'tis the season for a birthday! Which means its appetizer night....again. And, despite what you might think, this is awesome! This has been the ritual for my older sister for the past 8 years.....a smorgasbord of appetizers to have as dinner, this of course is accompanied with a barrage of wine, spirits and beer. My family has a tradition of celebrating each persons birthday at my parents house, which involves careful planning of the birthdayer's favorite meal or in many cases, craving of the week ranging from "make your own pizza's" to crab Louie salad (a personal favorite).
My sister has been know for fully expressing the indecisive gene that runs in our family, and simply wants a little of EVERYTHING! I completely agree and am always pleasantly relieved to nibble on a little of this and a little of that. My favorite moment is when I look at something that is particularly delectable and think to myself "Oh baby, YESSSSS!" Sadly, I can tune out the entire world around me for just that one second and savor all the wild flavors.
*NOTE* For anyone reading this right now and thinking that I'm completely out of my gourd, you need to go rent PIXAR's Ratatouille and watch the scene where Remy describes the flavor sensations to his brother Emile. Then you might appreciate this. Plus, how can you not like a skinny kid named Linguini. Here's a trailer to peak your interest.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3sBBRxDAqk
My sister has been know for fully expressing the indecisive gene that runs in our family, and simply wants a little of EVERYTHING! I completely agree and am always pleasantly relieved to nibble on a little of this and a little of that. My favorite moment is when I look at something that is particularly delectable and think to myself "Oh baby, YESSSSS!" Sadly, I can tune out the entire world around me for just that one second and savor all the wild flavors.
*NOTE* For anyone reading this right now and thinking that I'm completely out of my gourd, you need to go rent PIXAR's Ratatouille and watch the scene where Remy describes the flavor sensations to his brother Emile. Then you might appreciate this. Plus, how can you not like a skinny kid named Linguini. Here's a trailer to peak your interest.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3sBBRxDAqk
The above was written in the planning phase of her birthday and the appetizer throw-down was changed to the homely choice of chili, cornbread and beer. As much as I love chili and southern style cornbread, which is slightly sweetened and served with a generous pat of butter and honey, there was something lost in the ritualistic waves of food constantly streaming from the oven and my mom smiling as she sets another carefully planned item down on the counter for eagerly awaiting mouths. But all was not lost, the chili was more than I could have asked for. Loaded with green and red peppers, onions, various beans, local Shelburne Farms beef, and enough spices to last most people a year. It was food to feed the soul. The cornbread was its usual greatness, slightly sweet, crumbly and moist. Yes MOIST! I have come to find that a large number of people hate that word with a passion, but I'm going to use it so be warned. Finally the beer was great, all Dogfish Head, which if you haven't ever tried you are seriously missing out. However, it does pack a punch and each brew could be deemed a meal on its own.
Now we arrive at dessert. This is something that I have been told I can be overly critical about, but being a foodie I think that comes with the territory. In my opinion, dessert is one of the most important bites of the meal. This is your last attempt (as a host or cook) at trying to seal the deal with the diner. No matter how horrible the meal was, you still have the power to leave that person with a positive lasting impression. And if the meal was epic than all you have done is further ingrained your awesomeness. The best approach is to keep it simple! Use flavors and textures that people are familiar with and just do it right. Aside from the indecisive gene, I have the over the top extravaganza gene as well. Thanks mom and dad - you are both to blame for that one :) This has caused more stress in my life than anything else, and I'm the only one to fault for that.
For this meal, my sister did stay with the tradition of MUD PIE, and not the kind your kids make, but good 'ol chocolate crumb crust, B&J's ice cream and fudge. It sounds super simple, and it is. Ice cream is a staple in most peoples freezer, and who doesn't like a crumbly chocolate crust and to top it all off, a nice layer of fudge over the top. If you feel that this is beneath you, then by all means jazz it up. Maybe make a chocolate lace tuile cup, make your own premium ice cream and Kahlua-fudge sauce. But in the end this is just as good and takes a total of 15 minutes (minus freezing time) to create. This is a first for me, usually I never go by the amount of time something takes, I'm the one that wants to create each component and slave over the oven all day long for one menu item. However, now that I have somehow managed to sign myself up for multiple jobs, volunteering opportunities etc, I seriously am beginning to appreciate time saving techniques and recipes that are just down-right good and quick. So see for yourself and I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised.
Unclassy Mud Pie
1 Oreo chocolate pie crust
2 pints Ben & Jerry's Ice cream (personal favorites are coffee health bar crunch and New York Super Fudge chunk)
Your favorite fudge sauce
1. Soften one ice cream and spread evenly in pie crust.
2. Freeze until hard.
3. Soften second ice cream and spread evenly in pie crust over first ice cream.
4. Freeze until hard.
5. Warm fudge until liquidy but not overly hot.
6. Pour over ice cream in an even pool.
7. Freeze until ready to eat. Some people like whipped cream with this, but honestly I feel that putting cream on top of cream just begins to be too much. But every party has a pooper so don't let me influence you.
Now we arrive at dessert. This is something that I have been told I can be overly critical about, but being a foodie I think that comes with the territory. In my opinion, dessert is one of the most important bites of the meal. This is your last attempt (as a host or cook) at trying to seal the deal with the diner. No matter how horrible the meal was, you still have the power to leave that person with a positive lasting impression. And if the meal was epic than all you have done is further ingrained your awesomeness. The best approach is to keep it simple! Use flavors and textures that people are familiar with and just do it right. Aside from the indecisive gene, I have the over the top extravaganza gene as well. Thanks mom and dad - you are both to blame for that one :) This has caused more stress in my life than anything else, and I'm the only one to fault for that.
For this meal, my sister did stay with the tradition of MUD PIE, and not the kind your kids make, but good 'ol chocolate crumb crust, B&J's ice cream and fudge. It sounds super simple, and it is. Ice cream is a staple in most peoples freezer, and who doesn't like a crumbly chocolate crust and to top it all off, a nice layer of fudge over the top. If you feel that this is beneath you, then by all means jazz it up. Maybe make a chocolate lace tuile cup, make your own premium ice cream and Kahlua-fudge sauce. But in the end this is just as good and takes a total of 15 minutes (minus freezing time) to create. This is a first for me, usually I never go by the amount of time something takes, I'm the one that wants to create each component and slave over the oven all day long for one menu item. However, now that I have somehow managed to sign myself up for multiple jobs, volunteering opportunities etc, I seriously am beginning to appreciate time saving techniques and recipes that are just down-right good and quick. So see for yourself and I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised.
Unclassy Mud Pie
1 Oreo chocolate pie crust
2 pints Ben & Jerry's Ice cream (personal favorites are coffee health bar crunch and New York Super Fudge chunk)
Your favorite fudge sauce
1. Soften one ice cream and spread evenly in pie crust.
2. Freeze until hard.
3. Soften second ice cream and spread evenly in pie crust over first ice cream.
4. Freeze until hard.
5. Warm fudge until liquidy but not overly hot.
6. Pour over ice cream in an even pool.
7. Freeze until ready to eat. Some people like whipped cream with this, but honestly I feel that putting cream on top of cream just begins to be too much. But every party has a pooper so don't let me influence you.
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