Nibbles

Random Appetites: Fast Feasts

Nibbles

As much as I try to avoid it, sometimes I do succumb to the lure of the drive-through for those busy nights or just the don’t-wanna-cook blues. With the move this coming weekend and trying to pack and clean and not put anything else into the apartment before the truck arrives, fast food is probably on the menu as I get later into the week.

The problem, though, is that no one place has the perfect everything available on their menu. Since driving to 3 or 4 locations isn’t generally viable and sorta kills the time savings these quick fixes offer, we generally have to sacrifice one part of the meal for the sake of another, depending on what we’re craving the most. If I had my druthers, though, my “perfect” combined meal would be:

  • Burger King’s Chicken Tendergrill (formerly known as a chicken Whopper)
  • McDonald’s French Fries
  • Wendy’s Caesar Side Salad
  • Arby’s Jamocha Shake

And, of course, all the calories & cholesterol removed from the above, lol.

What would your perfect quick cuisine consist of?

Random Appetites: For the Love of Peeps!

Nibbles

Ah, yes, those sugared puffs of piped marshmallow fluff. I’ve found you either love ’em or hate ’em, and I happen to love ’em. Unfortunately it’s more of a love-hate thing, since they make me verrry sleepy if I eat more than a couple at a time. Sugar overload makes me sleepy, go figure. But even if you don’t like to EAT the bunnies, chickies and other figures that feature prominently in many holiday candy aisles (but mostly Easter) there is much more to their fluffy little heads.

Have you ever heard of peep jousting? It’s simple: place two peeps–each fitted with a toothpick lance under one, uh, wing–facing each other on a paper or other microwave-safe plate. Pop them into the microwave for just a bit (30 seconds should be enough) and watch who stabs who first.

Here’s a lovely, commentary-rich video of the event http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I18FIrE5xfk but don’t let that stop you from trying it yourself!

Of course, if you’re into less blood sugar-thirsty peepitude, I came across a couple of sweet books on the confection, but not like you’d expect. Check out Peeps: A Candy-Coated Tale or Peeps Ahoy!: A Candy-Coated Adventure on the High Seas. Or, if you’ve hit the local Dollar Store and found lots of peeps for only a few pips, check out Peeps: Recipes and Crafts to Make with Your Favorite Marshmallow Treat to use up your sugary score.

Random Appetites: Fail-Safe Foods

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This week’s strips got me thinking about that moment we all have: someone’s coming for supper and we don’t have much time to prepare. What to make?

I think everyone should have at least 1 fail-safe meal they can whip out at a moment’s notice when the need arises. Mine happens to be a heavenly rosemary rissotto that I usually pair with chicken breasts. Simple and virtually fool-proof. Granted, rissotto isn’t exactly quick–taking 30 minutes on average–and needs constant stirring but the end product is a nice, rich comfort food that is sure to please most guests.

Another common fail-safe dish is (or, at least, was) linguine with clam sauce. A little more daring, true, because not everyone eats seafood (and some may be allergic!) and there’s a real danger with over-cooking clams, but the requirements for a good clam sauce can be kept on hand for any emergency.

What’s your fail-safe food?

Random Appetites: What’s for Dinner?

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That’s got to be one of the most hated questions ever (right up there with the 10th ‘why’ from a child), right? Even if you’re only asking yourself.

When I was first married I had the brilliant idea to comb through my cookbooks each week, pick out recipes for supper and make out my grocery list so I only had to buy what I needed. I even categorized my list by the sections of the store to make shopping easier. And, really, this was a great idea–too bad the 1st husband never looked at the list I posted on the fridge and insisted on asking me, every day, what was for dinner. Sigh…

Amusingly enough, just before the dissolution of marriage #2 I found out someone else had the same idea I had 10 years ago but took it a few steps further, turning into an online service. That service? The Saving Dinner Menu Mailer.

Leanne Ely, the Dinner Diva [great name!], puts together 6 entree recipes with serving suggestions every week and makes them available to subscribers as a pdf file complete with a categorized, itemized grocery list. Nice, huh? And it’s really affordable, too, starting at $9.95 for a 3-month membership and only $29.95 for a full year. The Menu Mailer comes in three styles: Regular, Heart Healthy and Low Carb/Body Clutter, with vegetarian and kosher alternatives listed for most, if not all, recipes, plus breakfast and lunch suggestions.

