Happy Holidays Dinner Party

As the year comes to a close we decided to have our first holiday dinner party.  The idea was to charge $10 per person in order to be able to get more food for everyone.  Happily, we have learned that by aiming high we spend low (a theory that will be disproved immediately, I'm sure).  We ended up charging $5 a head because we only spent around $60 and fed 11 or 12 people.

The menu: Two roasted chickens, potato latkes, asparagus, zucchini in tomato sauce, and cookies.

This week, we had extra support from Bambi, our guest chef.  It seemed as though she and I did not have enough to do, and the Wolf was sweating bullets.  Our responsibilities went as followed:
Bambi: prep work
the Sun: two roasted chickens, asparagus, cookies
the Wolf: latkes, zucchini

The recipes:
Chicken:  I did not follow a recipe.  Though I had never roasted a chicken before, I've made chicken plenty of times and had the Wolf and Bambi there for moral support.  I bought two chickens that weighed approximately the same amount (so that they would take the same amount of time).  After washing them, I dusted them with salt and pepper on the inside and outside. I whisked together about one cup olive oil and dried rosemary, thyme, a pinch of garlic powder, and a pinch of celery salt.   I covered the inside and outside with this mixture.  Inside, I stuffed 3 garlic cloves per chicken and quartered one lemon per chicken (squeezing in the juices before dropping them in).  The oven was set to 475 degrees and they took about an hour and a half to cook (of which I spent half the time freaking out about drying them out).  They were really good.  I will be roasting more chickens in my future, for sure.  Special shout out to my roommate, the Potato, for carving these suckers!

   It was a many person job to transfer them onto the carving board (whose finger is that, by the way?)

                                                                          Ta-da!

Potato Latkes: This recipe is thanks to Mrs. Wolf. 

5 Large Idaho Potatoes

1 Large Onion

4 Eggs

¼ Cup Matzah Meal or Flour

Pinch of Baking Powder (optional)

Salt/Pepper to Taste

Oil for Frying

Grate potatoes and strain through colander.  Grate onion.  Add grated onion and eggs to potatoes.  Mix well.  Add meal/flour and seasoning.  Mix well. Heat oil in frying pan.  Add mixture one tablespoon at a time into oil.  When golden brown on edges turn over and brown on other side. NOTE: When multiplying this recipe do not add any more eggs.  

This seemed like a lot of work.  The Wolf did it from start to finish completely on his own.  To accompany them was sour cream and apple sauce but they definitely didn't even need it.  They were delicious.  

Asparagus:  Thinking we were running out of funds, I only got two bundles of asparagus.  Bambi brilliantly suggested that we slice them long ways in order to create the appearance of having more.  We poured olive oil over them and sprinkled them with salt and pepper and into the oven they went.  Ten minutes later they were ready.  (As you can see, my responsibilities were limited)

Zucchini:  At this point unfortunately the sitting around (alcohol) had gone straight to my head and I did not pay as much attention as I wish I had.  We bought about 5 zucchini (2 yellow, 3 green).  Bambi helped prep them and the Wolf took over.  They went in with onion (Wolf, correct me if I'm wrong) and once they were cooked through he stirred in the tomato sauce.  I wish I knew exactly what had happened in this process because they were really good.   But at least I thought to take a picture. . . 

                                                                 Dinner is served


Cookies:  I'll be honest.  This dinner went from me wanting to bake to me buying the kind that you take out of the packaging and throw in the oven.  And that's what I bought.  Thankfully, we have wonderful friends who made us cookies!  I was afraid of not having enough time (I don't know what I was thinking) but it turned out perfectly.  Thanks again, friends!

As the more responsible people started winding down, the rest of us got back to drinking.  No dance party this time, but there were pickle back shots... with tequila... :-( 

                                           Some of our wonderful guests with the Wolf

Manhattan Clam Chowdah Dinner

This week the Wolf decided he wanted to make soup.  We decided on Manhattan clam chowder, caesar salad, and corn on the cob. 


Plan:  We found our recipe on www.foodnetwork.com (recipe below) for the soup.  We decided on H-Mart because the seafood there is cheaper and better than at Pathmark.  After buying the ingredients for the soup, salad, and corn, we were pleasantly surprised to find that we were $3 UNDER our budget.  This never happens.  Including ourselves there were 10 people eating and we only spent $47. 

