apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I'm having some friends over for dinner Sunday night. I was trying to come up with a menu that's sort of winter pointing towards spring, but something that's easy to make and quick to clean up since I have a busy weekend.

I'm thinking beet and blood orange salad from 101Cookbooks and ministrone soup and homemade granita for dessert.

i'm having a birthday soiree tonight but i went the easy route: chips, salsa + guac (from the barefoot contessa cookbook), pita chips + tzatziki, mini spinach pies (thanks, costco!), veggie pigs-in-a-blanket (thanks, pilsbury crescent rolls!) and a drink my friend calls "moscow mule", involving vodka, lime, bitters, gingerale and a slice of cucumber. at least that sounds a little spring-y!

oh, also, i'm still trying to make the porchetta recipe (which is so not spring-y) that guido posted last week. guido -- where do you buy that cut of pork? you're in nyc, right? i'm having a tough time finding it...

I dont know exactly what cut of pork you are looking for, but I've found when butchers fail (Lobels/Franks/Citrella/Fairway/etc) check out Western Beef. They tend to cut up their own meats in the back and as long as you go during a time when the Meat department is open, one of the workers can usually get you any cut you'd like.

chris
if you're looking for a starch for your meal, might i recommend the smashed peas and potatoes from the latest issue of gourmet
i made it last weekend (posted about it too, click my name for the butt ugly picture and my slightly modified recipe)
it was AMAZING! and had one foot in winter, and another foot in spring
highly highly HIGHLY recomended!!!

abby, I got mine at the park slope food coop, but that's a member-operated joint. If you're in Brooklyn, Staubitz in Carroll Gardens or Eagle Provisions on Fifth Ave and 20th St.
or any of those Italian pork stores I guess

I was a vegetarian when I lived in Manhattan . . .
but it's just a shoulder roast so I'm surprised it's giving you a problem.

oooo
there's also the Flying Pigs guys at the farmer's market - Union Sq AND Grand Army Plaza, Bklyn
they have vedddy high quality stuff

Chris, I made a modified version of that salad a while back - it's SO good. Experimenting with it eventually led me to the classic beet/goat cheese combination. I was like, everyone else has KNOWN about this? And no one TOLD me?

Also, brief side note: I told someone (Luke?) last week I would post the recipe I used for banana chocolate muffins. It's here: http://www.mekuno.net/archives/2006/03/what_to_do_with.htm

thanks, guido. i actually live in dumbo so i've only looked in brooklyn heights supermarkets so far, and they don't really have great butchers there. my sister-in-law is a member of the food co-op so maybe i can talk her into going for me, although she's a vegetarian so i doubt she's going to want to pick up a giant hunk of pork. if not, i'll go try one of those other places...

warm weather..makes me want to make a pitcher of Zombies to share with friends.
here's my recipe for Zombies. I usually just go by eye so it's all approximate measures; you'll have to go by your own taste - lots of tasting to get it right is recommended! :))

Into a pitcher:
1/3 cup of grenadine
1 cup of white rum
1 cup of dark rum
1 cup of gold rum
4 cups of pineapple juice
6 cups of orange juice
a squeeze of half a lime (optional)
a slight top layer, in each glass, of overproof rum (optional)

Serve over ice cubes in a glass and enjoy!

Ah, so much talk about the food co-op. I'm starting to realize that walking to Urban Organic every Friday night to pick up my box, then walking home, and deciding if I want the box or not and phoning in my changes is about as much work as acutally working in the co-op itself. Maybe Guido can put in a good word for me and help me get back in? :-)

I get great cuts of pork from the A&S Butcher on 5th Avenue in Park Slope. You can call and order ahead so you don't need to wait in line. I really like their domestic procuttio too.

Ann -- the potato/pea mash you recommend is really interesting. A few weeks back I made an Nigella recipe where you mashed up peas in thyme oil as a bed for scallops.

i wish i could be outside this weekend! it looks beautiful. i'm jealous of all you frolicking in the sun!
i'm catering a tea party tomorrow and am stuck inside baking. lots of scones, petit fours, madeleines, little tea sandwiches, a raspberry mousse cake, an orange/grand marnier charlotte, and other springy things!

Ok, so I have an interesting dilemma that I hope you all can help me with. Last weekend, while at Costco, I spied a gallon-size tin of roasted red peppers. I thought I'd try the recent Bon Appetit recipe for red pepper soup that uses jarred peppers, so I was all set to go.

Except that I misread the label. I bought a gallon of sliced red and green peppers. Mostly green. This explains the $3.50 price tag.

Aside from freezing the green peppers to later toss in pasta sauces and soup, what I can do with a gallon of no-longer-crispy sliced green bell peppers? Any thoughts?

me
what about pepper relish??
basically, sautee onions and garlic, add some peeled tomatoes add the peppers and coooook
i like to add some hot chiles too
in the end, you can puree them, then can them and use like spaghetti sauce, or for dipping bread
i'd just use the whole damn can of peppers to make a huge batch, and then spread the love by giving jars of them to your friends