July In Our Kitchen

Suffice it to say, the month of July has been action packed in our kitchen. Pull up a chair, pour yourself a lovely beverage and let me bring you up to date:

We (we being me and my sweet husband) were honored to be asked to provide the food for a celebration of life. Our friend had been ill for some time, but was able to take an active role in what sort of ceremonies and events would be held in his memory. He felt very strongly about having a celebration of life rather than a traditional funeral, complete with great food, a full bar and two live bands. This particular friend lived his life with style, flair and unbridled enthusiasm. He was, in short, always the life of the party, so it was fitting that a first rate party be thrown in his honor. It was, we felt, essential to present the best of the best of what we have to offer in the way of finger food. Oh, and did I mention anticipated attendance was around 300?

After much thought, review, more thought and further review the final menu consisted of:
• 47.7 pounds of pork butts (for miniature pulled pork sandwiches on Sister’s Schubert’s Parker House Style yeast rolls)
• 37 pounds of grilled bacon wrapped pork tenderloins for pork tenderloin sliders
• 12 pounds of mushrooms stuffed with cheddar, mozzarella, parmigiano reggiano and sausage
• 15 pounds of my husband’s famous shrimp dip
• 300 bacon wrapped jalapenos stuffed with Boursin garlic & herb cream cheese
• 10 pounds of bacon wrapped Lil’ Smokies in brown sugar
• 12 pounds of marinated cheese (sharp cheddar and cream cheese)
• 10 wedges of brie
• A mountain of assorted crackers
• 20 pounds of cantaloupe wedges wrapped in prosciutto
• 300 brownie bites with fudge buttercream frosting (our friend preferred his brownies frosted)
• 300 lemon squares
• 40 pounds of steamed shrimp (provided by a local restaurant)

To say this kept us busy for a while would be an understatement! With tireless sous cheffing and loving support from our dear friends Angela and Faithe, we were able to pull it off and get rave reviews in the process. (Not to mention several requests for recipes and inquiries as to how to reach of us for future engagements!)

Just as we were recovering from this soiree, good news/bad news arrived in our kitchen. The good news: our new Jenn-Air Dual Fuel Range was delivered and installed. The bad news: it’s smarter than we are. With steely determination, and the owner’s manual firmly in hand, we set about making the most of the stove of our dreams. Turns out everything everyone has told us about cooking with gas is absolutely true. We saw an immediate difference in everything from my sweet husband’s grits (the man makes the best grits in the world, with or without the Jenn-Air, but the flame control really upped the ante on consistency) to black beans and rice. It’s become very difficult to leave the kitchen; we just want to keep trying more things to see what a difference the Jenn-Air makes.

I suppose it’s to be expected that this awesome new piece of equipment would start me thinking not only what we can improve upon, but what else can we do that we hadn’t done before. New possibilities for gifts from the kitchen immediately came to mind. In fact, I must confess, I’ve already started testing new recipes for that very purpose.

If you need to find us, we’ll be in the kitchen.