Carpe Diem

Project Food Blog #3: "Luxury Dinner Party"

Fri, 01 Oct 2010 18:44:00 -0400

I made it to Round 3! I made it to Round 3!

What a week! It was amazing to be on TV (but I didn’t plug my blog… DAMN!) and honestly, I am beyond exhausted from a weekend of perfecting the recipe and then getting up early to serve it all on live TV. It was SUCH an honor to serve my dessert to Gail Simmons (who is even nicer and down to earth than she appears!) and Johnny Iuzzini (who was as douchey as he looked, but still relatively nice) and, of course, Wendy (but HOW COULD SHE CALL MY BROWNIES DRY?!?!) It was such a blast, though. I’m not overly upset I didn’t win. It was just fun to have the opportunity.

But I DID advance to Round 3. And with Round 3 comes another challenge: Throw a luxury dinner party. Now in my mind, any time I can get together with my family and cook for them, that’s a luxury. And when it happens to be for my and my dad’s birthdays (we were born on the same date), it’s a SUPER LUXURY. So what to write about this time was a no-brainer. My sister has also moved back home from North Carolina, so it’s still quite the luxury that she can come over for dinner these days.

We started our dinner with the corn fritters that we enjoyed a few weeks ago. Since I already blogged at length about those, here is just a shot of the prep with the beautiful colors.

I asked my dad what he wanted to eat for bday dinner and he said SCHNITZEL. So Schnitzel it was. I decided to make both veal and turkey (since my picky sister won’t eat veal).

We decided to fry them in a pan with butter (SO not diet friendly… but the only way to make it just right) and then finished cooking it in the oven so it stayed moist yet was perfectly browned.

We saw the idea for making a crispy caulflower in Tasting Table and decided it would be the perfect way to finish the meal.

I wanted to make a sauce to go with the schnitzel and had fresh lemon leftover from the cauliflower. So I combined lemon with mayo and it made for a delicious citrus cut to the fried veal (and turkey).

It was a GREAT meal and everyone really enjoyed it.

We took a break between dinner and dessert for PRESENTS!

We asked dad what he wanted and he told us he needed a kayak skirt for his new kayak (the skirt goes around your waist in the kayak and keeps water out). We didn’t want to pick one out for him, so we gave it to him in a more creative way:

And then I got a present that I was so excited about that I even hugged it for the picture:

(this would be the aforementioned slow cooker I used in my last PFB post)

I had been plotting dessert for a few weeks and knew I HAD to try to make my Grandmother’s meringue torte. In my mind, this is one of those things that sticks out as quintessentially Grandma. A few years ago, she kept trying to make this cake again and it just never worked. She couldn’t figure out why, so I went into this fully expecting it to fail. Her problem with it was that it would somehow separate and all the sugar would stick to the bottom, so she’d have to make a trifle with meringue pieces. But I had to conquer this meringue… in her honor.

She used to stuff it with slightly cooked fruit, but I NYC Nom Nomified it a little and added balsamic to strawberries. Nom Nom Nom.

One of the first things Grandma taught me in the kitchen was how to perfectly peak egg whites to make meringue. I remember she had to pull a stool up to the counter so I could press the button the Kitchenaid to turn it on and watch her make it. (In the next few days, I will be posting my first ever VIDEO BLOG that shows how to make this recipe… STAY TUNED!)

You have to pour it into a spring form, cook it on low heat for an hour and a half, then turn off the oven and crack the door and leave it over night. When I went to get it the next morning, I was nervous… but it turned out pretty much PERFECT. And, as it turns out, a hollow forms underneath so I could flip it over and had a perfect place to lay out the fruit.

Which is then topped with homemade schlag (whipped cream).

And then decorated with sliced strawberries.

The strawberries were so beautiful and fresh.

I was so excited when it worked out. And it tasted JUST as good as I remembered it.

I know I made Grandma pround.

