A Birthday Lunch!

My pal Barb had a birthday this week, so friend Kate and I decided to throw her a birthday lunch! After all, we need a good reason to celebrate something and what could be better that honoring the day that a special friend was born?

 

I got the table set the night before, using a vintage tablecloth as a base and a smaller cloth over that as a topper. (Rita -- do you recognize the smaller cloth topper? You should!) As the salad was the main course, we dispensed with salad plates or bowls. Mom's silver came out, along with the some Depression glass tumblers. My Mikasa "Just Flowers" pattern seemed to be the right one for spring.

At Home: A House Concert!

A couple of years ago, Rick decided he would like to host a house concert, featuring a classical guitarist friend. He put out an alert on Facebook and emailed some others. About 30 people came and a tradition was born! Last month he hosted his fourth house concert and again, it was great success. 

This time, the "act" was the Grand Rapids Guitar Duo, who performed mostly classical guitar selections along with a jazz arrangement and some original pieces. The members were Brian Morris and Jonathan Marshall. 

Cork Poppers Add Music to the Menu

At an earlier Cork Poppers group, one of our members asked Rick if he'd provide a little concert on his classical guitar sometime. So, when he decided to host a pared down version of our group music was on the menu too! (Four of our members were away for the season; two were unable to come -- one of those being the guy who had suggested the music!)

Rick had said "bring finger food and a wine that goes with an Argentinian tango or Italian sonata." We were off and running! (He did say, "Tomatoes should be sliced and on the platter, not whole and ready to be thrown." Protecting the musicians and their instruments is always a good thing!)

In-Between Week

The week between Christmas and New Year's is one of my favorites. Things calm down -- and even if they don't quite calm down, it's a gentler, more relaxed feeling. A good time for naps, tidying up, quieter gatherings with friends and looking forward to a new year. 

In our case, it involved saying goodbye to Rick's mom as we met up with Rick's brother and his wife, where she would spend the next few days, our annual Christmas song celebration, a quick hug with an old friend and lots of rest!

"Quarant-whine!" The Cork Poppers are Back!

The morning of our Cork Popper reunion, with the theme "Quarant-wine," started with an ER trip for Rick and ended with us all tasting seven wines, enjoying a fabulous feast of appetizers and desserts and having a non-stop, "It's been 16 months since I've seen you!" catch up party!

"Finally Free" Dinner Party -- Tips and Tastes!

Rick and I are fully vaccinated and so are our friends, Mark and Jan. So a celebration was in order, this time, inside!

I haven't cooked for anyone other than Rick in over a year and I didn't want kitchen angst that evening. I wanted to be able to enjoy the company of our friends from the minute they walked into the door until the moment they left. Here's how I avoided that.

The Day Before

The afternoon before our dinner I did a basic house pick-up (with vacuuming and dusting to be done the afternoon of the party). Then came the fun part -- putting together a cheery centerpiece. (More on that in an upcoming post)

The Day Of 

The morning of our party I started with making brownies (to be served with gelato) for dessert. I just amped up a box recipe (much as I would have preferred to go from scratch). Once they were cool they went onto the serving platter, sealed up to stay fresh till dessert.

My menu was Asian ginger salmon, the spinach/orzo/feta dish I've mentioned here before and roasted tomatoes. Jan was bringing a salad. We'd also have wine and cheese with Rick's bread before dinner. 

 

Both the salmon marinade and spinach dish involve some chopping. I wanted that over and done. So, I chopped my garlic, scallions and spinach for the spinach dish and got out the other non-perishable ingredients and put them in my mise en place bowls in the morning. (I almost always do mise en place, even when just cooking for us, at least for non-liquid ingredients.)  I also made my salmon marinade in the morning and in the early afternoon began marinating the salmon (1-8 hours), periodically "basting" it. 

(Recipes below, sorry the photo is such a mess!)

Vacuuming, dusting and mopping the kitchen floor was done in the early afternoon. I also cleared out the coat closet which was pretty packed from our own coats over the winter!

The table was more or less set by mid-afternoon and the buffet area (aka the top of the short bookcase) was cleared off and "set" with a pretty arrangement in a Mary Englebreit teapot that had suffered a broken lid.

While we were having wine and cheese, I assembled the spinach dish. It takes about 15 minutes or so to cook, and stays warm well. I also got the roasted tomatoes prepped and ready to go in the oven when I put in the salmon.

We could easily enjoy our snacks before dinner while catching up. The salmon takes about 20 minutes so I judged the time accordingly. 

And then, we simply enjoyed! Bad selfie!

A few of my favorite kitchen tips:

Setting up mise en place bowls (I use mini-ramekins and small bowls made by a local potter) really helps things run smoothly. It helps tremendously not to have to stop and measure everything, especially if you have a lot to do in the kitchen that day. 

