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Mike's Page
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Those who know me, know that I enjoy musing and writing a bit. View "Mike's Page" at our website. My latest thoughts are about "time" and what it says about us . . . Read more.
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| Just in case you missed our Monday TV segments on Ch. 7/WTVW, you can still access the recipes at our website. |
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The Season's Best
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 It's an attitude - both the notion of celebration and
simplicity! The holiday season is full of moments to prepare and things to be
done. None of us want to miss a tradition, or forget an "essential" act. But
the notion of creating good times with a little less hassle is a thought worth
pursuing! With a tool kit comprised of creativity, choice and prioritization,
we can enjoy many good times with friends and family. In this issue we'll
propose some ideas for simpler celebrations, help you tie things up with last
minute inspiration, and provide recipes for four different fondue techniques.
Last, but certainly not least, we would like to THANK YOU for being the
most important part of our business during this past year! We wish you the best
of the season, and a graceful transition into the New Year! |
Extended Holiday Hours
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We're here to help you with
your holiday preparations! We have inspiration, essentials, and gifts for all!
We have extended holiday hours from now until Christmas Eve! We'll be ready to
help whenever you're able to stop by!
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Coming Events at Kitchen Affairs
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Just in time for the holidays, we've scheduled some fun demonstrations at the store. Join us for these coming events:
 Cooking Classes at Kitchen Affairs
We've just finished a fantastic Autumn Schedule of classes thanks to our superlative instructors and a lot of great participants! We're busy finalizing the Winter Class Schedule right now. Plan to join us in January for some wintertime fun in our kitchen. Watch for our new class schedule which will be posted on our website between Christmas and New Year's. Just a reminder: Registration for this upcoming schedule will open on Friday, January 2nd, not before! Kitchen Affairs' Quarterly Riddle - Meanwhile, join our quarterly riddle contest -- we've just come up with a new puzzler for this coming quarter. You'll find the riddle now at our website, or in our printed newsletter ready to arrive soon in your mailbox. |
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Many Hands, Light Worik
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This holiday season is
different than recent years - it's a fact! So, it's time to get creative!
Modify your celebrations and increase your
enjoyment.
 Revive the Potluck! - Whether you're hosting a
celebration, or attending one, suggest a potluck. If everyone brings something,
both cost and time are optimized. Assess the invited crowd and determine if
"assigned categories," specific recipes, or a truly "luck-of-the-pot" table is
appropriate. For dishes that need reheating, schedule your oven space, deploy
warming trays, and light up the chafing dishes. Have extra serving utensils
ready for serving your eclectic food celebration.
Just for Brunch - Hosting a brunch is a great
time for getting friends and family together. With relaxed work schedules, the
morning hours are often available for entertaining. Brunch allows for a
simpler, yet satisfying menu. Try fresh waffles with a few topping choices, a
side of fresh fruit, and some great coffee and tea. Or, make some abelskivers,
topped with fruit compote!
 Just for Drinks - Simplify neighborhood
get-togethers with an invitation to a late afternoon event. Serve tea, cocoa,
your version of a peppermint mocha, or perhaps some mulled wine or spicy chai.
Add a cookie plate and some good conversation, and it's a party!
Just Appetizers - Instead of extending an
invitation for a full-blown dinner party, invite friends for appetizers prior to
a community event. The food stays as simple as you choose, and the party has a
defined timeframe that, in turn, decreases the quantity of food
required.
Just Dessert - make your
home the gathering place after the concert, or after the game. Keep it simple
with some holiday sweets and your favorite seasonal beverage.
Just for Fun -
Invite friends and family over for an evening of fun, and rediscover some
favorite board games. Focus the menu on some good beer or wine and a few
munchies. Top the evening off with a "white elephant" prize for the overall
winner of the evening's competitions.
Let Them Cook! - Set up a
participatory evening of cooking by providing the "fixin's" and the equipment,
then put them to work! Offer homemade pizza dough, toppings, and a hot oven or
griddle for personal grilled pizzas or piadinas.
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A Fondness for Fondue
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Fondue is a naturally
simple, yet elegant entertaining style. If you were married in the 70's, you
probably received a couple fondue sets as wedding gifts.  After a spike in popularity, fondue interest tapered off.
But it's back! Not as a fad, but now as a classic style of entertaining!
Preparing for a fondue party is easy - just some cutting and chopping of
dipping items, or perhaps some marinating of meats. The guests do the cooking!
