The Gravy Train

martha, can you hear me?

Above: the breakfast table at my friend Melanie's bridal shower

I'm really excited to finally share with you a project I've had in the works for a few months now.  My dear friend Melanie is getting married this coming April in Louisiana, and last year, right after she got engaged, she asked me to be her matron of honor.  (It actually pains me a little to call myself a "matron."  I feel like I should be wearing my hair in a tight bun and shushing people.)

Anyway, last weekend I went to New York City without the Gravy Baby and the hubby to celebrate one of Melanie's last weekends of singlehood.  I chose the theme of our weekend, "A Heartthrob Weekend" based on a long-standing interest that Melanie and I share: celebrity crushes.  No, I'm not kidding.  Ever since college, Melanie and I have crushed on everyone from Joshua Jackson to Freddie Prinze , Jr. to our latest, Ryan Gosling.  There's a meme on the internet where people will take smoldering images of Ryan Gosling and impose them with the phrase "Hey Girl" followed by some utterly hilarious, sensitive-type slogans. 

First, I worked with the excellent design team at Mac & Murphy, a local paper store here in Charleston, to help design a girly yet tongue-in-cheek invitation that would set the tone of the weekend.  They came up with the invitation, and then I took it from there, incorporating Melanie's wedding colors of yellow, aqua and gold.

Top left: the buffet table set up with homemade granola; top right: my jalapeno pimento cheese dip; bottom left: lace doily cupcake liners hold red velvet cupcakes from the bride's favorite bakery, Buttercup Bakeshop; bottom right: these little tissue pom poms are trickier than they look

It's not easy to host a shower at the bride's apartment when I don't live anywhere near New York, but I took all of the decorations for the event in my carry-on suitcase, and roasted some homemade granola that traveled easily and, when paired with Greek yogurt and raspberries, could become an easy brunch dish. 

The hardest part of getting everything ready, as it turned out, was fluffing the tissue paper pom-poms.  Popularized by party hostess and craftmaker extraordinaire Martha Stewart , I have to admit that I took shortcuts -- I ordered mine premade from Etsy.  I figured that if someone helped me with actually putting them together, I could fluff them in minutes and set them up for a beautiful big splash of color in Melanie and her fiance's apartment.

Paper straws with flags that say "Yay, Melanie!" and "Hey Girl!" on the other side

Not so.  Making tissue pom-poms look fancy and perfectly round is tougher than it looks, and I spent more minutes than I'd lik to admit quietly stressing over tissue pom poms.  Yes, I am aware of how ridiculous this sounds now, but you have to understand that in the moment it seemed so mission critical.   Thanks to the Youtube ingenuity of another Asian-American bride, we found a helpful video that guided us to better pom-poms.  

Top: Melanie's Ryan Gosling postcards; bottom: the Gocco'ed second line hankies hanging to dry

If you've followed my blog over the past few years, you know that no wedding I'm involved in can pass without my Gocco printing machine being involved.  This time, I found Melanie a gocco'ed Ryan Gosling postcard to write her a congratulatory wedding message.  After the shower, we spent the afternoon Gocco'ing handkerchiefs for the second line parade that will happen after Melanie and Troy's reception.   After Melanie and I finalized the design, I made three screens to print the design in gold ink onto 22 dozen handkerchiefs.  That may sound like a daunting task, but it was actually one of the easiest Gocco projects I've ever tackled (bear in mind, I printed an entire wedding invitation suite while sweating and eight months pregnant in Malaysia).

We ended our night at Peel's NYC, a restaurant where Ryan Gosling was once photographed eating alone.  Melanie wore her hearthrob lockets (yes, she owns two, and no, they were not made for this particular occasion), and the ten of us dined on some out-of-this-world Southern comfort food.

By the end of the night, I could tell that Melanie was having a great time, and I was so happy that all of the planning from the past few months had resulted in a really fun weekend.  

And you know, I've almost recovered from the trauma that was those tissue pom-poms.  Almost.

