Happy Pajamadays!: SSC Presents the Most Comfortable Holiday Party Imaginable

Christmas. Yeah, it's basically awesome. Plus all those other holidays. Those are great too. Really what I'm looking for in a holiday is an excuse to be drunk and sparkly at the same time and not look like a stripper. This is my time friends...however, all that dressing up does get a little old after a while. Six nights in a row in heels is definitely not something I like to do on a regular basis.



That's where SSC comes in. I can't resist throwing a party, especially when there's so much awesome seasonal food around. So instead of going the traditional super dressed up route and even forgoing the recently popular ugly sweater party, I came up with a new and revolutionarily comfortable idea. A pajama party.

That's right, a party where you can pass out in what you wore there and not have dicks drawn on your face. Regardless of how you feel about theme parties, no one can argue with dressing as comfortable as possible and this pretty much takes the cake. So we stocked up on the best seasonal brews, made some casual, fun appetizers instead of that fancy-schmancy stuff and had a fantastic night to remember...or not, depending on how much you drank that night.

- Christa


Swedish Meatballs
This is one of my favorite holiday appetizers. If you manage to have any leftovers, they also makes awesome meatball sandwiches the next day!

Meatballs
1.5 lbs ground beef
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 cup onions chopped up in super small pieces
(a food processor works best)
1/4 cup white cooking wine
1/4 cup chicken broth
1 egg
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp allspice

Sauce
1/2 cup chili sauce
10 oz red current jelly
1/4 cup white cooking wine
1/2 tbsp chopped garlic
dash of cayenne pepper (optional)
1 tbsp cornstarch

Italian or some other kind of hearty bread

Preheat oven to 350. Beat egg in a small bowl. In a large bowl, combine meatball ingredients (including egg) and mix. You're eventually gonna have to use your hands and it's gonna be sorta gross. Go with it, its worth it. Shape into 1 inch balls. When making meatballs, don't pack them too tightly or they will be tough. Place meatballs in a glass baking pan. Bake 20 minutes or until brown.

In medium saucepan, saute garlic until fragrant (about 2 minutes). Combine remaining sauce ingredients, adding the corn starch last. Cook over medium heat until mixture boils and thickens, stirring occasionally. Add cooked meatballs. Place in a crock pot on the warm setting so it tastes great all night! Serve with Italian or some other kind of hearty bread.



Ted's Mac and Cheese Soup
This recipe is warm, hearty and nothing short of perfect for a cold winter night...plus the bacon makes it manly.







1 1/2 cup dry macaroni
1lb maple bacon
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
14 oz vegetable stock
3 cups milk
1lb cheddar cheese
1tbsp chili powder
1 tsp dry mustard
1/4 cup flour
salt and pepper to taste

Cook macaroni and set aside. Chop bacon into pieces and saute in a soup pot. When crispy remove bacon and drain most of the grease, reserving some to cook with. Add finely chopped onion and garlic to pot. Cook until tender. Add flour and mix well. Add stock and stir. Bring to a simmer for 2 minutes. Add milk and spices and bring to a simmer for another 2 minutes.

Add cheese and mix well. After it returns to a simmer add bacon and macaroni. Add salt and pepper. Give everyone a high five. Eat!





Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Dates with Almonds
This appetizer is both classy and quick. If you have vegetarian friends or people who try to avoid pork, leave off the bacon and they're just as good! You can find the recipe on our very first SSC post, HERE.






Peanut Butter Balls
This recipe is super rich, super delicious, requires no baking and is really quick and easy to make. Also it might just be the most unhealthy recipe on the planet. Try not to think about it. New Years resolutions don't officially kick off until January 1st anyway.




1 cup peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 lb butter (2 sticks) softened
1.5 lbs powered (confectioners) sugar
8oz semi sweet chocolate chips or bulk chocolate
aluminum foil or cookie sheet

Use a hand mixer and beat butter until creamy. Beat in peanut butter. Beat in powdered sugar and vanilla. Form mixture into 1 inch balls and place onto foil.

Put chocolate into a bowl and microwave about a minute. Take out an stir. If chocolate hasn't completely melted, put into microwave in 30second increments, stirring after each until melted.

