Recipes – Page 2 – in thriver words

Holiday Party Train

Save energy by getting on the holiday party train! Keeping a few simple items on hand during the holidays will let you throw a party together in minutes.

Everyone I know is stressed from mid-November until after New Years. There are too many people to see, too many details to handle, and too many pageants to attend. And yet, we want to see our family and friends. We look forward to time together.

This fall, I improved my back porch with new stairs, privacy screens, and composite decking. It’s still quite warm most afternoons and I love sitting there. When holiday activity and friends’ curiosity about the porch naturally fell in line, I accidentally happened on easy entertaining.

Well, truthfully, it started before the porch was complete. My evolving strategy began when I brined some green cherry tomatoes from my garden to create tomolives. They were a delicious bite with an olive beginning and surprise citrus finish. I wanted to show some off in martinis. I invited some people over to sit on the porch and drink martinis.

The first event was small and went well. I made a pitcher of martinis and a cheese plate patterned off one in That Cheese Plate Will Change Your Life. Everyone had a wonderful time. In the process, I learned a few things: 1)I didn’t need to worry about making plenty of martinis in advance. They didn’t suffer from being made in bulk. As long as I keep them in the freezer, I can serve them at another party. 2)I had cheese plate items left that could easily expand into another party. 3)With some minor alterations, I could minimize trips back to the kitchen.

I took what I’d learned and ran with it. In the past 2 ½ weeks, I’ve hosted 4 gatherings of various sizes on my new porch and one on someone else’s – all with very little effort. I’ve always said you should have two parties back-to-back. Now I’m thinking it’s a breeze to create a holiday train.

Here’s how to make it easy:

Have one drink that can be made in advance. I like dirty martinis. They’re made to be served ice cold so they can be stored in the freezer and saved for the next party if you make too much. For 8 drinks, I use 2 ½ cups Hendricks gin, ½ cup Dolin dry vermouth, ½ cup tomolive (or olive) brine, and ½ cup water. I freeze this in a beaker style pitcher (make sure it’s freezer safe glass and cover with plastic wrap) and/or a bottle and serve in chilled glasses. Both the beaker and bottle will fit in my vintage ice bucket so once the first round of drinks is poured, the rest sits on ice to minimize my trips inside.

Make more than you need. The second party is easy if the drinks are already made. Make two batches and leave the leftovers in the freezer.

Grab some premixed canned cocktails. Canned cocktails don’t require glasses and can be served out of an ice chest along with bottled water and some mini soft drinks. For the holiday party train, I keep flavored vodka sodas and ginger ale in the refrigerator. I also have a bottle of vodka and some club soda on hand just in case.

Have a bottle of red and bottle of white wine on hand. I don’t open the wine in advance but am happy to if someone doesn’t want a cocktail.

Consider beer. I don’t typically offer beer. In order to enjoy any leftovers, I’d have to serve gluten-free beer. There’s only an occasional beer drinker in my circles so it isn’t usually missed.

On the food front, mix and match from things like:

Cheese: Feta, Manchego, parmesan, fresh mozzarella (balls); Baked brie with raspberry preserves

Meat: Salami, prosciutto

Fresh veggies: Cucumbers, tomatoes

Pickles: Olives, capers, gherkins

Spreads/Dips: Hummus, tzatziki, pimento cheese

Roasted, salted, nuts: Pistachios, cashews

Dried fruit: Dates, figs, cherries

Fresh fruit: peaches, pears, grapes, blackberries

Herbs: Parsley, basil

Crackers/bread: Pita chips, crackers, mini naan

Sweets: Shortbread cookies, dark chocolate, chocolate covered cherries

Holiday related: Party mix, sausage balls

Throw away plates. I like to use real chilled glasses for martinis and I have a ton of serveware, but sometimes it’s nice to throw away the plates and napkins. If you want some classy throw-aways, take a look at Smarty Had a Party.

That’s it. That’s all you need. You’ll be amazed how many parties you can serve by mixing and matching a few of the ingredients above into irresistible platters. Add a martini and light some candles. You can throw a whole party together in a few minutes with very little notice.

