the end. If its naked, of course it will cost less than the Buffalo wings that require Hot Sauce and side of Bleu cheese and celery.  If you bake them or slow cook them, they will costs less than deep frying them since you don’t need to buy extra oil.

6. Frozen Wholesale Club Appetizers

I’m a huge fan of frozen appetizers. My family usually gets jalapeno poppers, crab cakes, coconut shrimp and my friend Chuba never disappoints at his parties.  He always has an array of pigs in the blanket and an assortment of pastry puffs.  For less than $ 20.00, you can get a box of frozen Hor D’oeuvres from Costco’s with 70-120 pieces per box.  Again, you will have to split the box into 2 parties to achieve the “less than $10.00” goal.  Again, you are bringing A dish to the party, not hosting it.

My new favorite frozen food is Nancy’s Petite Quiche.  Not only are the delicious, but they are also vegetarian, which helps fulfill the gaps for my Vegetarian friends.  There was a coupon for this month, so I think I ended up paying $11.00 for the box of 72 pieces which I served at 36 pcs at 2 different events.

7. French Bread Pizza

Rachel Ray’s French Bread Pizza

Not sure where this recipe came from, I vaguely remembering my sister introducing it to me.
Slice 2 loaves of French Bread into 2 lengthwise long slices
Spread Hunts Tomato Sauce on the bread to cover all the white
Sprinkle Mozzarella Cheese to the 4 slices
French Bread: (2) x $ 1.50= $3.00
Hunts Tomato Sauce (2) x 1.50= 3.00
1 Bag (2 cups) of Mozzarella Cheese (1) x 2.99= $3.00
Total: $9.00
Optional: Add Pepperoni, Sausages or Peppers and Onions for extra costs

To be Continued

Attempting to Offset the Dreaded Holiday Weight Gain

For the past several years, we partake in 2 separate Thanksgiving.  The traditional Thanksgiving served on Thursday with the Mo’s family and then the Saturday Thanksgiving at my mom’s house with the Srey Clan in Connecticut.  This doesn’t include other “stops” we make at our friends house for additional food and desserts or the annual Thanksgiving Potluck at the office.

With the holidays are around the corner, there has been numerous emails going back and forth between both my family and the Mo’s family in regard to the Thanksgiving Day Menu. Between both menu’s there a large assortment of sweets, cheesy dishes, carbs, slow roasted meats and a void of fresh vegetables that isn’t loaded with butter or cheese.

In an attempt to not gain any additional weight between now and New Year’s Eve, I’ve set small goals for myself, starting this weekend.

1. No Carbs in the Evening!!
2. Limit Alcohol Intake to only 1 night per a week (So no more, “Wine down Wednesday” &”Thirsty Thursdays” 
3. Exercise at least 30 mins each day.

We will see what happens!! I’ll keep you posted on my progress or failures! 

Here is what I have been making this week for dinner.

Seared Chicken Breast with Creamed Spinach 10 Weight Watchers Points

 

Grilled Sirloin Tips with Roasted Peppers and Onion 8 Weight Watcher points