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: Goodbye Summer! Edition

Finally, after our short hiatus (due to the trials of furthering my education) SCC is back and better than ever! Just in time for the cooler weather, we'll be here to hook you up with some of our fall favorites....but first, a sumptuous summer wrap up brought to you by our favorite curly haired vixen, Phoebe!

- Christa


For this edition of Supper Sanity Club we went with the theme “Good Bye Summer!" With the help of our new SSC member Manika, (who let me take over her apartment because I live in a something that is smaller then a bread box), we put together a dinner showcasing foods to help us transition from summer to fall.

We made a lobster chowder, as something warmer for the changing weather, but still with lobster that screams summer. Next, we put together a salad with both light leafy greens and blueberries for that final summer harvest, but a maple dressing with walnuts for fall flavor goodness. Once we had a few amazing side dishes and dessert brought to us by our fellow Supper Clubbers, we had the perfect meal to take us into the new season. Enjoy!

- Phoebe


Maple, Blueberry & Walnut Salad with Goat Cheese
I have promised my family, (who have been nice enough not to disown me because of my comedy,) that I wouldn't give away our maple soy vinaigrette, but, I will give you the basics because I love you guys too!

Vinaigrette
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
lemon juice
maple syrup
tamari
crushed garlic

Mix ingredients together in a bowl. Pour into a salad dressing container or a jar with a tightly sealable lid. Shake!

Salad
spring mix of dark leafy greens
a mix of cherry tomatoes
blueberries
crushed walnuts
chunks of goat cheese
Changs Crunchy Noodles ([fried wantons] if you can't find just use croutons)

Toss salad ingredients together. Top with vinaigrette.



Lobster & Fish Chowder
This is rather expensive to make, but you can use it as an entree if you double up on potatoes, and onions.

1 sweet onion
butter
garlic
salt
pepper
parsley
white fish (cod, mahi mahi, halibut, etc.)
celery salt
potatoes (yukon, or russet)
1/2 quart half and half or whole milk (don't be a pussy!)
canned lobster meat (can be found in any super market, just ask at the seafood counter)
fresh corn the cob, boiled or roasted
Old Bay

Sauté sweet onion in butter and garlic. Put about 3 inches of water in bottom of pan, add some salt, pepper, and a pinch of fresh parsley. Boil, then lay in your fish and cook at a still bubbling but at lower temp for about five minutes. Lower to a simmer and add celery salt.

At about four minutes into simmering, put in peeled and cubed potatoes. Take off heat and add a little butter. Whole thing should cook for about 5 minutes.

Cool down to a simmer and add half and half. Cut corn off cob. Add corn, canned lobster meat and Old Bay.

Voila!


Lentil Orzo with Pistachios and Cranberries
Our mysterious girlfriend Manika is not one for recipes,
she just lets it happen! Much to our delight, what happened was deliciousness!





orzo, cooked and cooled
seasoned lentils, cooked
4 pieces bacon, chopped and browned until crispy (High quality bacon works best, Manika used bacon from the butcher at Whole Foods)
cranberries
goat or feta cheese, crumbled
olive oil
lime juice
seasoning to taste
roasted pistachios
chopped parsley

Toss all ingredients together and serve at room temperature.



Roasted peppers with Feta Dip

Peppers
baby peppers
salt
pepper
olive oil

Toss peppers with olive oil, salt and pepper. Put on cookie sheet and roast at 375 for 40 minutes or until golden brown around the edges.

Dip
3/4 cup feta cheese
1 cup yogurt
2 tbsp preserved lemons (chopped)
2 tbsp capers

Blend all ingredients together quickly. Serve with peppers as a dip. Yum!




Lime Sugar Cookies with Blueberry Cream Filling
A fantastic recipe borrowed from www.sinfullyspicy.com!

Cookies
1 cups all-purpose flour
1/8 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt 6 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp white granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice


Blueberry Cream Cheese Filling
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1.5 cup confectioner’s sugar
2 tbsp blueberry paste [recipe below]

Blueberry Paste
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
2 tbsp water
3 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
1/2 tsp cornstarch

Prep for Cookies
In a medium bowl, sift flour,baking soda & powder, salt. Set aside.

In a larger bowl,cream the butter and sugar thoroughly until fluffy. Add the lime juice & vanilla and beat until combined.

Gradually add in the flour mixture and gently combine with a spatula to bring together into a dough. You might need to add a tbsp or more of milk at this stage if required to make a soft dough.

Divide the dough into 2 small balls. Take a piece of plastic wrap, put the dough balls on it and flatten with palm to make a disc. Wrap the discs with plastic wrap. Repeat the same with 2nd dough ball. Chill both discs for about 30 minutes.

Line your cookie sheet with parchment paper. Avoid using aluminum foil. Extreme heat will burn the cookies on the bottom.

After chilling, take one disc out, unwrap it and place it between two sheets of parchment paper. Initially, you may find it little difficult to roll because of the chilled dough. It will soften as you go along.

Roll the disc using a floured rolling-pin into a sheet about 1/4″ thick. Using a floured cookie cutter cut the cookies from the rolled dough.

Using a floured thin spatula, transfer the cookies to the lined cookie sheet. Picking up the cookies with fingers will deshape them.

Preheat the oven to 350. Chill the cut cookies again for 15 minutes.

Once chilled, bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes until the sides start turning brown. Cool completely on a cooling rack.


Blueberry Paste Prep
Tip in the blueberries, water and sugar to a small sauce pan. Cook it on low heat until the blueberries are soft and mushy. Transfer to a blender. Blend on high to form a puree. Dissolve cornstarch into lemon juice.

Transfer the puree to sauce pan again and add cornstarch mix. Cook on very low heat for about 5-8 minutes until you get a thick paste. Cool completely before adding to the cream.


Blueberry Cream Filling Prep
Make the filling by beating the cream cheese & butter with an electric mixer. Mix in powdered sugar until smooth. Add 2 tbsp of the cooled blueberry paste above to make a smooth mix.

Assembly
Pipe or spread 1-2 tablespoons of blueberry filling in the center of a cookie. Top with a second cookie and press together until the filling reaches the edges of the cookies. Store in an air tight box for up to 3 days.



Booze Pairings!
Okay guys, here's the thing, this particular night we drank about 9 bottles of wine so while I can't get to all of them, here's a review for one of my favorites.

Big Claw White Wine, $14
Big Claw is a new wine specifically designed to pair with lobster. It is a crisp, balanced blend of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Colombard, Gewurztraminer, and Chenin Blanc from the North Coast. This fantastic wine was the unanimous choice as “the perfect wine to go with lobster” by members of a panel of wine and food professionals chosen by the Lobster Institute in
Maine, an organization dedicated to the preservation of lobster.

Steve Melchiskey of USA Wine West (with offices in California and Maine) and Tim Wissemann of Mariner Beverages (Portland, Maine) are the designers of this wine. It went phenomenally with the lobster stew, but was also just sweet enough to pair with the spicy peppers, and smooth and buttery enough to go to with our desert.

-Phoebe

















The ladies, looking classy!












A scientific experiment: The effect of 9 bottles of wine on classiness...




Cheers!
Christa & Phoebe






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.