_____________________________________
RECIPES
_________________________________

Wienerschnitzel (AKA Schnitzel)

Ingredients:

2 pounds turkey or veal
1 cup flour
4 eggs, beaten
4 cups bread crumbs (this might be excessive… add as needed)
Salt & Pepper
Butter
Olive Oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
Place turkey or veal between 2 layers of saran wrap and pound until 1/4 inch thin or less (wine bottles work surprising well for the pounding part when you don’t have a meat hammer)
Season with salt and pepper
Place flour, eggs, and breadcrumbs in 3 separate, shallow bowls
Dredge turkey/veal in flour
Dip into eggs
Coat with breadcrumbs
Heat large pan and add butter
Place coated turkey/veal in pan (it should sizzle) and cook until just browned (DO NOT OVERCOOK!)
Place all turkey/veal cutlets onto a sprayed baking sheet (or lined with a Silpat)
Bake for 6-8 minutes until cooked through

_____________________________

For the cauliflower recipe, click here.

For the corn fritter recipe, click here.

And for the meringue recipe… you will just have to wait until the video blog comes up. :)

Vote for IN TENSION

Fri, 16 Apr 2010 12:57:39 -0400

Vote for IN TENSION:

helikesit:

my brother’s band in in contention for a huge Battle of the Bands win! Please vote for his band and check out their music!

Vote for Mike’s brother!! You don’t have to register, just click on IN TENSION

helikesit: may be the best thing i’ve ever seen YES

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:37:04 -0500

helikesit:

may be the best thing i’ve ever seen

YES

helikesit: cartoon explanation of why Health Care Reform is...

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 16:24:20 -0400

helikesit:

cartoon explanation of why Health Care Reform is good

If someone intelligent can explain to me what is wrong with the health care reform without using words like “socialism,” “Hitler,” and “death panels,” I would appreciate a smart discussion on the topic.

allcreatures: 20 Freakishly Large Animals For you Mike…...

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 10:33:52 -0400

allcreatures:

20 Freakishly Large Animals

For you Mike… think it’s the same one?

This one hits pretty close to home! Comics and Editorial...

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 15:42:38 -0400

This one hits pretty close to home!
Comics and Editorial Cartoons: Dilbert on Yahoo! News

helikesit: WOO! featurette about Where the Wild Things Are! I...

Fri, 24 Jul 2009 16:17:23 -0400

helikesit:

WOO! featurette about Where the Wild Things Are!

I had no idea so many people loved Where the Wild Things Are as much as I did!

Red Lobster Cheddar Cheese Biscuits | The Wendy Williams Show

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 11:24:15 -0400

Red Lobster Cheddar Cheese Biscuits | The Wendy Williams Show:

Filing this recipe for later!

Premiering Monday!

Sat, 11 Jul 2009 23:18:26 -0400

Premiering Monday!:

helikesit:

check us out Live on Monday July 13th!

*thanks for the article PB!

Tune into the Wendy Williams Show at 10am on Monday, July 13th for the premiere show! Mike is working on it and it’s going to be big!

Close up of my finished back right after

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 13:29:00 -0400

Close up of my finished back right after

Stacey and I with our finished Maple Seeds for Grandpa

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 13:28:32 -0400

Stacey and I with our finished Maple Seeds for Grandpa

For Grandpa

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:39:24 -0400

I’m thinking a lot about my Grandpa lately. Sunday was Father’s Day and as I looked up at the violin sculpture on my wall that morning I couldn’t help but think about how much I miss him. Today, however, my sister and I are going to get tattoos to celebrate his life and what he meant to us. Ever the nature lover, my grandfather taught us all about the outdoors, but he had a special place in his heart for maple seeds that he spun into helicopters and stuck to our noses and called us Pinocchio. He even made a sculpture of my sister with one on her nose. It is for this reason that we are both getting maple seeds made into artwork and he will live forever on a little piece of us.

Four years ago we had a memorial service to celebrate his life (rather than mourn his death). It was a really great memorial and I wrote a speech that I still think brings him to life in the best way I know how. I found the rough draft of it, and while I forget exactly what I changed for the final, I still think it’s perfect:

_____________________________________________________________

I feel extremely fortunate. I was able to spend nearly 23 years being entertained and educated by a man of quiet greatness and genius. A man who left his mark on everyone he met (so much so that we’re at standing room only in here).

My time with Professor Grandpa started with songs about rainbows and stories about trips to the moon. Then it was how to sculpt an entire circus out of pipe cleaners and science experiments by Tommy’s Pond. He then taught me how to make an armature so that my clay sculptures had a skeleton and there was a great day of throwing clay down the stairs to learn how gravity worked (just don’t tell Grandma!). Next it was making plaster casts out of our hands and trips to the museum where I learned much more than was ever written on the placards. Later it was talks of science and psychology, physics and the paranormal, constellations and Pablo Picasso.