Drinks in the freezer and mix and match ingredients let you ride the holiday party train without adding stress to an already stressful time.

Happy Holidays!

https://www.cooking2thrive.com/blog/wintery-celebrations/

Something Icy to Cool Things Down

Another day of 110˚ weather and it’s time for something icy to cool things down. No matter how patient I am in winter, put me in a heat dome and I get grumpy quickly. I’m not the only one; everyone seems on edge when the mercury climbs above 100.

What I need, we all need, is a quick cool down. What we don’t need is to get in a hot car. I’m thinking this is a good time to try out an icy granita treat that can cool me from the inside.

A quick inventory of my refrigerator confirms I have fresh pineapple and cucumbers. They sound yummy together! Mint or cilantro would be a nice addition, but all I have on hand is basil. If I throw some in, I’ll keep it light. I’m tempted to add a little white wine since I have an open bottle I’m struggling to finish.

To begin, I’ll make simple syrup. Not only will sugar sweeten the ice, it will keep the granita from freezing too solidly. The alcohol in the wine will also inhibit freezing.

Simple syrup is just sugar melted in water. The ratio is typically 1:1. If you prefer something sweeter, rich simple syrup has twice as much sugar as water.

Dissolving sugar before adding it to a drink keeps it from landing in the bottom undissolved. It can also deliver the herby flavor I want to add to this granita. Instead of putting basil in the fruit purée, I can throw 6 or 7 sprigs into the simple syrup once the sugar has dissolved, boil it for a minute and then just let it steep for half an hour while the syrup cools. I’ll just fish the herbs out before I add the syrup to the fruit.

If I had pineapple juice, I could use it for this cold treat. I don’t. I have slices left over from the pineapple upside down cake I baked last weekend. I’ll cut these into smaller chunks and purée along with the cucumbers. I’m estimating that I’ll use 1/3 of a pineapple. I’m going to peel a large cucumber and leave a smaller one unpeeled. I’ll also cut these into small cubes before adding to the food chopper.

I want a little liquid in the chopper before I turn it on. If I have a lime, I’ll squeeze in a little lime juice. If not, I’ll probably grab that wine and drizzle in a tablespoon or so. I’ll also add a pinch of salt. I’ll slowly add simple syrup to this mixture until the taste and texture feel right. The nice thing about working with dishes like this is that I can taste along the way. There are no ingredients that must be cooked to be safe.

Once the mixture is done, I’ll pour it into a shallow baking dish and place it in the freezer. I only want it to partially freeze. I’m not sure exactly how long that will take. I’m planning to check it every couple of hours. Once much of it has crystallized, I’ll scrape it with a fork and allow it to freeze a little more. I’ll scrape again before I serve.

This is the kind of recipe I love and that drives my sister crazy. I’ve given you no specific measurements or times. That wasn’t really my plan, but I’m working around contractors in the kitchen so here we are. That doesn’t change the fact that I’ll need something icy to cool things down in a few hours.

Ahhhhh, I’m looking forward to it!

Wintery Celebrations

I’m not really used to wintery celebrations. Last year when I traveled through Texas in mid-December, it was 85˚. At home it was in the 70s. Later this week, it will approach 70. But right now, it’s cold. That has me wondering what sort of drinks I’ll serve on New Year’s Eve if the weather outside is frightful.

In 2020, my most popular drink was half passion, half green, unsweetened iced tea served in tall glasses over Sonic ice. I offered a wide variety of hot tea, hot chocolate, wine, champagne, and liquor. But as midnight approached, everyone preferred the slightly red, tangy tea.

I’m not sure if the color was part of the appeal, but red drinks seem festive, and bubbly is a New Years tradition. That makes a cranberry or pomegranate mimosa seem like an easy choice. But a cold drink when it’s -15 ˚ doesn’t sound nearly as appealing as something warm.

If I pull out the slow cookers, I can offer Red Hot Cider spiked with rum or spiced rum and a pot of Mexican Hot Chocolate. Since both feature cinnamon, it should be easy to choose snacks that will work with either drink. A pitcher of the 2020 tea and champagne for toasting will round out what I need.