Gathering around the fondue pot brings a small group together in a relaxing way.
Fondue options fall naturally into four different
categories:
 Cheese -The classic fondue with origins in
Switzerland, a cheese fondue provides a luscious dip for chunks of bread or
blanched vegetables. Select cheeses that blend well together; grate them and
toss with a bit of flour or cornstarch. Melt the cheese with an acidic
component such as wine or beer; the acidic character relaxes the proteins in the
cheese allowing it to melt gracefully.
Oil - An oil fondue
is known for its higher cooking temperatures (375 F), and is perfect for various
bite-sized chunks of meat. Whether beef tenderloin, pork satay (see below),
shrimp or a tempura, the forkfuls cook in 1 to 2 minutes. As always, when
working with hot oil take appropriate steps to make it a safe
experience.
Broth - A
broth-based fondue is perhaps not as familiar as the other three types, but
deserves your attention. Cooking in a broth fondue greatly reduces the calories
involved and provides an opportunity for using flavorful herbs in the cooking of
all kinds of meat, seafood and vegetables. Leftover broth and food chunks can
turn into tomorrow's lunch soup!
 Chocolate - What better way to end a meal than
to dip bite-sized morsels into wonderful, warmed chocolate! Chocolate pairs
well with just about any fruit. Pieces of angel food cake, shortbread cookies,
or even sourdough bread provide the perfect canvas for this all-time
favorite.
Match the fondue pot and its heat source with the type of
fondue being served. Chocolate fondues require the least amount of heat and are
suitably heated with a votive or tea light flame. Cheese and broth fondues
require a higher temperature such as with an alcohol-based fuel source. Oil
fondues require a higher, consistent temperature provided by an alcohol-based
fuel system, or by an electric fondue pot. |
Wrapping it Up!
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Whether you're just
starting your holiday shopping, or filling in some holes in a few stockings,
we're ready to help you conclude your shopping and tie it up with a bow! We
like to think of ourselves as a one-stop shopping spot! After all, isn't
everyone on your list involved with eating everyday?
Stocking
Stuffers
- Specialty jam or jelly
- Bag of Beans - coffee beans - much better than charcoal!
- Handy Tools -- nifty utensils
- Finishing salts and Fresh Peppercorns
- A Gift Certificate from Kitchen Affairs
Clever Kits
- Cocoa Fix - a hot chocolate pot, frother, mug, and cocoa fixin's
- Share Your Favorites - recipe cards with a few of your favorite recipes
noted to get them started
- Muffin Mania - a muffin pan and muffin mix
- Cookie Kit - a cookie/cake decorating kit of bags, tips, and decorations
- A Great Cookbook - the gift of knowledge and inspiration
- The Cutting Edge - a great knife and accompanying cutting board
- Cheese Plate - cheese knives, cheese markers, and cheese platform
- Cheers! - ice bucket, flutes, and a New Year's Date
- La Cucina - a cheese grater and a nice chunk of Parmigiano-Reggiano
- The Big Dipper - cracker tray and dip serving bowl with a specialty dip mix
- Tea Party - teapot, tea cups and an exquisite tea
Decorative "Bows"
- Top with a cookie cutter or two
- Use a new kitchen towel as the "wrapping paper"
- Create a rosette out of a new dish cloth
- Tie it up with Food Loops
- Fashion a bouquet of measuring spoons
- Accent the ribbons with vanilla beans and cinnamon sticks
- Going for a more traditional finish? We'll wrap
your purchases free of charge!
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Smart Celebration Tips
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Tip #1: Don't forget about food safety amidst
the hubbub! Keep hot foods hot, cold foods cold. Avoid allowing foods to sit
at room temperature. Plan ahead for leftovers by readying some leftover
containers. Once in the refrigerator, allow plenty of space around the
containers to hasten the cool down process.
Tip #2: Simplify the bar. Instead of setting up a full bar, consider
serving beer and wine, and maybe a seasonal specialty drink such as eggnog,
buttered rum, or a spiked cider. We have a couple of recipes for you to try on our website -- :Mike's Short-Cut Egg Nog and New Year's Tom and Jerry's.
Tip
#3: Wrap gifts in a reusable shopping bag. This decreases the need for
throwaway wrapping paper now and decreases the use of plastic shopping bags all
year long.
Tip #4: Use the dishes
you have, even if they don't match! This saves on paperware expenses and is
kinder to the environment.
Tip
#5: Bring a dish to pass and leave the dish as a gift for the
hostess.
