jane's joint: May 2016

Thursday, May 26, 2016

It's the sauce, and the week, and the son

It's been quite a week at the Holts.
Noah graduated from ETHS on Sunday and turned 18 two days later. High School graduate!! 18!
Corey is finishing up her lit class at Northwestern and will have a transfer decision made by next week.
Dylan's last day of class as a freshman is today, tomorrow he starts finals.
The weather has been insanely gorgeous, my mom came to town, the work on our house is done and the above referenced occasions got us in gear to get the patio ready for prime time.
People? It's starting to feel a lot like summer.

We had a little 'do after graduation on Sunday and I ordered my favorite barbecue from Hecky's.

Hecky's! It's the Sauce!

If you live in Evanston, you know Hecky's and, I hope, its owner, Hecky Powell. Hecky's is an institution for its delicious barbecue and its famous sauce, but mostly because Hecky Powell is a community treasure. He has dedicated the better part of 30 years to not only feeding this town, but also to hiring and training at-risk youth, sponsoring sports teams, serving on the 65 board and creating a foundation to honor his father. He is a truly inspiring guy. Plus, the food is rockin good.

So, graduation.

I decided to make my own sides because I love my sides.

I made a pasta salad and red cabbage cole slaw the night before.

Both are better if they sit.

Greek Pasta Salad

(I cut the dressing in half and used Kalamata vs black olives. really good.)

Melissa D'Arabian's spicy red cabbage cole slaw

Then, graduation morning prep:

Got the table ready, cut the buns, organized and decorated the table, stirred the salads, etc.

Prep for Doug on graduation morning looked like this:

(hey, when you get a chance to ski on lake michigan you do it, right? even if it's your son's graduation day and you have people coming over and you are IN the ceremony, right? right?)

Thankfully I had these lovely women to help me. And Doug set up the bar before he left lol.

The ceremony was amazing: moving and momentous and emotional.

Doug got to hand Noah his diploma (far right). So cool.

The Graduate - he did it!

Then it was party time.

We served pulled chicken

pulled pork

and pulled beef.

Congratulations, Noah, and happy 18th.

UNCA - here he comes!!

Thursday, May 5, 2016

Tools

I'm not one of those cooks who believe that you have to have the finest equipment or a state of the art kitchen to make great meals. You don't. And while I'd love to cook exclusively on All Clad stainless steel, Calphalon's line is pretty good, too. The bigger deal to me for cooking is the tools, those random implements that have a very specific purpose and are essential to me when I cook. Here are some of my favorites:

Cuisinart Mini

I LOVE this thing. I use my full sized Cuisinart a lot, too, but it's big and cumbersome and a pain to clean. This guy is fantastic for smaller jobs, like chopping an onion or peanuts or garlic.

Herb Scissors

For Christmas, my sister-in-law Sue, my kitchen partner in Phelps, gave me this new favorite: herb scissors. The are amazing. Instead of chopping and then scraping up the bits of parsley or cilantro from a now-stained cutting board, you can cut them directly into a pan or bowl. And cut them precisely. Easy to clean, too - they come with their own little cleaning brush.

suggested recipe to use both: crock pot thai chicken

"Baggy Rack Storage Holder."

Sue also gave me this for Christmas. If you are someone who marinades meat a lot, it's phenomenal. Props up the ziploc so you can get the ingredients in without the bag falling over sideways & leaking all over your counter. Not that that's ever happened. .And it folds flat when you don't need it.

Hand Held Mandoline

This is a great tool for slicing everything - potatoes, carrots, etc. It has an adjustable width and a piece that protects your fingers when you get close to the blade. I use it all the time.

Immersion Blender

If you make soup, you must have one of these.

It's got one button, a sharp blade and will puree just about anything quickly and easily without having to transport liquid back and forth into a blender. There are a million varieties available with varying degrees of fanciness. I like the simplest one.

suggestion:

Kale Sausage Soup

Apple Wedger

Pampered Chef. It's a great tool. period.

Pampered Chef Tiny Spiral Whisk

I don't think Pampered Chef makes this in metal anymore, only in nylon. But you can find something similar on Amazon. I love it - great for sauces and emulsifying marinades or dressing. And it's cute.