Clean up as you go. Have you ever watched Julia Child's original "French Chef" episodes, before there was a kitchen staff to provide step outs? She cleans up from step to step. If your kitchen is small like mine, those things that need to be discarded can be tossed in the trash or disposal or compost tin as you cook. Or, follow the Rachel Ray trick of having a garbage bowl handy for whatever need to be pitched. It makes the final clean-up so much easier.

Keep a running list handy to write down items that are running low or that you've used up. I just used all my panko the other night and it went on the next week's shopping list. That way you always know what you are out of -- especially if you don't use it that often so you're not checking your supply on a regular basis.

Not everyone would agree with this but one of my favorites is to post your favorite recipes inside your cupboard doors. If there's something you make regularly (but not enough to have memorized!) and really don't care if the inside of your cupboards are bulletin boards, post them there. It saves time (not looking up in your cookbook -- which cookbook was that now?) and saves counter space.

The Recipes

Salmon (I wish I could remember where I first saw this -- one similar was on several sites -- this is how I do it:

1/4 c. soy sauce  /  3 T. brown sugar   / 1 T. finely grated ginger   / 1 large or 2 small finely grated garlic cloves  /   pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)

Combine marinate ingredients and pour over a large piece of salmon or up to four salmon steaks. Marinate for at least a half hour but you can do it up to eight and I say the longer the better. Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes, depending on the thickness of your salmon. If using larger salmon, cut into individual pieces and serve on a platter garnished with lemon slices and parsley or dill.

Hint: Use about a 3" piece of ginger for grating, peeled with a spoon. The grating is what takes longest in doing this!

The Spinach/Orzo/Feta Side dish -- from New York Times

4 scallions  / 2 lg. cloves of garlic  / eight cups packed spinach (8 oz but I tend to use a little more), chopped a bit if too large   / 1/2 to 1  t. salt   /   1 3/4 c. chicken stock   /   1 c.  orzo   /   Zest of 1 lemon   /   3/4 c. feta and more to garnish   /    1 c. chopped parsley or dill (optional but good)   /   1 c. peas (optional -- I don't use them)

In butter or olive oil, soften scallions and garlic over medium heat. /  Add spinach in batches if necessary till wilted, then salt, stock, orzo and lemon. Bring to simmer, then cover and cook about 15 minutes.  Add feta and parsley/dill if using. Serve garnished with more feta (and I like lemon wedges with this to use at will.)

Roasted Tomatoes

Halve Roma tomatoes and if pithy inside, take out center ribs. Salt, pepper and a small drizzle of olive oil. Then add your favorite hers (I use basil, oregano and thyme), a bit of parmesan cheese and if you have them, panko or bread crumbs. Bake. You can put these in with the salmon for 20 minutes at 400. I like a little more time in the oven. 

Bon appetit!

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Cork Poppers Enjoy "Wines in the Key of C"

Think Cabernet, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Cava, or your favorite C-named winery (Chateau Ste. Michelle?) or just what the letter "C" means to you. That was our theme for the June Cork Poppers gathering.

For those of you not familiar with our Cork Poppers, we are a wine tasting group of friends. Only one of us, Dick -- founder of the group, has done any real study of this. Most of us use the bi-monthly gatherings as a good excuse to try a lot of wines we wouldn't otherwise try and enjoy terrific pot lucks! This time, we were the hosts and the location was Rick's patio!

Grab a class and come along for the ride!

Our first wine came from me -- Les Charmes Chardonnay 2014 by Macon Lugny.

Now, I'll be the first to tell you I'm not a fan of chardonnay or heavily oaked white wines. I contributed it to the cause because a) it was a "C" wine (chardonnay) and I didn't want to get more creative than that and b) because I couldn't find the Chianti I had bought for the event (we probably drank it) so I went with something left behind by a book club member when I hosted. Whomever you are, thank you!

Because this was the first, it was well chilled. Whites should be chilled but on a warm day, with sipping outside, some of the later whites suffered a bit from warming up a bit. The big surprise for me was that I actually liked it and others thought it "pretty good." "I'd buy this," Clayton said and others agreed.

Next, Dick offered up Wolftrap White Chenin Blanc 2013 from South Africa. It was a lovely white -- a bit more tart than the Les Charmes Chardonnay, and I enjoyed it, despite the components being partially aged in oak before blending and bottling.

The information Dick shared included that it had an "intriguing and harmonious quaffing experience." "Quaffing, we like," Clayton said, as we briefly pondered "who writes that gibberish?" But we did like the wine. (Anne liked the label.) Dick had grabbed this one off the shelf at home and had no idea of the price.

We had another Chardonnay next -- Butter Chardonnay, a California wine chosen by Roger. This was oakey and buttery or more creamy and because of that, not my favorite, but Clayton noticed it had a little bit of effervescence. Roger said he found it at Costco for $11.99 but normally it runs $15-$18.