Recipe:

Ingredients

• 8 pounds quahog or large cherrystone clams, scrubbed and rinsed, opened clams discarded
• 4 slices bacon, cut into 1/2-inch lengths
• 2 cups finely chopped onion
• 1 cup finely chopped celery
• 1/2 cup chopped bell pepper
• 3/4 cup diced carrot
• 1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1 1/4 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 3 cups)
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 3 cups peeled, seeded and chopped tomatoes or 1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes, chopped and juices reserved
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley leaves
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Salt

In a large stockpot bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Add clams, cover and cook for 5 minutes. Uncover, quickly stir clams well with a wooden spoon, and recover. Allow clams to cook 5 to 10 minutes longer (this will depend on the type and size of clams you are using), or until most of the clams are opened. Transfer clams to a large bowl or baking dish and strain broth through a fine-meshed sieve into a bowl.

 (You should have about 6 cups of clam broth. If not, add enough water to bring the volume up to 6 cups.) When clams are cool enough to handle, remove them from their shells and chop into 1/2-inch pieces. Set clams and broth aside.

In a large heavy pot add bacon and render until golden and crispy. Pour off all fat except 4 tablespoons. Add onions, celery, bell pepper and carrots and cook for 10 minutes, until vegetables are softened. Do not allow to color.

Add garlic, bay leaves, oregano, thyme and crushed red pepper and cook an additional 2 minutes. Increase heat to high and add potatoes, reserved clam broth, and chicken stock and bring to a boil, covered. Cook for 20 minutes, or until potatoes are tender and the broth has thickened somewhat. Add tomatoes and continue to cook for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and add reserved clams and parsley and season with pepper and salt, if necessary. Allow chowder to sit for up to 1 hour to allow flavors to meld, then reheat slowly over low fire if necessary. Do not allow to boil.

 For the corn we just microwaved each ear for 2 minutes.  The caesar salad was simply romaine lettuce hearts, caesar dressing, and garlic/butter croutons. 

Comments: Because we were on a budget we decided to change our measurements a bit.  We only bought 3 pounds of clams and since the kind suggested was not available, we used topneck clams instead.  This turned out to be perfectly fine.  I can't imagine 8 pounds of clams in this soup.  We ended up doubling the amount of vegetables that were needed so that we could add more substance.  We were not able to let it sit for an hour as by the time we were done cooking it was well past dinner time.  Unfortunately we weren't able to try it after a few hours to see how the flavors had developed because it was all gone immediately.  Definitely recommending this recipe and coming back to it again. 

Oh, and then we had a dance party.  Success!

Previous Dinners

Unfortunately we have not taken pictures of every dinner.  But here are a few to start us off with.

                                      Chicken and shrimp taco night (proteins not pictured)

                                               Playing with our food before lobster dinner

                                                                 Lobster dinner

                                                   Sausage stuffed shells
 

                               From international burrito night: Korean kimchi burritos

       butternut squash soup with turkey, bacon, and sun dried tomato aoli panini

                                                Lasagna night tray 1: sausage lasagna     

                                Lasagna tray 2: mushroom, spinach, white sauce lasagna

First Post

Now that most would consider us adults, it seemed only right to learn how to cook.  Growing up and living in a small town, eventually we got sick of eating at the same places over and over again.  The combination of these two ideas led us to begin our Sun and Wolf Wednesday dinners.  

Start: On Sundays or Mondays we usually start to think of a menu.  This mostly happens by one of us wanting to try something and the other giving suggestions. 
Planning: We then look for recipes on foodnetwork.com, seriouseats.com, allrecipes.com, Google, cookbooks, newspaper clippings, our minds.  On Tuesday the mass texts are sent out.  This is how our Wednesday dinners become possible: our friends.  We charge $5 a head on average and in return we supply food that would otherwise cost more.  
The Challenge(s): While we charge $5 per person, not everyone remembers to bring money every time.  Therefore, we (I) initiate the annoying conversation of "who paid" and "who owes me next week."  The other challenge, because there is usually more than one, is breaking even.  We get a head count ahead of time and try and not spend above that (i.e. 10 people, including us two, are eating.  We have $50).  This has happened... once.  We are still working on it.  
The Execution: On Wednesdays, we go food shopping after work.  This is usually at 5:30 and takes about 45 minutes from start to finish.  Our two supermarkets of choice are H-Mart and Pathmark.  (H-Mart is cheaper, has better produce, and is a more enjoyable experience.  Pathmark has more selection of basic canned and packaged foods and is next to a liquor store.)  After we food shop we time out how long it is going to take and either sit around drinking for an hour (always a mistake) or start cooking right away.  For some reason, we have never figured out the timing just right and we usually end up eating sometime after 9 (I guess this is another challenge).  People usually arrive between 8 and 9.
The Food: This obviously varies per week although international style burritos have made more than one appearance.  Overall we have received positive feedback.  We will try and remember to take pictures so those can be included as well.

What you can expect from our blog:  Pictures, recipes, and the small details of our dinner parties that are only interesting to our friends.

Enjoy!