Dip peanut butter balls into chocolate or drop chocolate right on top. (It's slightly less messy if you just drop in on top.) Put into plastic storage containers and refrigerate until chocolate has hardened. Tastes best cold, keep leftovers refrigerated.




Anise Cookies
This is a great simple Italian cookie recipe that always tastes great and fits with just about every meal. The cookies come out light, cakey and delicious!

Cookies
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened (1 stick)
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsps baking powder (scant)
2 tbsps lemon zest
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp anise extract
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk

Frosting
2 cups powered sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/4 tsp cream of tarter
multi colored sprinkles

Cookies
Preheat over to 350. Whisk baking powder and flour together in a small bowl. In a large bowl with an electric mixer beat butter until creamy. Add sugar gradually. Beat in extracts and lemon zest. Beat in eggs. Beat in flour gradually altranating with milk until blended. Dough will be sticky. Flour your palms and roll into 1 inch balls and place on cookie sheet sprayed lightly with cooking spray. Bake about 10 minutes or until the bottoms of the cookies are light golden brown.

Immediately dip cookie into glaze and put on cooking rack. Dust on sprinkles. Cool.

Glaze
Whisk together powered sugar and cream of tartar. Add milk gradually. Glaze will be thick but still a bit watery.



Gingerbread Cookies
I'm only bake these babies once a year and I always have a ton of fun making them. My favorite part is inviting over a bunch of friends to help me decorate them!






Cookies
3 1/4 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup unsalted butter (softened)
1/2 cup unsulphered molasses
1 egg
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
cookie cutters

Frosting
2 cups powdered sugar
4 tbsps milk or heavy cream

Decorations!
m&ms
sprinkles
gel frosting
chopped nuts (I used walnuts)
any other candy you can think of!

In a medium bowl whisk together flour, salt and baking soda. In a large bowl beat butter until creamy with an electric mixer. Add brown sugar gradually. Beat in spices. Beat in egg and molasses. Add about 1/3 flour mixture. Continue to add flour mixture until it becomes too difficult to use an electric mixer and use your hands.

Form dough into a large ball and flatten. Cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight. Sometimes I cheat and throw it in the freezer for awhile to speed up the process but its not really the best idea. Heh.

Spray cookie sheets with non-stick cooking spray. Preheat oven to 350. Flour rolling pin and roll out cookie dough on a floured surface. Dough should be about 1/4 in thick.

Use cookie cutters to make different shapes. Along with the traditional holiday shapes, I also had awesome ninja cookie cutters, so I had both gingerbread men and NINJAbread men. For my Halloween party I also made gingerDEAD men...creating a trifecta of awesomeness...or nerdiness, I can't quite decide.

Place cookies about 1.5 inches apart on cookie sheet. Bake about 12 minutes, less time for smaller cookie shapes. Cool.

Frost cookies and decorate!



Booze Pairings!

Beer: Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale
Malty, sweet, hearty and wonderfully aromatic.
One of my all time favorite winter beers.


Lazy Man's Eggnog
store bought eggnog
dark rum
cinnamon
whipped cream

Pour eggnog into a glass. Dump a bunch of rum into it.
Maybe throw in a couple of ice cubes. Garnish with cinnamon and whipped cream.


Peppermint Patty Shot
peppermint schnapps (chilled)
chocolate syrup
memories of being at a stupid frat party

Pour peppermint schnapps into a shot glass. Squeeze some chocolate syrup into your mouth. Take the shot. (Look, no one said these were good ideas...but no matter how you spin it, this shot is pretty damn tasty.)















Me, Phoebe, Shea and one fantastic hat; Some of our pajama goers












The spread...regrettably taken after we ate most of it; A prime example of some kickass pjs












Camera shy; This photo reminds me of art school and Myspace




Cheers & Happy Holidays!
Christa & Phoebe




About Christa
Christa is a comedian, artist and graphic designer living in Boston. Because most of her family is fresh off the boat, she knows a thing or two about traditional European cooking and baking, provided that the recipes are in English (Thanks a lot, crappy American school system!). She also has a vast knowledge of fancy-smancy beers made by smelly hippies. Although she has no food credits to speak of, generally speaking everything she makes is considered to be "damn good." Check out her other blog Shameless Pomp and Circumstance if you feel like it!