My Grandpa wasn’t like everyone else’s Grandpa. He wasn’t old. He didn’t sit around and watch TV all day. He had a sculpture studio in his garage and fishing poles ready and waiting to go. He went on trips to foreign countries and knew all about dinosaur bones and fossils. My Grandpa was cool.

If you walked into Grandpa’s garage, faces and hands of his family and closest friends surrounded you. Sure they were stone, clay, and plaster, but they were full of life. They were full of life because they were full of Grandpa. We would sit in that garage and eat pretzel rods while Grandpa would show me his latest project. He would explain all the tools and what he was doing and let me smush his clay for him while he worked to keep it soft. On my lucky days, he’d let me make the ball of clay that would become uncle Neil’s eye ball or push in the nostril on Aunt Linda’s head. He always made sure I had an important job to help him with. I still look into his garage with wonder. He fascinated me, he still does, and I know he always will.

Grandpa opened up worlds to me. I can trace so many of my current fascinations to my Grandfather. There were always new books in the library and I used to run my hands across all those leather spines and hope that some day, I could have a library like Grandpa’s and I could be big and smart enough to read books like he did. He was always so curious about the world around him and he never stopped reading and absorbing new information. I believe his most important lesson to me was to never, ever stop learning.

I’m sure most of you know of Grandpa’s nose game. A quick refresher to anyone who doesn’t: First you take your trusty nose pusher [show everyone a pointed finger and demonstrate], then you push your nose to stick out your tongue, pull your right ear to make your tongue go right, then your left ear to send it left, and then pull your chin to suck it in. Now if everyone could please pull out their trusty nose pusher. Let’s remember my Grandpa the way he’d want to be remembered… with love in our hearts, curiosity in our minds, and a smile on our faces… [lead everyone in Grandpa’s nose game]

allcreatures: numbersixspeaks: bebelestrange: thewayoftheworld...

Thu, 07 May 2009 15:13:28 -0400

allcreatures:

numbersixspeaks:

bebelestrange:

thewayoftheworld:

Devil’s Flower Mantis (Idolomantis Diabolica)

Don’t ask me why… but I am in LOVE with this bug. If I were a superhero, I would make my costume based on this for artistic direction.

via cdn-www.dailypuppy.com <3 the Daily Puppy: WANT

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 09:58:21 -0400

via cdn-www.dailypuppy.com

<3 the Daily Puppy: WANT

allcreatures: litsakouzina: audiogasm: nob: isis2 (via...

Wed, 25 Mar 2009 16:41:53 -0400

allcreatures:

litsakouzina:

audiogasm: nob: isis2 (via badpainter) ..streeeech…

moorewr’s animal reblog service strikes again!

My feelings exactly

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE TRAILER (From FilmDrunk: Movie news for grizzled sea captains)

Wed, 25 Mar 2009 14:47:18 -0400

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE TRAILER (From FilmDrunk: Movie news for grizzled sea captains)

itscreation: Twouble with Twitters (via Current) As for...

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 20:39:21 -0400

itscreation:

Twouble with Twitters (via Current)

As for Twitter: still… don’t… get it. I don’t care if that makes me an embarassment to my profession! But this amazing vid from CurrentTV just makes it a little bit better.

(via fuckyeahpuppies) FuckYeahPuppies

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 18:35:37 -0400

(via fuckyeahpuppies)

FuckYeahPuppies

allcreatures: crowth: CNN: The animal was last seen clinging...

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 14:12:20 -0400

allcreatures:

crowth:

CNN:

The animal was last seen clinging on the foam of the external tank of the space shuttle moments before the Discovery launched, officials said.

NASA officials had hoped the bat would fly away on its own, but admitted the bat probably died quickly during Discovery’s climb into orbit.

This bat had a dream. It was going to reach for the stars, or die trying. What a way to go. Bravo space bat, bravo.

(via pterodactyls)

Never forget to dream!

allcreatures: Goffin Cockatoo at 1 month old, by nybird I...

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 11:55:17 -0400

allcreatures:

Goffin Cockatoo at 1 month old, by nybird

I have always found baby birds so interesting… ugly yet cute.