Babies and Banana Bread

This weekend I was in charge of the food for sister-in-law NS’s baby shower. There were going to be 13 ladies present and I was nervous as anything about doing it. I get all worked up about entertaining for large numbers and I am not very good at cooking in other peoples kitchens and the party was at my sister-in-laws place. As a result I went for a simple menu that allowed me to do most of the prep at home and didn’t involve a lot of cooking.


Bagels with lox, fresh tomatoes and red onions
Fruit Salad (provided by my mother-in-law)
Green salad with bok choy and tomatoes
Nana’s Banana Bread


My Nana’s banana bread is sacred in our household. When bananas get brown, I peel them and throw them in a zip lock bag in the freezer. Then when I get three, I’ll pull together a loaf for JR and it keeps him remembering why he married me – my Nana’s banana bread. It’s not something I can describe, just think of the best banana bread you have ever had and here is the recipe.


Nana’s Banana Bread

Ingredients:
½ cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
3 crushed bananas
2 cups bread flour
1 t baking soda
¼ t salt
¼ cup walnuts (optional)

Directions:
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Cream butter and sugar, add eggs, flour, baking soda, nuts.
- Mash bananas in a separate bowl and add last, mixing until they are just mixed in.
- Bake 1 hour in a well greased bread pan (or half hour in muffin tins)

Summer salads

When we moved into our NY apartment (OMG, 3 YEARS AGO!) we held a house warming party and invited all our friends over to party with us. Even though we had very limited space, the party turned out to be a lot of fun, and everyone ended up partying until the wee hours.

Moving to Boston was exciting, but one of the things I was really thrilled about was throwing another house warming party. Having decided to push the party off until May, when we could use the patio, I had planned it in my head at least 37 times. This type of anticipation is a sure sign of disappointment, but everything went off a couple weekends ago without a hitch.


We had 15 people over, and although the forecast was for rain, it held off for the most part and people were able to enjoy the patio. My good friend SS came in from NY to be my assistant and I put her to work cooking and cleaning all day (she even did my bathroom!) and by the end we were both exhausted. It was well worth it though, and I think everyone enjoyed the food. We made,

Hamburgers & Chicken Sausage with Homemade BBQ sauce
Spicy Cole Slaw
Copper Pennies
Black Bean Salsa
Grilled Vidalia Onions
Green Salad
Red & White Sangria with Pineapple, White Peaches, Mangos and Pears


The star of the night was the BBQ sauce, which I keep raving about. The sangria was a close second though. I loved the cole slaw, which was a recipe I borrowed from Smitten Kitchen. The Copper Pennies made it feel like summer.


Copper Pennies are an old family recipe. My mom makes them year round and as a kid (ok really until I was 24) I wouldn't touch them. Then at Christmas a couple years ago my cousin forced me to try them and I realized they are AMAZING! So here is a quick one out of the family cook book.


Copper Pennies

Ingredients:
3lbs. carrots
1 medium onion (diced)
1 small green pepper (diced)
4 stalks celery
1 can tomato soup
1/2 cup salad oil
1 cup sugar
3/4 cups vinegar
1t mustard
1T Worcestershire sauce
salt & pepper

- Slice and cook carrots until they just begin to soften.
- Mix the rest of the ingredients into a marinade.
- Add the carrots to the marinade and let them sit over night.
- Serve cold.

Entertaining for 10!!!

This weekend was Passover and we celebrated with a wonderful dinner at JR's parents house. Since everyone was in town visiting, I decided to show off our apartment and invited them all over for brunch on Sunday. I had to work up my nerve since there was going to be 10 of us which is more than double the number that I have ever entertained before. JR was super helpful and the whole thing went off without a hitch. I decided to go really simple and I think that certainly helped. We served:

Bagels with lox, tomatoes, onions & cream cheese
Fresh cantaloupe, mangoes & strawberries
Potato Frittata with Gruyere & Canada Bacon
Coffee, Tea & OJ


Everything required no cooking except the frittata which could be prepared in advance and served at room temperature. I had made the frittata for Christmas this past year with my family and we all loved it. I simplified the recipe, but it involves one thing that does take some time. Oven potatoes. Mom convinced me at Christmas to use left over potatoes instead of using raw potatoes. I was nervous about doing so, but it turned out so good I had to do it again this time. Saturday I made up a batch of my Mom's famous oven potatoes so that they wouldn't have to be done Sunday morning.


Once that was done, all I had to do Sunday morning was prep the Gruyere and canadian bacon and cook the frittata which only took about 30 minutes.


One thing I really love about this frittata is that it's so easy to serve. It really holds it's own. My father-in-law pointed out this morning that it's eggs, bacon and hash browns all in one, and what can be wrong with that!


Potato Frittata with Gruyere & Canada Bacon

1 dozen large eggs
2T water
Salt & Pepper
1 packed cup shredded Gruyere
4 ounces slices canadian bacon
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 pound Yukon Gold Potatoes
1 packed Lipton Soup mix (French Onion or Garlic & Herbs)
2 scallions sliced

1. First make up the potatoes. If you can plan in advance, make them for dinner the night before, and just use the left overs. Chop the potato into bite sized pieces and throw them in a ziplock bag. Add a couple tablespoons of olive oil to the bag and the Lipton Soup mix. Mush them all around to make sure the mix is spread out over the potatoes and then dump the potatoes out onto a flat baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 40-50 minutes or until soft on the inside and crunchy on the outside.

2. Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, beat the eggs with the water. Add in the salt, pepper, Gruyere and Canadian Bacon. Stir well.

3. Heat a little olive oil in a Calphalon Non-Stick fry pan and add the potatoes. If using leftovers, heat for 3-4 minutes. Add scallions and stir.

4. Add the egg mixture to the pan and stir to mix. Allow to cook over moderate heat until the bottom is just set. Gently lift the frittata on all sides to allow the egg to seep underneath.

5. Bake the frittata for about 15 minutes until the center is nearly set. Turn on the broiler and broil the frittata about 8 inches from the heat until the top is just beginning to brown.

6. Cut into wedges and serve.