Seriously, how does Martha do it?!

reflecting on fall food

Sorry for the long food silence, Gravyheads.  The chilly Charleston winter (read: it was 50 degrees) hit our tropic climate-warmed blood, and everyone in our family has been fighting colds for the last two weeks.  Now that it's warmed up to a much more reasonable 75 degrees, I'm able to go back and revisit some of our finer food moments that we enjoyed while sniffling and sneezing our way through it all.  First up: a fresh apple pie, home-baked with local, organic Braeburn apples.  

Another high point was this pomegranate, avocado, shallot and shaved Parmesan salad I made tossed with a light apple cider vinaigrette.   

And we found a way to help the Gravy Baby enjoy the one food he dislikes -- eggs.  I fried up some potatoes and onions, then added lightly beaten eggs and voila!  Spanish tortilla, a toddler favorite.  

The peak of our food fun from the last few weeks, though, has to be Lobster Night.  I remember when my parents used to buy lobsters when I was a kid.  As a kid, cracking those lobster shells and fighting over the claws -- even though no specific night or specific lobster sticks in my memory, I remember the nights we spent eating them just felt special.  And so, when the opportunity arose to buy some lobsters at a school fundraiser, I jumped at the chance to give the Gravy Baby an experience I used to have as a kid.

I'm happy to report that the Gravy Baby enjoys a good claw.  Even if the whole experience was completely mind-blowing to his thirteen month-old self.

dining a quatre

Osso bucco over creamy Parmesan mixed grits

You know, in the time B.G.B. (that's Before Gravy Baby), the hubby and I vowed to keep some things about our lives from changing.  We made all sorts of promises to each other --  to take time out and check in with each other, to still enjoy a good glass of wine every now and again, to entertain and keep up with our friends like we always have.  

Fast forward thirteen months later.  I chuckle a little bit now at the clueless naivete of those heady pre-baby days.  Now we squeeze in whatever time we have for each other at the end of a long day just before we collapse into a delirious sleep -- at around 9:30 pm every night.  And it's taken us this many months to finally, finally figure out a way to host a dinner party again, which is exactly what we did two weekends ago.

Top, left: rosemary-infused Marcona almonds, cubed canteloupe to accompany prosciutto, our favorite Parrano cheese and a wheel of ash-crusted brie; top, right: the happy place setting; and bottom, right: our cocktail napkins for our Firefly cocktails

We kept things pretty simple for our first time back in the dinner party saddle.  I made one of the hubby's favorites, an osso bucco I've featured on this blog before, adding creamy Parmesan mixed yellow and white grits from the farmer's market as an accompaniment.  We started our meal with an arugula and fennel salad topped with fresh ricotta and just a little squeeze and zest from a lemon.  And, because no meal is complete with dessert, I made a variation of this delicious ganache-glazed buttermilk chocolate bundt cake that the hubby and I absolutely love.  

I kept things so simple, in fact, that I completely neglected to take a full set of photos from our dinner, instead choosing to relish in our delightful company.  The Gravy Baby slumbered peacefully upstairs, even staying asleep until a gloriously late 7:30 am the next day so we could have ample time to recover.  

These days, I'd count that as a resounding success.

For more information on osso bucco, check my recipe roundup here.  

Looking to make a great bundt cake?  A great cake starts with a great pan; I love this one from the Goldtouch line by Williams-Sonoma

Instead of ricotta salata, which is a harder, saltier cheese, try tossing fresh ricotta with a really good olive oil and some lemon zest, then following the rest of this recipe and top the arugula with dollops of your ricotta blend

Looking to dress your table with sophistication?  My new favorite is One Kings Lane; join here

 

about a party, without photos

I had grand plans for my post today.  You see, we threw a party over the weekend.  We wanted to have a last hurrah and see our friends one last time before the movers come and our lives get turned upside down again.  I spent the week feverishly planning the menu, buying food at my various markets around town, and writing blog posts in my head about what I would say about planning for our big day.

