Happy Fortieth!

I can’t believe it’s only been a week, but that was it. Seven days ago, I threw my parents a ‘happy fortieth wedding anniversary’ bar-b-q. The problem wasn’t the party. It’s the backlash, a full seven days later, and it’s as if I’m recovering from a major car accident.

True; a fortieth wedding anniversary isn’t a surprise. I should have seen it coming, at least since anniversary number thirty nine. They have made it this long, the chances were they would carry on together for another year. Regardless, my parents were going to stay home. Only on Wednesday night did they inform me they would be flying into town for the weekend, and that is when the realization hit - at eleven o’clock on a Wednesday - that Sunday night my parents would be needing a party, with forty of their closest friends and family to celebrate every year of their happiness. Being one of five children, this should have gone without a hitch. With many hands to help, we could have gotten it done. No such luck. All my siblings were busy and I was the fall back. In my house, all went into military mode. The children were given specific instructions (“don’t talk to mommy unless a limb is falling off - and it better be a major one”) and the count down started.

The kids were still on their summer break, so with forty hours to go, I took the “gantza mishpacha” (Yiddish for “large crowd of closely related individuals”) with me to Ikea to get supplies, candles and glass votives, paper light fixtures, napkins, serving dishes and blue wicker baskets. Then we went to the nursery and picked up thirty potted pansies, and then high-tailed it to the city to buy ten meters of red and white checked fabric. That concluded Thursday, two full tanks of gas, and all my energy.

On Friday, I went shopping: coal, extra bar-b-q, hotdogs, ground beef, steak, chicken, fixings for half a dozen salads and desserts. And then the search was on for the staff, if only I had one in place. I needed a cleaning lady to pick up after I had destroyed my kitchen, a babysitter to look after the kids, someone to man the bar-b-qs and someone on a keyboard to play music. As it turns out, everyone was available and, wit the exception of the music guy, everyone was also great. From now on, my line for shoes will henceforth be used for entertainers as well: don’t buy cheap, you will always be blistered and disappointed.

Sunday came, and my red, white and blue theme came together, and even the moon cooperated by being full and mincing my Ikea, line of round paper light fixtures in the yard. The bar-b-q and the cute guy manning it were a life saver. Besides marinating, I didn’t have to prepare a main dish. I was concerned about keeping the drinks cold, and not poisoning my guests with e-coli, so fridge space was at a premium. My solution, I filled my neighbour’s huge wheelbarrow with ice and pushed all the drinks in. The beer was frigid by the time the guests arrived.

I placed the salads, relishes, condiments and buns on a buffet table and people helped themselves. As the meat came off the grill, my husband offered it around.
As far as the salads were concerned, if anyone asked what they could do I told them to bring a salad. Sure there were three types of coleslaw, and two potato salads, but it became a cook-a-thon with my great aunts fighting the ‘did you have my coleslaw’ war.

For dessert, I cut up a huge watermelon. It was hiding at the bottom of the wheel barrow getting cold all night. I made my parents a mini wedding cake. It was “to die for”. I used the double chocolate layer cake recipe from www.epicurious.com, and separated the batter between, a nine-inch, six-inch and three-inch spring forms. I decorated the frosted cake with red grapes, and then placed forty candles on it. Sure we almost needed a fire extinguisher to put out the flames, but the look on my parent’s faces was worth it.

A few tips for a last minute party:

If you can’t prepare ahead, choose a menu that has the least fuss involved, like a bar-b-q, “make your own pizza”, or a taco bar.
If guests offer to help, take them up on it.
Use recipes you are familiar with. A party is not the time to start experimenting.
When decorating for a party think more, not less. This is supposed to be over the top, use a lot of one colour. Don’t use one or two candles per table, use ten or twelve. To create continuity, make sure everything matches.
Have enough chairs. This is not musical chairs, no one should be left standing in the middle.
Have an activity planned, just in case things get dull: music, a game, speeches, or public opening of gifts, but be just as prepared not to do anything if the conversation is flowing.
Children and adults alike love receiving welcoming or parting gifts. We gave out colourful fans and instructions on how to flirt while using a fan at the beginning of the night, so the August heat was tolerable in more ways than one.