The cider can be made on the stove or in a slow cooker. I find serving from a slow cooker less distracting than running back and forth to check a burner when I’m entertaining. If you have lots of guests coming, you may want to have an extra batch or two waiting on the stove to refill the slow cooker.

Red Hot Cider

Combine ½ gallon of apple juice or apple cider with ½ cup red hots. Heat on medium until the candy dissolves and the drink turns red, stirring occasionally. You don’t want to let the mixture boil or it will turn into syrup. Stir in 1 ½ ounces of rum or spiced rum.

Mexican Hot Chocolate

Combine 4 Abuelita™ hot chocolate drink tablets and 16 cups of milk in a large pot. Heat over medium-high heat whisking constantly until the mixture begins to boil. Remove from heat and place in slow cooker to keep warm for serving. This can be mixed in advance and stored in the refrigerator for two or three days then reheated to serve. For the adult version, add Kahlua or peppermint schnapps before serving.

I plan to serve the hot cider in clear glass punch cups so we can enjoy the color as well as the flavor. If you don’t have glass cups available, Smarty Had A Party stocks clear plastic coffee/tea cups. They also have white and black disposable mugs that would work nicely for hot chocolate. In fact, they’re my go-to when I need elegant disposable anything.

Now that I have a hot drink plan, I feel warmer already. And putting a menu together is always easier when you have a starting point. I’ll be ready for a wintery celebration just in time for New Year’s Eve!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Cranberry Salsa? Why not?

Instead of cranberry relish, why not cranberry salsa? Every Thanksgiving, my grandmother made cranberry/orange relish. You know, the recipe from the back of the bag of cranberries? It looked beautiful in her tall, cut-glass compote and added the perfect amount of tartness to enhance the savory turkey and cornbread dressing.

My family doesn’t like gravy, so cranberry relish is what we continue to use to add that little somethin-somethin to our Thanksgiving plates. I serve it in a compote similar to my grandmother’s. But this year, I’m making a change.

I found a recipe for cranberry salsa when I was filing last week. I don’t remember printing it out, but there it was on my desk. When my sister and I started planning the Thanksgiving menu, I picked it up and read it. It’s served with tortilla chips so why not use it as an appetizer?

I like to have something for everyone to snack on in case I run long getting food on the table. Cranberry salsa seems like a perfect choice because the leftovers can be served with our meal in place of cranberry/orange relish.

Can the family weather a change in tradition without being grumpy? I’m pretty sure they can as long as the salsa tastes good. With that in mind, I made some this weekend to see.

Here’s what I combined:

2 jalapeño peppers

1 twelve-ounce bag of fresh cranberries, washed

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup minced green onions

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves

1 tbsp fresh squeezed orange juice

1 tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice

Remove stem and seeds from jalapeño peppers and finely chop. Set aside. Place cranberries in a food processor or food chopper and pulse until finely chopped. You want small pieces, not a smooth purée.

Place chopped cranberries in a medium bowl. Add sugar and stir together. Add jalapeno peppers, green onion, cilantro, orange juice and lime juice. Stir until well mixed. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Serve with tortilla chips.*

I served the salsa with scoop-shaped tortilla chips. Half of the guests are gluten-free so having an appetizer that paired well with corn chips worked great. We had plenty for dipping and serving with a meal, plus a little left for later. As far as doing double-duty as an appetizer and meal accoutrement, we will have plenty.

The taste profile of this salsa relies primarily on the sour, bitter flavor of the cranberries tempered by sugar. In this sense, it’s not that different from my grandmother’s relish. It also contains some similar orange notes although those are less prominent. The addition of green onion, jalapeno, and cilantro will not detract from my turkey, dressing, sweet potatoes, green beans, or black-eyed peas. From the taste profile perspective, I can’t see a problem substituting salsa for relish.

I love it when a dish can do double-duty! And I really don’t see any downside of using this salsa in place of cranberry/orange relish.

So, the decision is made! This year, our cranberries will be presented in the form of salsa! I mean, really, why not?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Healthy, Easy Gluten-Free Thanksgiving Menu

*The recipe I found online for this was written by Kat Jeter & Melinda Caldwell.