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Q & A's
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 Q: How can I save money on the big holiday
dinner?
A: There are several
ways to save food costs while not scrimping on the festivities. Choose less
expensive meats for the main course such as chicken or pork, then dress it up
with a special preparation that's reserved for the holidays. Eliminate one or
two dishes - no one will notice and there will be plenty of food. If serving a
full dinner, skip any appetizers, or keep them very, very simple.
 Q: If bringing a hostess gift of wine, should it be
chilled and ready to serve?
A: Bringing a gift of wine is
always a perfect hostess gift. Typically, the gift of wine is meant to
replenish the host's wine cellar, and not necessarily to be consumed that
evening. However, if you're bringing champagne or a sparkling wine to a New
Year's celebration, it's not inappropriate to bring it chilled and ready for
midnight. Make your gift special with a beautiful wine bag!
Q: Plastic glasses are so much cheaper for
entertaining, why would I want to use glassware?
A: Most people invest in plastic drinkware for
the ease of clean-up and a decrease in breakage. However, nothing classes up an
event more easily than real glass drinkware. Today's choices are very sturdy
and hold up well in the dishwasher making clean up easy. A small investment in
drinkware returns real savings after just a few uses.
Q: Are thank you
notes still necessary in this electronic age?
A: By all means, yes! Giving and receiving
gifts is a token of the shared relationship. Always acknowledge the gift with a
thank you note, and do so within a week of receiving the gift. A hand-written
expression of thanks takes a minimal amount of effort and is a reciprocal sign
of friendship that respects the time and resource of the giver. |
Cookbook Review
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The Fondue Bible by
Ilana Simon. Published by Robert Rose, Inc., Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Copyright 2007.
 With a title like The
Fondue Bible, expectations are set high! This cookbook does not
disappoint! Ms. Simon divulges everything you'd like to know about fondue while
creating heaps of inspiration along the way. She logically lays out the book
according to the four primary types of fondue: cheese, oil, broth, and dessert.
Within each category, dozens of recipes are offered, each with a twist of
freshness or nuance that will have you falling in love with fondue once again.
Explore the pages, and you'll find the classics, but you'll also find Mexican
Fondue, Camembert and Pesto Fondue, Moroccan Meatball Fondue, Tempura
Vegetables, Mongolian Hot Pot, Bagna Cauda, Chocolate Cherry Fondue, Vanilla
Fondue, and dozens more. Each recipe is structured clearly with special
sections for "Making Ahead" steps, and
what to "Serve With" the fondue. The
book is packed with tips, etiquette, and suggestions for making fondue one of
your favorite entertaining methods.
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Recipes
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Recipes excerpted from The
Fondue Bible by Ilana Simon. Published
by Robert Rose, Inc., Toronto, Ontario, CA. Copyright 2007. Reprinted with
permission from the publisher. All rights reserved.
 Emmentaler Fondue with
Caramelized Shallots
This fondue satisfies at every level! The
melted bliss is speckled and enhanced by the caramelized shallots to the
perfection point. Every bite produced a contented sigh in our "test kitchen."
Following the do-ahead tips, the fondue took less than five minutes to
assemble. We enjoyed this fondue with sourdough bread and blanched
broccoli.
Click here
to view the full recipe.
Click here for a printable version of the
recipe.
 Pork Satay
After marinating the pork
strips and patting them a bit dry, the satay cooked quickly in the hot oil. We
lined our plate with a paper towel to drain away any excess oil, and dipped each
succulent bit into an Asian-style dipping sauce. Mmmm . . .
Click here to view the full recipe.
Click here for a printable version of the
recipe.
 Lime and Chipotle Shrimp Fondue
Seafood
is made for fondue occasions! It spears well, cooks quickly, and comes in
naturally bite-sized pieces. This marinade imbued the perfect pairing of
piquancy and spicy heat into each piece. We topped the experience with a
citrusy dipping sauce.
Click here to view the full recipe.
Click here for a printable version of the
recipe.
 Mocha Fudge Fondue
Coffee follows a
close second to chocolate in the pantheon of favorite flavors - combine the two
elements and life is good! We found this fondue, which was not overly sweet,
paired well with our selection of orchard fruits and chunks of angel food cake.
We also discovered the next morning that a couple of spoonfuls of leftover
fondue in our coffee mug made a great mocha latte!
Click here to view the full recipe.
Click here for a printable version of the
recipe.
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