Digestives

Digestives are an old time English custom, almost as time honoured as tea. A whole-wheat biscuit (don’t call this a cookie or any Brits within hearing range will shake their heads sympathetically in your direction, and feel sorry for your American - and therefore limited - knowledge of the world) from a time long before whole wheat was trendy, these biscuits have an appealing Moorish nuttiness, combined with a crumbly/melt in your mouth texture and are absolutely divine.

A few great uses for digestives; eat them as they are, or embrace the English custom and accompany them with a cup of tea. Use digestives to replace graham crackers in any recipe where graham crackers are called for. They are so much more flavourful, but beware; they are also richer, and will taste different.

Try smores made with digestives. Start by melting bittersweet or milk chocolate in the microwave for thirty seconds, stir and microwave again until smooth. Allow the chocolate to cool a little and thicken. Spread chocolate on the underside and allow it to set. You can do this several days before your planed smores indulgence. Set out for your campfire, open range, stove top, or candle with chocolate coated digestives, wooden skewers and a bag of marshmallows. Skewer the marshmallows on wooden skewers, and toast them. Once toasted, place in between two chocolate coated biscuits.

Better yet, if you want to avoid this whole palaver (English for nuisance) buy the chocolate coated biscuits to begin with. Either way, you’re in for a treat: English culinary expertise meets American tradition, at a camp fire… what could be better?

I found that you can order McVitties' digestives, and so many other English treats from http://www.shop.britishgoodsonline.com/.

manic monday

I'm a huge Bangles fan, but I had no idea in 1986 what truly constituted a Manic Monday! Not until recently trying to make it through a day, where arranging car pool and doing laundry feel as difficult as climbing Everest, only to know that I have a full week of mommyhood ahead of me, and knowing that there is no relief in sight.

This being the week before Passover, the kids are off school and I need to figure out how to entertain my children, clean my house, amuse my visiting family and prepare for a rather complicated holiday, while taking care of life's ordinary challenges...

Monday evening, 6:03 I have just escaped to my favorite fantasy: Caribbean beach, soft wind, comfy recliner, tall drink, small paper umbrella, the absolute necessity of short term memory loss and being alone, because you can throw that entire fantasy down the toilet if you have to contend with children or guilt at leaving them in the care of a responsible adult other than me.

Back to reality...6:05, one screaming baby, three picky eaters, and one husband in need of pampering.

One bottle, ready-made schnitzels in the oven, pasta and peas for my rowdy angels. And for the husband, the rice crispies treat meal - meaning super-fast preparation yet looks and tastes like hard work!

Manic Monday Menu

Turmeric B-B-Q chicken skewers
Quinoa with onions and pine nuts
Roasted red peppers

For the chicken:

use skinned and boned chicken breast. Cut into one inch cubes, "shmeere" liberally with olive oil, then season with salt, pepper, turmeric, cumin, paprika and garlic powder.
Allow to marinate in fridge for at least half an hour or up to six hours.
Soak wooden skewers in water until thoroughly soaked (about fifteen minutes).
Spear four or five chicken pieces onto each skewer.
Grill on bar-b-q, about ten minutes each side (depending on heat of the flames and thickness of chicken pieces, adjust the time).

For Quinoa:

Place quinoa in fine mesh wire sieve and rinse quiona in cold running water for about two minutes until water runs clear.

For every measure of quinoa, you will need double the measure of water (one cup quinoa to two cups water).
Place quinoa and water in a saucepan, bring to a boil and then lower heat.
Cook uncovered until quinoa is tender and edges are translucent, about eight to ten minutes, then drain.
While the quiona cooks, saute finely-sliced onions (one large onion for every cup of raw quinoa) in good olive oil until onions start to brown.
In another dry pan, toast the pine nuts until lightly browned (for every cup of raw quinoa use one quarter cup pine nuts).
Combine drained quinoa, sauteed onions and toasted pine nuts. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle liberally with chopped fresh parsley.

For roasted peppers:

Wash peppers and slice in half vertically (through the green stem).
Brush the skins with olive oil, place skin side down on bar-b-q and cook until the skin is blistered and black.
Place peppers in a bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap.
Allow to cool. Once cooled, open plastic wrap and peel the skin off of the peppers.
Season with salt and pepper and a splash of balsamic vinegar.

Mother's notes:
I always make extra skewers. My kids love these and when they come downstairs looking for their second dinner, I'm prepared.