Make Reasons to Celebrate!

My daughter, Roxy, and I had afternoon tea at the Beehive Tea Room today. Talk about fun! The decor was eclectic, the food was amazing, and the ambiance was dreamy. I had a bowl of vegetarian split pea soup and the house specialty cocoa. Roxy had spinach quiche, a salad, and also the cocoa. (I know, not exactly TEA; next time.)

As we chatted, Roxy was telling me about her frustration at the lack of dating going on in her life and amongst her circle of girlfriends.
Being the proactive gal that she is, she's decided she's going to hold monthly "soirees," and the qualification for anyone invited (males that is), is to BRING A DATE! (In case you don't know--I didn't--a soiree is a party where guests are carefully chosen. The name is what makes the whole thing so hoity toity.) Very cool idea, huh?


I think this plan has all sorts of possibilities and we talked about a couple--one being a Soiree How-To book with recipes included. So with my interest piqued, I went online to look for soiree-appropriate recipes, because I think it would be really fun to hold a family soiree from time to time. All invited guests would be asked to contribute something to the refreshments table.

Here are a few ideas I found that were reported to be very popular (not just because they are tasty, but they are also easy to prepare):

• For warm weather soirees, fresh raspberry lemonade with ice cubes made with pureed raspberries.
• Mango, strawberry, grape, kiwi fruit cups.
• Following the latest trend in treats, CUPCAKES of all sorts and sizes--the more decorated and gooey, the better.
• And in keeping with the sophisticated name of the event--soiree--all sorts of exotic cheeses and crackers.

These are just a few ideas to get us started. But the one thing I know, if we serve things the family doesn't typically see at our table, the more of a WOWEE! impact we'll have and the more memorable the evening could be. Do you have special party recipes or ideas? If so, let us know--we're all in this together, so let's share. There could be dozens of reasons to celebrate, and we could start with the arrival of Spring. A soiree could be just the way to do it! So until next time, here's to one awesome soiree, and of course, here's to happy cook'n!

National Soup Swap Day: Party ON!

Last week (Jan. 12), I talked about how wintertime is the perfect time to hold a Soup Party. Since then readers have responded telling me that Jan. 23 is National Soup Swap Day (this is a neat website.) So besides the fact that the weather is darn nasty (in most places), now we have another great reason to cook up some soup.

Let's do this: Let's get with a few neighbors or family members and create this Soup Swap--think of the possibilities. For one, this could turn into a fun tradition. For another, this could be a great way to serve--have everyone make extra to take to someone that could use a little extra TLC right now.




Here are some Seattle Soup Swappers from last year's Soup Swap.







To get us started, here's my all-time favorite soup recipe, courtesy of my Aunt Annie (one of the most amazing cooks I ever knew!):

CREAMY CHEESY POTATO SOUP WITH SHRIMP AND GREEN ONIONS (serves 4-6)
I should probably rename this easy-to-make and delectable soup:

1 (8 ox) pkg cream cheese
1/2 C butter
1 C chopped green onions
2 (10.75 oz) cans Cream of Potato Soup
1 (15.25 oz) can whole kernel corn (I've used frozen as well)
1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1/2 to 1 C milk
1 lb cooked shrimp

In soup pot, slowly melt cream cheese and butter over low heat. Add green onions and simmer 10-15 minutes. Stir in potato soup, corn, and parsley. Simmer another 10-15 minutes. Stir in milk to desired consistency, starting with 1/2 C and add more if needed. Add shrimp and heat thoroughly.

I'm dying to hear what you think of this recipe, so make it up, swap away, and get back to me. Also, do YOU have a good soup recipe you could share? Please do--let's spread the good stuff around, and until next time, happy cook'n!

A BIG HIGH-FIVE to Wisconsin Cheese!

While standing in line in the deli department of Kohler's Saturday, I glanced around and saw some leaflets by the cheese display. "Wisconsin Cheese Football Headquarters" was the name of this little jewel and am I glad I snagged it. Don't you just love freebies--especially when they're really useful?

This leaflet had a couple recipes you'll really want to try:

BEAN-BACON SANDWICH (serves 4)
1 (8 1/2 oz) pkg cornbread mix
Dijon mustard
3 C canned baked beans
4 slices bacon, fried crisp
1/4 C sweet onion, chopped and crumbled
1/4 C parsley, chopped
1 1/2 C (6 oz) Wisconsin Brick Cheese, shredded (we both know any brand cheese will work)

Prepare the cornbread in an 8x8-inch baking pan as directed on the package. Cool. Divide cornbread into four 4-inch squares. Slice each horizontally. Place squares, cut side up on baking sheet. Spread with Dijon mustard. Meanwhile, heat beans to boiling. Spoon generous 1/3 C of hot beans on each cornbread square. Sprinkle with bacon, onion and parsley. Sprinkle squares with the cheese. Place under preheated broiler 1-2 minutes. Place 2 squares of each on 4 plates. Yum!

BUFFALO WINGS WITH BLUE CHEESE DIPPING SAUCE (serves 6)
2 1/2 to 3 lbs chicken wings
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 Tbsp hot-pepper sauce
1 tsp paprika
2/3 C (4 oz) Wisconsin Blue Cheese, crumbled (again, any brand will work)
2/3 C sour cream
4 tsp white wine vinegar
3 Tbsp green onions, finely chopped and divided
1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
1 to 2 Tbsp milk
3 celery stalks, cut into sticks

Preheat broiler. Cut off wing tips; discard. Split wings at joint. Place in 1-gallon resealable plastic bag. Combine oil, hot pepper sauce and paprika. Pou8r over chicken, turning to coat pieces evenly. Marinate while making dipping sauce. In small bowl, combine blue cheese and sour cream. Stir in vinegar, 2 Tbsp green onions and pepper. Whisk in 1 to 2 Tbsp milk until sauce is smooth. (Or pulse in food processor.) Sprinkle top with remaining green onions. Refrigerate if not using immediately. Broil wings 10-15 minutes, turning occasionally until crisp and cooked through. Remove to platter and sprinkle with a few more dashes hot pepper sauce, if desired. Serve with celery sticks and Blue Cheese Dipping Sauce. WOW!

If you've been looking for something fun and a little unique to serve at your upcoming Super Bowl party, these two goodies could just be it. Now do YOU have any easy and fool-proof, crowd-pleasing recipes you could share with our readers? We're all in this together, remember. Meanwhile, thanks for reading and happy cook'n!

Wintertime is the Perfect Time for a SOUP PARTY

We're in what social scientists call the "BLAHS" part of the year--the holidays and all its hoopla is over, the weather (in most parts of the country) is not the greatest (down right nasty where we are), and we're dealing with cabin fever (if you're a gardener, you know what I mean).

So you know what we need to do? We need to capitalize on this situation--let's have a party! And since it's wintertime, let's do soups! Doesn't a soup potluck sound fun? I'm going to call my favorite neighbors and divvy up soup assignments, breads/rolls, and desserts. I'll provide a nice tossed salad.

So if you like this idea, make those calls, set the table, and let's party! In the meantime, do you have a favorite soup recipe you could share? I'd love to know what YOU are cooking. Can't have too many good recipes--and that's the beauty of the Cook'n software, we know what to do with 'em now! (Which, by the way, seems to me like a terrific use of this BLAH time we're in--I'm going to enter some more recipes in my program!) And 'til we chat again, happy cook'n!