I’ve used this service for several years and the only reason I didn’t renew last time is because I had over a year of menus saved to my harddrive and still hadn’t made it through all of them. (I cook 4 servings at a time so I only have to cook every other night and still have 2 dinners and 2 lunches for each night spent in the kitchen.) Overall, the recipes are easy, tasty and healthy with several fan favorites showing up often but enough variety overall that you really get a variety of dinner options week after week.

So if you’re continually stumped by that age-old question, there is help out there, if you know where to look.

Random Appetites: The 2-Bite Rule

Nibbles

I feel almost certain I’ve mentioned this once before, but it relates to recent events so maybe it’s worth going over once more.

Passed hors d’oevres or buffet foods should not exceed 2 bites-worth when ample table seating is not available.

This past Friday Todd and I attended the Florida Wine Festival. The event was very well-attended and certainly worth the price of admission for a few hours entertainment (and lets not forget the “endless glass of wine”). The catering was handled by Klassic Katering who, make no mistake, offered a variety of nibbles that were quite tasty. It was rather novel, actually, to see a “Slider Station” (you know, those little mini-burgers, served up with sauteed onions and your choice of sauces), entire chicken tenderloins (in teriyaki sauce, if I’m not mistaken) and trios of shrimp on sugar cane skewers. Do you know why it was novel? Because it violates the 2-bite rule.

Picture it, if you’ve never attended this sort of event: You’re walking around with a big ol’ wine glass (very nice, large-bowled tasting glasses that, if they had the little tulip-lip, would match my pinot noir glasses exactly) in one hand and a plate of something in the other. There are very few tables scattered about, certainly not enough for everyone to have even a bit of elbow room, and you’re faced with how to eat the morsels you’ve selected.

Now, generally, I’m pretty good at balancing my small plate on top of my wine glass and going from there but these plates were especially slippery and wouldn’t cooperate with my usual v.o. (victuali operandi). So, instead, I turn the fingers of one hand into a multi-level stacking system, hooking the stemware between two digits and the plate (along with napkin and program) on the others, balanced precariously with my thumb. At this point I’m grateful for the large glasses only because it alleviates the potential of spilling my wine.

The mini burgers are cute and tasty, but messy to eat and since this is a glorified cocktail reception and not a tailgate party, it’s more like 3 or 4 bites to your average consumer. The chicken (stretched out on a skewer for even cooking and “easy handling”) is only secured at each end and, about halfway consumed, loses it’s grip on the bamboo portion in my hand, bounces off my chest and hits the ground. How unfortunate. Finally, the shrimp. Now, I love the trend of using sugar cane skewers for seafood, it’s truly wonderful, but when you have to (one-handed, remember?) scoot the shrimp off the sugar cane and still have to divest the crustation of it’s remaining tail, eating this dish becomes a bit of a production!

So, how to fix it? Leave the sliders for more informal gatherings and serve up more varieties of meatballs, always a hit and easily a single munch each. Serve the chicken in cut-up chunks with plenty of toothpicks. (Forks were provided, and did come in handy, but it was still a lot to juggle as presented.) The shrimp, while cumbersome, really only needed to have the tails removed prior to serving, then it’s a more simple matter of scooting them off the sugar cane with your teeth (though I’d probably reduce the portion to 2 shrimp per skewer).

Other things I would have appreciated seeing would have been better signage on the dips and items in unmanned chafing dishes, just to know what it was supposed to be, before putting it on my plate or in my mouth!

Really, though, we did enjoy ourselves at the event, those few minor critiques aside, and do not regret the ticket purchase at all. We tasted a very yummy Argentinian Malbec that I’ll have to find some of because the spicy notes were really fun and a beautiful Grant Burge, 10 year oak aged Port ( looked tawny but tasted more like ruby) that totally made up for [Premiere Beverage] running out of Pinot Noir in the first hour or so of the event.

One final hors d’oevres tip: when dishing up dips and spreads put the chips, crackers, etc. on the plate first and then add the schmear to them… it certainly beats chasing a bit of artichoke or seafood dip around that tiny little plate!