SSC Side Dish It Out! Edition: Thanksgiving Side Dishes & Desserts to Wow Your Friends & Relatives!

Oh, Thanksgiving! It's the beginning of that wonderful time of year when you put your independence and achievements aside because it all boils down to being able to cook. Luckily for us and our readers, we will not be put in charge of cooking a 10 pound bird to perfection, the rock star of Thanksgiving. No, people with roommates and studio apartments get a pass on that one.



Since none of us have that daunting responsibility the pressure falls on us to provide a killer side dishes that will show up all the other side dishes, and prove our worth, while giving us some Thanksgiving validation.

This edition of Supper Sanity Club will provide you with some ideas to really wow your family. It'll also provide you with some stellar beer and wine ideas, just in case you end up at a relative or significant other's house where they just don’t make gravy like your mom does and having your wine glass full is the only thing keeping you from pointing out that Aunt Linda is kinda racist.

We hope you enjoy these easy delicious recipes brought to you by our eclectic group of ladies and use them as a jumping off point for your own. If you have any questions please join us at www.facebook.com/Supper-Sanity-Club and post them. Christa, myself or one of our other crafty chicas will use our culinary prowess and try to help you out!

-Phoebe


Mini Meatloaves: From Sarah (Our Japanese spin on things!)
This is easy to make and goes perfectly with corn casserole.
It's also a great side to go with some white rice for leftovers. I recommend making extra sauce so you have some to drizzle over your meatloaves while you're plating!

Ingredients
1/3 cup breadcrumbs
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 large egg
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 small onion, finely minced
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 cloves garlic, grated or finely minced
1 1/2 pounds meatloaf mix (ground beef, pork and/or veal)
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 cup ketchup
1 to 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Directions
Mix the breadcrumbs, milk, parsley, egg, Worcestershire sauce, onion, chili powder and garlic in a large bowl. Add the meat, season with salt and pepper and mix with your hands until combined. Shape into six 3-to-4-inch oval loaves. Heat the vegetable oil in a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add the loaves and brown about 3 minutes per side.

Whisk the ketchup, sugar and vinegar in a bowl and brush a few tablespoonfuls over the meat. Add 1/2 cup water to the skillet, cover and simmer over low heat until cooked through, about 15 minutes. Transfer the loaves to a plate.

Add the remaining ketchup mixture to the skillet and cook over high heat, stirring, until thick, 3 to 5 minutes.

Serve 4 meatloaves with the hot glaze.



Cranberry-Mushroom stuffing:
From Jamie (Our very own nutritionist!)
Cranberry mushroom stuffing is fabulous, though time consuming if you make the bread from scratch. You can always use a pre-made bread or bread mix instead. I spent about 4 hours making it one year and then asked my dad to reheat it right before dinner. He left it in the oven too long and it caught on fire. Let's hope you have better luck!


Ingredients
1 tsp. barley malt sweetener
2 cups water
2 Tbsp. honey
1 ½ cups fresh cranberries or thawed frozen cranberries
½ loaf Cinnamon-Orange Poppy Seed bread
1 Tbsp unsalted butter 1 large onion, chopped
1 ½ Tbsp. chopped fresh sage, or 1 tsp. dried
1 celery stalk, diced into ¼ inch pieces
2 pounds small mushrooms, quartered
1 egg, beaten
½ cup nonfat milk
½ cup coarsely chopped pecans

Directions
In a mixing bowl, combine the barley malt sweetener, water, and honey. Stir in the cranberries and let stand for 2 hours. To make croutons, preheat the oven to 200 F. Trim the crust off the bread and cut into ½ inch cubes. Spread out the cubes on a baking sheet and bake for 3 to 5 minutes. Let cool.

Melt the butter in a large skillet, add the onions and sauté over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes. Add the sage and celery and toss to combine. Remove from heat, add the mushrooms and toss again. Set aside to cool.

Mix together the egg and milk. Strain the cranberries and discard the liquid.
In a large bowl toss the croutons with the onion-mushroom mixture. Add the cranberries and pecans and toss again. Add the egg mixture and toss for 30 seconds and serve.