All the while, I've been trying to study for the South Carolina bar exam, which I'll be taking next month (my third bar exam in five years).  The Gravy Baby has decided that this, too, would be the week that he would start exploring the world around him, which involved tearing curtains off the curtain rod, pulling a trash can liner (with raw chicken) out of the bin, and scurrying towards the front door as soon as it's opened.  I had this brilliant idea in my head of how dainty and whimsical my party would be (fajitas by the pool!  adorable sombreros!  fun tablecloths!  a pinata!).  Instead, I ended up cleaning up tres leches cake batter off my darling child's head when he bumped my leg and caught me off guard as I was elbow deep in my mixing bowl.  Luckily, he has like, seven strands of hair, so a Bounty paper towel did the trick.

By the time the party rolled around on Saturday, both the hubby and I were running around like maniacs.  I mentioned to the hubby that we should take pictures, and he wholeheartedly agreed. Then, both of us took off in different directions to entertain our friends.  Five sun-soaked, happy hours later, we had a pile of fajita fixins' strewn all over our kitchen and not a single photo to show for it. 

The hubby knew I was a little sad that I didn't manage to get photos with our friends who have become so dear to us over the last two years, so for lunch the next day he surprised me by putting a plate together for me of all the things I'd made for the party.  My skirt steak and chicken fajitas, lovingly marinated overnight, with pineapple salsa, corn salsa, and queso on the side all made his beautifully put together plate (pictured above).  I hit the "pause" button on my studying so that we could eat and recap our fun afternoon with our friends and talk about how much we'll miss them. 

If it isn't obvious yet, we're really sad to leave Malaysia.  It's been a great two years.

shrimp remoulade salad, and a goodbye

Shrimp remoulade salad topped with bacon, spinach, white corn, cucumbers and baby spinach

One of the fundamental tenets of being a good international lady of leisure requires being skilled at a coffee morning.  Coffee mornings are as ubiquitous to me here now as a 9:00 am conference call used to be -- a way to check in with my compatriots and gab a little about the current state of affairs. 

When I arrived here two years ago, I have to admit that I thought there'd be a little more fanfare -- you know, maybe not the full red carpet and paparazzi line, but at least a velvet rope and a nice little cocktail reception.  Of course, none of that happened (shocker), and so a few weeks later I found myself conspiring with a new friend over how we might make our own fun.

Watermelon & feta salad with mint, garnished with lemon zest and olive oil

That's when she and I crafted our own Coffee Mornings, inviting new ladies we met in our various comings-and-goings (which often frequently involved going to other people's Coffee Mornings).  We wanted to build a network of friends, eat some good food, and of course, caffeinate. 

Vietnamese summer rolls with chicken, mango & avocado

Last week I hosted my last Coffee Morning as an International Lady of Leisure.  I wanted to go out with a flourish, so I made foods that have had significance for me over the last two years.  I revisited a watermelon & feta salad, a dish I took to our first party here, adding lemon zest and olive oil as a dressing.  I assembled Vietnamese summer rolls that I learned to make while living here, and addded a twist by substituting the usual pork and shrimp with chicken, mango and avocado.  For our "main," I took the remoulade sauce I made in spades for a shrimp boil and scaled it down to a more manageable, dainty salad for the ladies.  And, for my go-to classic Coffee Morning dish, I made the Barefoot Contessa's cheddar-dill scones (if you haven't had them, you need to make them now.  Immediately.  Go.  I'll wait for you).

The best, most decadent scones ever: cheddar and dill, and oh, lots of heavy cream

There was a berry crisp with creme anglaise too, which I made because a friend of mine recently moved to Paris and left me with the precious contents of her freezer, including three bags of frozen berries.  Of course, in my excitement to eat and catch up with friends, I forgot to take photos.  I suppose a recipe for my shrimp remoulade salad will just have to do.  I hope that works.

Question: what are your favorite breakfast/brunch recipes?  I think Coffee Mornings can be a weekend thing, too, after we move home, and I'd love to hear yours!

(After the jump, my salad recipe.)

 

welcome wagon

Clockwise from top: local mango, papaya, passionfruit, and dragonfruit

When our friends and family make the long trek from the US to our home, I like to have little reminders in our home that they're now in Southeast Asia.  First, I make sure there's tons of tropical fruit available for tasting.