apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

It is going to be a scorcher of a day in Norther CA so we are grilling chicken breast with a honey lime glaze and serving with jasmine rice, fresh grilled green beans and maybe some fruit kabobs for dessert:)

We're having a cocktail party for about 30 guests tomorrow, so my husband and I have taken the day off work today to do as much prep as possible. There's lots of marinating (olives, chicken wings, steak) to be done, eggs to boil and their yolks to be blended with flavorings (half with wasabi and half with smoked trout), shrimp to poach and chill, homemade bloody mary-inspired cocktail sauce to mix up, cherries to be soaked in applejack, olives to be stuffed with blue cheese, citrus to be zested, wedged, juiced... you get the idea. We've been planning this for months, so I think we've got things under control... but tomorrow will be the test. Wish us luck!

jenblossom - Ok, so what time do we need to be there? Can I bring anything?

Wow jenblossom, all the best for your party tomorrow, the prep sounds delish!!!

Grant, I'm halfway through separating 10 lbs. of chicken wings into wings and drumettes... a new set of hands would be helpful! ;)

Sarah, thank you! This is really the first chance we've had to entertain more than one or two people in our apartment, so we are very excited.

Wow! I just discovered Apartment Therapy last week. I know Janel, one of the new Chicago editors, and went to the site and launch party. It's wonderful to have a Chicago branch and I hope you get at least one Chicago writer for The Kitchen--we really eat here!!!

Jenblossom,
Sounds like you are having a great party!!! Don't forget, once the guests get there, relax and enjoy and they will too.

Suzanne

So i went to the Real Market over at Delancey today and it was a bit of a dud. Granted it was the first day, but everything being sold was wildly overpriced ($5 for a half dozen eggs, anyone??) and a strange repackaging of what I can already find at Green Market in Union Square. That said, there were two fabulous self-described feminist archivists there wearing big white hats who were taking notes about everyone there--suffaragette chic.

Did anyone else go? What did you think?

I need to start rereading my comments before I post them. My second to last sentence contained three "theres!"

sweet, sweet shelling peas from the farmer's market! i have resisted snarfing them down raw (so delicious) but will hold out and cook them with pasta in stock with parm and maybe some prosciutto if i get around to buying any today....

made a humdinger of an arugula and mint pesto last night and lentil patties with the first tomatoes from our garden tonight...... good weekend of summer foods.... can't wait for peas.

Joy!

I discovered a local, sustainable, organic farm that produces grass-fed beef, and truly free-range chickens, turkeys, and ducks. Oh, yes and pork. And truly fantastic eggs. After I read "The Omnivore's Dilemma, I've been trying to find a farm like Polyface farm, described in the book. And there is one, less than a half-hour from where I live. Summer grilling has all kinds of new possibilities now....

chrisB, where is it? and if anyone knows where to get grass-fed beef in nyc, i'd love to hear about it!

liz - how about lobels? They are expensive for sure though.

Liz - we have been buying grass fed angus beef and grass fed bison from Elk Trails Farm at the Union Square Greenmarket. It's really delicious, amazing flavored meat.

Our cocktail party was a big hit, despite the starter on our oven dying, which I discovered as I was getting ready to broil the marinated beef I had made. My husband was able to grill that and some of the chicken wings, but we still have about 5 lbs. of them sitting in the fridge, uncooked! We did have plenty of food (and drink), and I think everyone had a good time. We're talking about making this an annual event.

Wow, congratulations jenblossom. Your party sounded incredible! I bet you and your husband feel a real sense of satisfaction, pulling off entertaining on that scale.

yep jenblossom, the greenmarkets are the way to go not just for grass fed beef and bison but for all sorts of healthier meats, eggs, etc

as for my weekend cooking, i made a cold tomato & lemon soup
it was insanely tasty and just the thing to combat this wicked heat!

Hey jenblossom, congrats on your successful party:) I guess we all know what you will be eating for the rest of the week.

We got fresh salmon from the farmers market on Saturday and grilled that last night on a cedar plank with fresh corn on the cob and a basic risotto, with fresh herbs and parm. It was soooo yummy, I will want to get salmon again and again this summer!!!

jenblossom, congrats on your party!
I'm sure you can freeze raw marinated chicken so you can cook it later. Well, just in case that helps in alleviating the extra chicken wings situation.

liz,
I live in the Ithaca area, a good ways from NYC, but if your ever up this way... Here is the website for the farm, if anyone is interested:

kingbirdfarm.com

They have a lot of interesting stuff on their site about organic farming.

Can someone offer a suggestion as to how to easily remove mineral buildup from wine glasses that have been through a dishwasher w/out having to resort to scraping it off with my fingernails which will take an eternity. I have better things to do w/my time, etc.

i'm pretty sure you can use vinegar to remove the build up, maybe diluted with a little water?
i'd do a quick google search or just bop over to martha to confirm it (i don't have a dishwashing machine, so, i'm not the best authority!)

Use denture cleaner to remove build up from wine glasses & decanters. That's right, I said Denture Cleaner, it's a great industry trick that always does the job. For severe cases use two or three tablets.

Ok, on the great food for hot weather tip, can someone explain fruit soup to me? I love gazpacho (which I suppose is technically a fruit soup) and I can get behind some sort of savory watermelon combination, but sweet fruit soups just seem like melted sorbet to me.

Am I wrong? Am I missing out on something great because of my skepticism?

annaliese, i think you're definitely missing out. an early food memory has my best friend and i, age 9, ordering strawberry soup at the soup restaurant that used to be on the spot that is now tartine (10th & W4th in NY -- great croque monsieur). we expected melted strawberry ice cream. we got strawberries with rich creme fraiche, the bite of black pepper and a sprinking of a fruity olive oil. the restaurant closed soon after (i think my best friend and i were the only patrons)but i drove my parents crazy talking about that soup for years afterward. start small and easy -- try watermelon soup with mint, salt & a drizzling of olive oil. sub peaches for the watermelon, maybe add a little cooked down balsamic. try blueberries blended with creme fraiche & cardamon. my experience suggests that staying away from the addition of sugar will have you feeling less like you're eating melted ice cream.

Thanks for the tip! I'll take your advice & give it a shot with either of those two options:)! I knew there'd be someone in here that would know!

The CSA program I'm participating in starts this weekend. Alas, nothing too exciting yet. The list is:

What's in this week's bag? (06/24/06)
- Red Oakleaf Lettuce
- Green Butterhead Lettuce
- Green Leaf Lettuce
- Spinach
- Swiss Chard

I guess I'll be eating some lettuce and trying out some swiss chard suggestions I recall reading here a while back.

Can't wait until harvest, yo!