Makes 8 servings (200 calories each)



Brussels Sprouts with Chestnuts: More from Jamie!
1lb Brussels sprouts
½ cup sweet butter
¾ cup brown sugar
½ cup cooked and shelled chestnuts

Directions
Bring a large pan of salted water to a boil over high heat. Trim the Brussels sprouts, removing the coarse stems and any loose outer leaves. Add to the pan of water and boil for 5-10 minutes until just cooked but not too soft. Drain well, rinse in cold water, and drain again. Set aside.

Melt the butter in a heavy skillet. Add the sugar and stir over medium heat until dissolved.
Add the chestnuts to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until they are well coated and starting to brown.

Add the sprouts to the skillet with the chestnuts and mix well. Reduce the heat and cook gently, stirring occasionally, for 3-4 minutes to heat through.

Makes 4 servings



Sweet Corn Casserole: From Emily
(Everyone's favorite little ray of sunshine!)
This my mom's recipe and has always been one of my favorites!

1 can creamed corn
1 can drained regular corn
1 stick melted butter
1 cup sour cream
1 box jiffy corn muffin mix

Mix together all ingredients and put in casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. That's it!




Pumpkin Soup: From Phoebe (Co-author of this shizzzz)

This is a family favorite of mine. I understand that introducing soup bowls to the already packed Thanksgiving spread can make you look like a prima donna, so maybe keep this one in mind for soup and turkey sandwiches the next day.

Its super easy to make, so don't worry if you hit the Hot Toddies a little early. Your family will think you're some kind of culinary master mind!

Ingredients
3/4 cup water
1 small onion, chopped
1 can (8 ounces) pumpkin puree
1 cup unsalted vegetable broth
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup fat-free milk
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 green onion, green top only, chopped
heavy cream
dash of curry powder (If you're into that sort of thing.)

Directions
In a large saucepan, heat 1/4 cup of the water over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until tender, about 3 minutes. Don't let the onion dry out.

Add the remaining water, pumpkin, broth, cinnamon and nutmeg. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in the milk and cook until hot. Don't boil.

Ladle into warmed individual bowls and garnish with black pepper, green onion tops, and a dash of cream. Serve immediately.



Sweet Potato & Green Apple Casserole:
From Arlan (Our resident soul food expert!)
Here's my mom's recipe for my favorite dish. It's great with vanilla ice cream :)

Ingredients
6 green apples (Granny Smith)
6 large sweet potatoes brown sugar (to taste)
Nutmeg (to taste)
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 stick butter
Water (as needed)

Peel apples & potatoes. Cut apples & potatoes in half and then quarter. Boil potatoes, butter, brown sugar, nutmeg, and cinnamon together in water (just enough to cover potatoes). Boil until potatoes are tender (not overcooked) and until the mixture has been boiled into a syrup. Layer sweet potatoes and apples into the casserole dish. Cover with the syrup mixture.

Bake in oven on 375 for 20 to 30 minutes until boiling (keep eye on casserole after 20 minutes has past).



Cranberry-Lime Jello: From Jen (Our happily married friend!)
This is my favorite Thanksgiving dish. It's sweet and tart with a bit of crunch. A requirement of all Thanksgiving food is that it makes delicious leftovers, of which this is a perfect example!

Ingredients
1 package of Lime Jello
1 can of Cranberries or 3 cups of homemade cranberry sauce
1 cup chopped walnuts pieces
1 cup diced celery

Directions
Make Lime Jello to package directions. While jello is still liquid, stir in cranberries, walnuts, and celery. Refrigerate until set about 5 hrs.



Pumpkin Bread: From Christa (Co-author of SSC, comedian, designer, expert baker & all around awesomtastic chica!)
This is a recipe that my mom has made every Thanksgiving since I can remember. It's simple, moist and delicious, freezes well and can even be made into muffins! High fives!







Ingredients
3 1/3 cups sifted flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup chocolate chips
3 cups sugar
1 cup oil
4 eggs
2/3 cup water
2 cups canned pumpkin

Mix dry ingredients together. Add remaining ingredients. Mix until smooth.

For Loaves
Grease 3, 9 x 5 inch loaf pans. Fill each 1/3 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

For Muffins
Put cupcake papers in muffin tins. Fill each cup 2/3 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes.



Booze Pairings!
I am very fond of having bomber bottles of beer as an option in addition to wine at my Thanksgiving table. I highly suggest you try it. Here are some ideas.


