this and that

So far, this has been a dinner party-less January, but I've still been doing a lot of cooking for myself and Dan. And Mabel when things fall on the floor. Here is a look at what's been in heavy rotation.

Stir-frys
At the risk of sounding...I don't know, like a recent visitor from the 1980s, I am on a big-time stir-fry kick. I like dinners that can be made in one pan, that include all of the things that form a complete meal: starch, protein, vegetables. I have tried one with greens, chicken and peanuts, one with chicken and cashews (adding bell peppers and bok choy), and a very-tinkered-with variation of this one, with ground turkey and have enjoyed them all but feel like I haven't cracked the stir-fry code. I haven't yet found one that I want to make again and again. Any suggestions?

instant fancy

I wish you could stand in my apartment and inhale with me. It smells so good. And I'm not even cooking anything! Well, cooking anything edible.

I'm not a DIY kinda girl, but I recently pinned a recipe for a three-ingredient room fragrance that Williams-Sonoma supposedly uses in its store to entice people to buy, I don't know, stand mixers. I couldn't remember what Williams-Sonoma actually smells like (Peppermint bark? Apple cider? Overpriced small appliances?) but the ingredients: a handful of rosemary, one sliced-up lemon and vanilla extract sounded like a delicious combination. I might not be able to upholster my own headboard, but I can handle dumping three things into a pot with a few cups of water and turning on the heat.

And now, as these magic ingredients bubble away on my stovetop, I am hooked.

link-o-rama, new year's eve edition

Happy (almost) New Year!

Dan and I will be ringing in 2013 at home, dreaming of balmy New Year's Eves past spent with friends in Florida. There's nothing like cocktails and sparklers on the back patio in December. But then again, there's something nice about bundling up and heading out into the cold for dinner at a cozy restaurant that's bursting with happy, red-cheeked diners. Or eating a big cheese plate in your toasty apartment as you watch all those shivering Times Square fools on TV.

If you're staying in, I found lots of recipe inspiration for you. Starting with these lovely little chocolate croissants. It's an absolute no-brainer recipe (just three ingredients!), and absolutely delicious. I made some for a party recently and debated making a double batch to store in the freezer (AKA, eat all by myself later). Shoulda, but didn'ta.

The recipe, by Nigella Lawson, is here, but one extra key thing to add is a little sprinkling of flaky salt on top of the croissants as soon as they emerge from the oven, all puffed and golden. See, they are so good I'm reverting to Nigella-speak. Make them for New Year's Eve and eat them warm with some sparkling wine. You'll go to bed very happy.

More links after the jump!

surviving the party-party

Not too long ago I was longing for a party-party -- a gathering more party than dinner party, where people outnumber chairs. And last weekend, I got my wish. Friends filed into our apartment after work, bearing wine and cheese and potted plants and suddenly the house was full. Mabel had so many laps to choose from, she didn't know what to do with herself.

Cooking for a real party-party can be a tricky thing. My friend Casey, who is cooking for freaking 75 people(!!) this New Year's Eve, told me that she prepares a variety of food in shifts because people come and go throughout the night. Instead of making a Costco-sized vat of onion dip, she makes largeish portions of several different recipes and serves everything in stages. Cold appetizers might come first, followed by some hot mains, and then maybe some desserts. What you eat depends on when you arrive. If I was invited, I would arrive before dawn so I wouldn't miss anything.

Unlike Casey, I only hosted 10 people, so I didn't need to plan with military precision. But I did a few things that you might find helpful the next time you find yourself with a crowd to feed.

the dinner party is dead. long live the dinner party.

Did you guys read this?

I wanted to dismiss it as just another bogus New York Times trend story, but it got me thinking. How often do I go to dinner parties, other than my own? Forget the term “dinner party,” how often do I go to someone else’s house for a meal, any meal?

Now, the article describes a world I have never, and will never inhabit. It’s dinner party as theater, where every component of an evening is orchestrated down to the serving utensils. It’s society ladies in caftans, seating arrangements and salad forks. It’s about as far away from the way most people eat and entertain as the moon. If this style of entertaining goes the way of the finger bowl, so be it, in my opinion. But does that mean the intimacy of having someone over to your home, feeding them and sharing real face-to-face communication is slowly dying?

link-o-rama, and being thankful

Can you believe Thanksgiving is next WEEK? I have been living in a deep, dark hole called Thanksgiving at work, and even I can't believe the actual holiday is a few days away. Thank God I'm not cooking this year. Well, maybe a pie. Or two. And some appetizers. And cranberry sauce.

If you, like me, are still cobbling together this year's menu, I've got some helpful links for you to check out.

My girl Casey over at Good. Food. Stories. is my personal Thanksgiving guru. She knows exactly how to time your turkey and side dishes and gravy and all that business so that everything hits the table at just the right time. Here's her Thanksgiving timeline and some pro tips.

Appetizers that don't fill people up but still keep them out of the kitchen and out of your hair are key. Here are some winners from iVillage. (The first slide deserves some sort of special award for appetizer brilliance.)

Also from iVillage, 50 side dishes for the still-undecided.  

Food + Wine has potluck-friendly dishes to bring if you're not hosting this year.

And some pretty wonderful-looking cockails.

If you can't splurge on Thanksgiving, you have no reason to continue eating and therefore living, and these "splurge-worthy" desserts from Southern Living certainly fill that bill. Sweet potato pie with marshmallow meringue!

If you don't want to go the pumpkin dessert route this Thanksgiving, try one of these tasty-looking "alt-pumpkin" desserts from Bon Appetit. I think alt-pumpkin should be the next big music genre.

  

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This year, more than ever, I am feeling grateful for having a home, a job, friends and family I love. I'm also thankful to have this little corner of the Internet and that people like you read it. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

what's for dinner, jenny park?

It's a cliche, I know, but it was love at first sight when I first visited the blog Spoon Fork Bacon. The gorgeous photos! The instantly appealing recipes! The crazy-awesome animated GIFs! It's no surprise that Teri Lyn Fisher and Jenny Park, the women behind the site, landed a cookbook deal. And it's no surprise that Tiny Food Party is as wonderful as their site. Today, Jenny, the food stylist half of the team, answers the usual Dinner Party questions about how she entertains at home. (And if you still haven't visited their site yet, go now!)

1. Name, occupation, and city
Jenny Park, food stylist/recipe developer, and co-author of Tiny Food Party: Bite-Size Recipes for Miniature Meals, Los Angeles

2. When was the last time you threw a dinner party, and who was invited?
The last time I threw a dinner party was about a month ago...taco bar night and it was with a small group of my LA friends.