Sunday, March 21, 2010

The Family Tree

wow! 6 suppers - half a year of cooking and eating, of meeting and greeting, of expanding my new york city family. fitting that family was the theme for the supper tonight.

in anticipation of passover, and the seder which, unfortunately, my family will not be having this year, i felt compelled to make gefilte fish. partly because i love it so much and eagerly look forward to eating, and partly because i loved the idea of making something that my mother taught me how to make, that her mother taught her how to make, that her mother (or rather mother-in-law) taught her how to make. this dish, in this incarnation, has existed in my family for so many generations. knowing the extensive history made the 48hrs endeavor all that much more worth it.


nyc itself plays a large role in my family history. as a child i knew this is where i wanted to live. and today, nearly eleven years after making the move, this is my home, and the people in my life here are my family. it is a family that has evolved over time and, much like a tree, is ever growing, changing, sometimes shedding leaves and often growing new ones. tonight, with over half the guests newcomers to the suppers, and some entirely brand new to me, this could not be more apparent or more true.

on this beautiful second day of spring, 6pm rolled around, the gefilte were ready to be eaten, and my nyc family started to arrive. neighbors and former neighbors, school mates, old co-workers, friends of friends....









what a wonderful group - more then friends but a family indeed (especially when the group includes actual family - my sister!) and boy oh boy, can they cook!!


THE MENU

appetizers

allison's artichokes with homemade mayo
serena's ajvar spread with pita chips
jessica's clam dip in a bread bowl
stephanie's hummus and pita bread

main courses

rachel's gefilte fish, with horseradish and matzoh
annie's tortellini with pesto and marinated carrots
ali and kyle's risotto
lauren's green bean casserole
lindsey's noodle kugel
amanda's spring salad with cherry tomatoes and avocado
ami's cucumber yogurt raita
laura's creamed corn

drinks

laura's orange infused sparkling tea
sarah, amanda, ami, stephanie and julia's wines
erica, chris and andy's beers

desserts

rachel's tea cake sampler
candice's "maw-maw" ugly cake (but it was beautiful!)
kyle's chocolate chip pie














Sunday, February 14, 2010

Red Valentine


feeling so full of love..... and well, so full!

for the fifth sunday supper we celebrated saint valentines day with a red-themed dinner. and no better day than on valentines for a sunday supper, because these nights are truly all about love. love for cooking and food, and for each other.



i spent the afternoon poaching pears and mulling red wine (manischewitz to be exact, leftover from the joy to the jews supper in december. put to good use, at long last!!) i also made a sun-dried tomato spread, a recipe - as with the pears - that came from my loving mama.





friends began to arrive and love was most definitely in the air!




as we got ready to dine everyone was in utter amazement and surprise, seeing what jaime and matt put their culinary skills to create! two dishes that rival what we think food is or can be.




MENU

appetizers

rachel: sun-dried tomato tapenade
serena: ricotta and tomato tartlets
jaime & matt: red pepper macadamia nut-cheese
jocelyn: cayenne cashews
emilie: chorizo


entrees

eve & greg: braised red cabbage
kate & jason: beet & goat cheese salad
jaime & matt: broken artichoke hearts in beet ravioli
joceyln & kelly: endives stuffed with cranberry & red cabbage slaw
romy & jesse: red beans with rice, andouille sausage
jason, yoshi & rob: blood sausage
andy: red hot wings







as the dinner carried on, so did the love-fest!





just when cessie was about to call it a night, was time for a sweet treat!


dessert menu

rachel: poached pears & mulled red wine
erika: red velvet cake
jaime & matt: raw fudge with strawberries
becca & ryan: cranberry cookies















all that sugar might have gotten us a little crazy, but one thing's for sure, that this was one of the loveliest evenings i've spent in a long time!

a big thank you to everyone, to
yoshi, jason, rob, becca, ryan, kelly, emilie, eve, greg, thomas, anna & karen for the many beverages, and a special thank you to lydia - whose soup sadly may not have made it all the way here but thankfully she did! reunited after, umm about 20 yrs! and it did indeed feel so good. as did having the company of all who came.

love. love. love.