Abita Pecan Harvest
This beer tastes like pecans, and that's a good thing! The beer pours a brownish color with minimal head, just the right amount (ha). The beer goes down smooth and leaves a nice aftertaste on your palette.

Mayflower Thanksgiving Ale
Thick and malty, with a great cereal grain taste and a brown sugar aroma that just screams everything fall.

Maine Peeper Ale
Light, citrusy, and hoppy. One of my new favorite beers of all time!

Harpoon Grateful Harvest
Lightly cranberry flavored, but still all ale! This will will go great with everything you serve.



All these beverages along with a great staff (some of whom are named Phoebe) can be found at The Wine Gallery. 516 Commonwealth Ave. Boston MA 02215. Come check us out!


Cheers & Happy Thanksgiving!
Christa, Phoebe & The Ladies of SSC



About Phoebe

Phoebe is comedian, and wine shop manager, who is also somehow pursuing a masters degree in clinical social work. Though she has no real food credits on her resume, she's well versed in wine and food pairing. She was raised on farm fresh food in Maine, learned about Asian cooking during her time in Thailand, became a seafood fanatic living in Newport RI, and is now well on her way to becoming a full fledged foodie/functioning alcoholic in Boston.

SSC Dia de Most-AWESOME Edition: A Mexican Day of the Dead Celebration for the Ages!

It's that's time of year again kiddies! That's right! Halloween is just around the corner! Now, All Hallows Eve has always been one of my favorite holidays BUT I've always been fascinated by Mexican culture, particularly their Dia de los Muertos celebrations. (That's Day of the Dead for you kids who didn't bother paying attention in high school Spanish class.)



El Dia de los Muertos is celebrated on November 1st, or All Souls Day and is basically a far more exciting version of the American Halloween. People decorate sugar skulls, have parades, dress up like dead people, build beautiful alters honoring their relatives and of course, make tons of delicious traditional dishes. Since I have a nifty little collection of Mexican artwork, a love of all things involving skulls and a knack for cooking Mexican food, I thought this year I'd forgo the traditional Halloween party and go for a Dia de los Muertos celebration that will be remembered throughout the ages! The results were deliciously terrifying! (The terrifying part was mostly how we felt the next day after drinking several bottles of tequila.) Check it!


Slow Cooker Mexican Pulled Chicken
This recipe is super easy and can be served as a taco filling or simply put over rice.

4 chicken breasts
2 1/2 tsps cumin
2 tbsps chili powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
2 teaspoon salt
1 tsp black pepper
2/3 cup chicken broth
2/3 cup cilantro leaves, chopped
2 limes, juiced
2 large onions, chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
2 tbsps minced garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil

Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Add the onion and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the cumin, chili powder, paprika, salt, pepper and garlic and sauté a few more minutes. Add chicken broth and continue to satue for another minute or so. Turn off and set aside.

Add chicken to crock pot. Squeeze the lime on top, add the cilantro, jalapeno, and pour the onion and garlic mixture over top.

Cook on low for 4-5 hours, or until cooked through and tender. Stir around every once and awhile. Shred chicken with 2 forks. You might want to scoop out a bit of the juice depending on how long you are planning on keeping it warm.

Serve with corn or flour tortillas, rice, black beans, cheese, salsa or anything else you like on tacos. Emily was nice enough to bring her famous AWESOME GUACAMOLE, which you can find the recipe for here, along with some other fantastic Tex-Mex treats!



Mexican Sweet Corn Cake
This is almost like a Mexican version of bread pudding.
It's sweet, delicious and just a bit gooey! Also, it's absolutely terrible for you. Try not to think about it.
It's totally worth it!





1 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup flour
1/2 cup water
3 cups frozen whole-kernel corn, thawed
1/2 cup cornmeal
2/3 cup sugar
4 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder

In a medium bowl beat butter until it is creamy. Add the flour, cream and water and beat until well mixed. Stir corn into the butter mixture.

In a separate bowl, mix cornmeal, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Add to flour mixture and stir. Pour batter into an ungreased 9x13 inch baking pan. Smooth batter and cover with aluminum foil. Place filled pan into a larger pan or dish that is filled a third of the way with water. (I used a roasting pan. I'm not quite sure why you have to do this, I just know it works.)

