Holiday Kick-Off Dinner Party

For 10 years now, I have an annual tradition of hosting a very coordinated "pot luck" dress up/sit down dinner for about 20 people. It is always the Saturday after Thanksgiving and there is a core group of friends that somehow all can be traced back to Drew Univ. (even though I didn't know them in college and not all of them actually attended. . . lots of long complicated stories there). Some special guests we had this year were Ryan and Cassie's friend, Jessica who is from Jamaica and needed a place to stay for the long weekend.

This is my first party of the Christmas season. I spend all day Friday cleaning and getting the house decorated for Christmas. The table is set with Christmas linens and my special china. Since I observe "Black Friday" as "Buy Nothing Day," (in protest of all the excess consumerism), I have done all my grocery shopping earlier in the week. Plus, one year I learned the hard way that you can't find a whole fresh turkey the day after Thanksgiving.

From year-to-year, I've invited other special people from my life, but always included the group that I formed close friendships with in my early 20's. It's one of the only times that we all get together anymore and I know I can count on them to be there.

With growing families and a blessing of many friends, over the years, this party has grown to the point that our home can't quite handle the chaos.

This year, we made the difficult decision to only invite the "original group" and ask them to leave their wonderful children at home. This was especially hard for me because these are the same people who so openly welcomed me to bring Cassie to every possible event when she was a little girl. However, one child versus 6 or 7 makes a big difference . . . especially at dinnertime.

For the first time in a couple of years, I felt very in control of the planning and timing of this particular event and was able to enjoy conversation with good friends who I don't see nearly enough. This, to me, was such a special way to finish a week filled with good memories with friends and family.

The Menu:
Roast Turkey: Chris
Polenta Dome with Roasted Vegetables: Me

Autumn Salad: Tasha (coincidentally the same salad I made for Thanksgiving)
Tabbouli and Mashed Potatoes: Koryn and Suzi
Gran-Anne's Cranberry Walnut Dressing: Mom
Ed's Big Lasagne: Ed
Vegetarian Stuffing: Amy (who sadly couldn't join us this year because she was sick. She was so nice to send it with Suzi).
Creamed Spinach: Debbie
Apple Pie: Cassie

Tom and Mary brought some extra wine and Desha brought a yummy bottle of mint chocolate Bailey's.

Vegetarian Entree: Polenta Dome with Roasted Autumn Vegetables
(From Moosewood Celebrates)

Boil 4 C Vegetable Stock and 1 t Salt

Gradually pour in 2C cornmeal, stirring vigorously.

Reduce heat, stir frequently, until polenta a thick and cooked (should be firm but pourable)

Meanwhile:

Saute Until Carmelized (about 20 min)

2C Diced Onion

3 Garlic cloves, minced

1/2 t salt

Stir in and cook 3-4 min (add water if needed):

2 pounds Butternut Squash, peeled and grated

1T Fresh Sage, 2t Ground Fennel Seeds, 1/2 t Black Pepper

When ploenta is ready, stir in the vegetables. Add

1C Grated Cheddar

Pur polenta into an oiled 2 quart bowl and set aside to cool for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400

Turn cooled polenta onto ovenproof platter

Bake 30 minutes or until hot.

Roasted Autumn Vegetables

Prepare Marinade;

1/3C EVOO

2T Balsamic Vinegar

5 Garlic Loves, Minced

1/4t pepper

1/2t Salt

2 T Fresh Rosemary

Toss each of the following vegetables individually in the marinade:

1 large onion, quartered

3 carrots, halved lengthwise and cut in 2" pieces

2 Sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in bite sized pieces

3 Zucchini, quartered lengthwis and cut crosswise in 2" pieces

2 Red or Yellow Bell Peppers, in 2" pieces

10 oz baby portabellos, halved

6-8 cherry or grape tomatoes

Roast onions and carrots on oiled pan for 30 min at 450. Turn heat down to 400 and add remaining vegetables. Roast all for 15 minutes, stir and roast another 10-15 min until carmelized.

Place Polenta Dome in center of large platter and surround with roasted vegetables.

Happy Thanksgiving

What a lovely Hinnen Thanksgiving! On Tuesday after work, I went out to my dad's and stayed till after Thanksgiving dinner. My brother, Brenda, Margee Liz and Brenda's sister, Evelyn, came out with Cassie and my sister and Hee Ann drove out too.

It was so nice in the morning to look out to the woods and see a family of deer. On Wednesday, we had to stop the car to let about a dozen turkey cross the road. It was a very peaceful setting to gather the family. My dad lost his wife right before Thanksgiving last year so it was good that we could all be together and create happy memories in his new home. Cassie said the blessing which was simply beautiful. I felt so Thankful to be in the midst of this loving family.

The big news of the day is that Margee Liz is going to be a big sister. It was a joyous announcement.

Ben brought a Pumpkin Pie that he made at work and made the gravy. TJ made her famous mashed potatoes. Dad made the turkey. TJ and I made cornbread stuffing. I also made the Autumn Salad from Moosewood Celebrates and green beans with lemon, garlic and salt. Hee Ann commented that everything was homemade - his family just opens a can of gravy. Of course, we had the canned cranberry sauce.



Autumn Salad with Maple Mustard Dressing

SALAD
Salad Greens
Grapes
Fennel
Red Onion
Goat Cheese
Apple
Walnuts

DRESSING: (BTW this is my new absolute favorite dressing)

3T Maple Syrup
1 1/2T Dijon Mustard
6T Cider Vinegar
1 1/2T EVOO
Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper

Kansas City with the Virtual Veggies

I just had one of the best weekends! In March, I joined Weight Watchers and came across an online community of vegetarians. Within this wonderful group, is a Virtual Vegetarian thread. Women, like me, who are on weight watchers and who are mostly vegetarian.

This weekend, 8 of us got together in Kansas City and all met for the first time in person. I am so amazed and impressed with these women. We all got along so well with no drama or competitiveness. Conversation came easily and it was like we had known each other for years (no doubt because we have been "talking" daily for months. Even me, who is generally in bed at 10 was up laughing and talking till 1 a.m.

On Friday night, we went to dinner at a tapas restaurant. We shared a number of delectable dishes and 2 pitchers of sangria. We ventured into Kansas City downtown on Saturday and ate lunch at Eden Alley. They had wonderful homemade bread. We had a variety of meals like pumpkin enchiladas, mushroom spinach loaf with marinara, and sweet potato croquettes. They had an amazing bread pudding and the most luscious pumpkin pie with orange whipped cream. According to TxGeek who called to encourage a cookbook, there may be one in the far future. We spent the afternoon on the Plaza.


Saturday night was so much fun. After a shopping trip to Wild Oats, we prepared (from the Moosewood Cookbooks):

Smokey White Bean Soup
Samosas with Tamerind Dipping Sauce http://www.molliekatzen.com/show/samosas.php
Walnut Feta Pate
Salad with garam masala toasted walnuts

Wondering1 brought us some of her famous soy banana "cream" pie. yummm. . . she also brought a dairy one because of Klo's allergy.



It was so good to be away and spend time with new people who are all on similar journeys. It has been a long time since I had this much fun for a whole weekend. I feel like probably a minute didn't go by that I didn't have a smile on my face.