Bob was up next with Scaramanga, a 2014 South African blend by Nabygelegen.

This one was a double Key of C. It had Chenin Blanc and Chardonnay grapes (as well as Verdelmo varietal) and if you stretched it, it was Coastal, too! It had a slow fermentation of six months and felt "thicker" and less crisp to my palette. (This may have been due to starting to warm up, too, as Barb mentioned "This needs to be colder."

The winery was established in 1712 and the price of this at a local market was $20. Kate called it her favorite so far (Kate is not a big fan of whites) and Barb noted "This smells funny but it doesn't taste bad. It smells like chemicals or acetone."

Then it was on to reds. Kate brought Sledgehammer 2016, a California Cabernet Sauvignon. Someone commenting on the name said, "This looks like something you drink to get drunk" and the notes implied it was a manly wine. There was much discussion on it being a macho, tone deaf write up on the label "King of the People -- of substance but none of the pomp and circumstance. For the man who values substance over flash. Sledgehammer is for men, not for boys."

"I bought it so I could sneer," Kate said. Her husband Mike S. noted it paired well with cinnamon rolls. (This was Kate and Mike's first Poppers. They fit right in.) Kate noted her key of C was "C stands for average -- average label, below average verbiage.)

Someone described it as an all purpose wine. "If you don't like it you can use it for antifreeze. Or paint stripper." Dick disagreed. "No, I don't think it's a paint stripper." And Barb agreed with that. As for me, I liked it and would buy it. Especially since it was $8.99 at Meijer.

Clayton was up next with Newman's Own Common Good Cabernet Sauvignon 2016 by Paul Newman (California).

After determining that Paul Newman was dead (I didn't know; sort of puts a pall on the day, so we toasted to Paul, and then to Pat, our missing member who recently moved.)

I thought this was quite good. I definitely tasted the cherry flavor (this brought discussion on the difference between dried or ripe cherries in wine and we decided dried was more flavorful. But what do we know?)

I'd definitely get this one again. It was spicy and tasty. Here's an interesting point. Cost on this ranged from $9 on sale at Meijer to $10 at a local market to $16 online. Shop around.

Dick was up again with a red this time -- The Rock 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon 2016. This is from the California Landscape series which also includes "The Bridge" and "The Pier."

Dick said he liked this so much, he bought a case of it (to which Rick noted, "You drink a lot, don't you?" and Dick replied, "We got a new computer system at work. What do you think?") But at $8.99, I think we'd all agree, he did the right thing. It was highly recommended by all our group, with a peppery-spice taste.

Mike and Barb then offered Clos de los Siete 2014, a red blend that was largely Malbec and Merlot. The vineyard, in the Mendoza area of Argentina was an old one and was wiped out in the 1860 earthquake, and they had to rebuild. (Her key of C was "Clos")

This one got comments like, "I just took a sip of this and it was delicious" and "Definitely a tasty wine." It should be -- it was about $20.

Anne liked it so much, she posed with the bottle!

Jan was last. It's really hard to be last in our group. She brought a 2016 Carmenere from Chile's Concha Toro vineyard called Casillero del Diablo Reserva.

Carmenere varieties originally came from the vineyards of Bordeaux but the climate in Chile -- sunshine and warm summer -- is perfect for the late-ripening grapes. "Oh, this smells so good!" Barb said, taking a sniff. Anne noted it was peppery. She had a triple key of C here -- the name, Casillero del Diablo, Carmenere and Concha y Toro vineyard. She could add a fourth -- Chile!

This is said to be good with red meat like burgers (how convenient, our menu that day!) and I think it would be wonderful any day at $8.99.

Interestingly enough, several of us noted that this time around, everyone liked all the wines. Usually there is an outlier or two. But it was on to dinner. We'd had a bit of a dilemma -- weather. The prediction wasn't good. But as you can see, things shaped up so we could sip on the patio.

That said, we set up tables in Rick's carport, just to be on the safe side!

The theme for Dinner was the Rick's Rocking Burger Bar!

                   

We had all sorts of toppings available.

Everyone else rose to the occasion with wonderful accompaniments like Rick's homemade burger buns...

...Asparagus potato salad...

...Mississippi Caviar...

...Fabulous Fruit Plate...

...Heathy, glorious Caesar...

...and decadent summer berry dessert.

And a bit of wine to wash it all down with. (This makes us sound WAY more decadent that we are. I promise you, we are not lushes or alcoholics and our sips are small!)

No one left hungry!

Our party favors and place cards were one and the same -- bookmarks. They were fun to paint!

                     

Thus ends another day of sipping. Please note that the wines we had may not be available in all areas. The same goes for previous Popper posts, which you can see listed by category on the menu at the top of the page under Cork Poppers. (Reds, whites, French, Italian, etc.)

Farewell from the Ladies of the Vine and the Guys of the Grape!



As always, be reponsible!

And happy Popping!

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