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 50-60 minutes. Cool for a few minutes so you don't burn the crap out of your tongue like I did.




Sugar Skull Cookies & Gingerdead Men!*
In lieu of making actual sugar skulls, which although beautiful are a bit complex and largely inedible, I substituted this great sugar cookie recipe. It's perfect for making simple cookies to decorate, no matter what the occasion!

Cookies
3 c flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 c unsalted butter, softened
3/4 c sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg

Frosting
2 cups powdered sugar
4 tbsps milk or heavy cream

Decorations
Gingerbread man cookie cutter
Skull shaped cookie cutter (if can't find skull cookie cutters cut a 3/4 circle into dough and complete circle with a rectangle. [The rectangle will be the teeth])
sprinkles
gel frosting
candy corn
candy coated chocolates...etc.

Put flower and salt together in a small bowl.

In a large bowl beat butter with an electric mixer until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add sugar gradually and beat for about 3 minutes; beat in extract. Beat in egg. Gradually add flour mixture. When it becomes too difficult to beat with an electric mixer, use your hands.

Form dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate about an hour or 2, or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350. Spray cookie sheets with non-stick cooking spray. Roll out cookies on a floured surface, to about 1/4in thick. Make sure to flour the rolling pin as well. Cut out shapes with cookie cutters. Place on cookie sheet.

Bake for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Frosting
Add heavy cream or milk to powdered sugar slowly. A little goes a long way, so be careful. Whisk to get the lumps out. Heavy cream will make for a thicker frosting.

Wait for cookies to cool completely to frost. Decorate!




*Okay, like I said before, this is just a straight up sugar cookie recipe. No gingerbread here. Sorry, I was dying to be punny with the gingerdead thing. Incidentally, The Gingerdead Man is also a ridiculous B Horror Movie starring Gary Busey. If that doesn't terrify you, I don't know what will.



Booze Pairings!
As with any Mexican themed party, tequila is always a must...and believe me we had plenty! If you've have some unpleasant experiences with tequila before, Kahlua is another great Mexican liqueur that is fabulous as a dessert drink.

Kahlua & Cream
1 part Kahlua
2 parts cream or milk

Mix! Serve over ice!

Margaritas!
You can find a great (and uber strong) margarita recipe here, from our Tex-Mex Supper Club Edition.

Mexican Beers
Corona, Dos Equis, Sol, Tecate or Modello



Other Dia de Los Muertos Party Tips!

• Ask your friends to dress up like skeletons, Mexicans or dead people. I painted my face to look like a sugar skull. Since most of my friends don't have the scratch to spend on frivolous things like multiple Halloween costumes (when they can spend their money on frivolous things like booze), we also suggested people could wear whatever they were using for a Halloween costume.

• Buy a package of fake mustaches to give out to your guests. Works best when to bust them out when your friends are already half in the bag. Heh.

• Build an alter.

1. Find a small side table to use.
2. Place a couple of short sturdy boxes on top for multiple levels.
3. Cover with a colorful cloth.
4. Place Christmas lights, candles, skulls, small statues and photos of whatever or whoever you'd like to represent on top. (If you're being serious about this, it's usually photos of dead relatives.) Because I am a comedian and am incapable of taking anything seriously, I had photos of dead concepts.

We memorilized dead things! A photo of Mikey, the Life cereal kid, who died of eating pop rocks and soda, a statue of the Social Distortion Skeleton, to represent the death of punk rock, and a photo of the American flag, to represent the American Dream(...which if you're anything like I am, you've realized was dead a long time ago). Ha.
















Marylin Monroe & Sugar Skull Chick (Emily & Me); Mexican wrestlers fight!














Fun Fact #1: Candy corn now exists in apple, blueberry, tangerine & caramel flavors
Fun Fact #2: Every single one of these flavors is gross; Mustaches in action!

















Huukah time!; Durso gets serious.













Phoebe the mustachioed Mexican , Mary-Catherine Spillane-Gallager, Me; The spread!


Happy Dia de Los Muertos!....(and Happy Halloween too...I guess.)

Cheers!
Christa






About Christa
Christa is a comedian, artist and graphic designer living in Boston. Because most of her family is fresh off the boat, she knows a thing or two about traditional European cooking and baking, provided that the recipes are in English (Thanks a lot, crappy American school system!). She also has a vast knowledge of fancy-smancy beers made by smelly hippies. Although she has no food credits to speak of, generally speaking everything she makes is considered to be "damn good." Check out her other blog Shameless Pomp and Circumstance if you feel like it!

SCC Phantasmorgasmic Edition: SSC visits the Phantom Gourmet Food Festival

Today we bring to you an edition of SSC that is quite close to my heart. Every year since I moved to Boston my best friend from high school/fellow Supper Clubber, Emily and I attend the Phantom Gourmet Food Festival. It was literally one of the first outings I had in downtown Boston. It's an amazing festival of gluttony and deliciousness that we look forward to every year. Once I realized the date of the event was quickly approaching, I thought it would be a kickass idea to blog about one of my favorite traditions.


Phantom Gourmet is, for those of you that don't know,
is a local TV show that tours the best (and most heart attack inducing,) restaurants all around Boston and New England. It's a great way to find new restaurants in your area and the perfect thing to watch on a Saturday morning when you're hungover and all you have in your kitchen is frozen chicken and saltine crackers. (Okay, admittedly that's usually when it makes me what to cry but it's still fun to watch.) The Phantom gives window stickers to the businesses they visit, so if a restaurant has that familiar purple logo on their door, you know it hast to be good!


Phantom Gourmet also puts out a yearly restaurants guide and holds several kickass events each year, the culmination of which is the Phantom Gourmet Food Festival. The festival is held at end of every September just outside of Fenway Park. They close a few streets down, set up scores of tents from almost every restaurants in existence (I believe there were 80+ booths this year) and start the party!



Over the years Emily and I have attempted to devise a plan, a plan to not get too full to try everything, actually be able move later on and not feel like disgusting human beings after we leave. We then forget this plan immetely upon arriving and eat whatever the hell we want.


During the festival all the bars on Lansdown Street are open
and are totally hoppin. We never end up going to them because you get so full at this thing the notion of drinking beer is pretty much impossible, but it looks like a great time. I made my choice, and my choice was gluttony, not drunkenness. (Don't worry, I remedied that the next day.)





You can find any food imaginable here. From classy shit like yellow beet salad, to some not so classy shit like chicken wing dip and ice cream, the Phantom Gourmet Food Fest has something for any palette. There was some pretty crazy food here but we had a definite favorite. Sunset Grill & Tap, one of our favorite restaurants and home of the largest draft beer selection on the East Coast, sampled pumpkin beer flavored ice cream. You heard it right. Pumpkin flavored, beer flavored, ice cream. It was pumpkiny, it was beery, it was creamy, it was confusing, but most of all, it was delicous.













We also had the pleasure of meeting the founder of Spike's Junkyard Dogs, a gourmet hotdog joint. Founder Spike is actually a giant English bulldog. I have a sneaking suspican that he just might be a puppet leader of their organization. Cats are really the only animals with enough business saavy to run a successful restaurants establishment.













We also got a chance to check out Flatbread's on site pizza oven, ate scores of kickass baked goods, sampled some fantastic chili, and discovered a Zipcar covered in purple sporks. (Okay I really don't understand the last one, but I digress...)














Also for some reason there was a couple of giant chickens there and a girl looking semi-humiliated dressed as a taco. Some things you just don't question.














As usual the Phantom Gourmet Food Fest did not disappoint. We tried some new dishes, sampled some old favorites and got to take home a plethora of samples for the trek home. I'm always a fan of supporting local businesses but thank God this thing only happens once a year.
If not I think I would have lost a foot to diabetes by now.














If you'd like to know more about the Phantom Gourmet and some of the
festival restaurants you can find them at www.phantomgourmet.com!


Cheers!
Christa




About Christa
Christa is a comedian, artist and graphic designer living in Boston. Because most of her family is fresh off the boat, she knows a thing or two about traditional European cooking and baking, provided that the recipes are in English (Thanks a lot, crappy American school system!). She also has a vast knowledge of fancy-smancy beers made by smelly hippies. Although she has no food credits to speak of, generally speaking everything she makes is considered to be "damn good." Check out her other blog Shameless Pomp and Circumstance if you feel like it!