eG Foodblog: ronnie_suburban - A high volume week

[pariah_kerry]

WOW!

I hope I get an invitation next year too!

I'll just show up and eat my weight.

[ronnie_suburban]

One awesome element of being in Chicago this time of year--my garage is a steady 40 degrees F, so we pulled one of the cars out into the driveway and set up a couple of tables--and now the garage is actually my own gigantic walk-in cooler

I wouldn't be surprised if you came home to see a bunch of varmints (racoons, squirrels, mice) trying to figure out how to jimmy the lock.

There were some tracks (probably racoons) by the garage walk-out door this morning...luckily we don't keep a key under the mat

=R=

Edited December 12, 2003 by ronnie_suburban (log)

[ronnie_suburban]

One awesome element of being in Chicago this time of year--my garage is a steady 40 degrees F, so we pulled one of the cars out into the driveway and set up a couple of tables--and now the garage is actually my own gigantic walk-in cooler

I wouldn't be surprised if you came home to see a bunch of varmints (racoons, squirrels, mice) trying to figure out how to jimmy the lock.

i was expecting 'lil Varmints myself.

wrong Heartlander for that

=R=

[ronnie_suburban]

One awesome element of being in Chicago this time of year--my garage is a steady 40 degrees F, so we pulled one of the cars out into the driveway and set up a couple of tables--and now the garage is actually my own gigantic walk-in cooler   That will come in super handy after we get the devilled eggs filled, since the finished platters cannot be stacked and are otherwise difficult to store.

We do that with our second bedroom when we entertain. I open up the windows to bring the room to outside temperature, and place the platters on all the flat surfaces available. We call it our "cold room."

It's also a great place to chill wine.

I like that, makes perfect sense to me. Of course, I'm always hot, so I'd probably want to sleep in there too--especially with the food and wine so nearby

=R=

[ronnie_suburban]

Still haven't hit the coffee yet, but it's coming soon.  My bean source came through yet again

=R=

Well, I never made it to making the coffee this morning...went out for a Whole Foods run and lazied out at Starbucks. I had every intention of making some real coffee too but right after I got home my Class-A, World's Greatest Assistant showed up and the beverages quickly took a turn toward the fermented

With the masterful help at hand, what is normally the absolute hardest day of the prep passed far less stressfully than it usually does. Dare I say it...we actually had fun.

We--and I use the term loosely because I personally felt like I did very little--turned out the spinach and artichoke dip (will bake tomorrow), the avocado and goat cheese dip (with some excellent improvements/modifcations over previous years), made the filling for the devilled eggs and also cooked up and crumbled the 1.5 pounds of bacon that will eventually top them, made the punch (everything but the fizzy stuff which I will add at party time), rolled, pinned and marinated the rumaki, sliced and bagged 8 dozen mini bagels, and 7 dozen mini rolls.

Along the way I did taste a few things and for purposes of this blog, that's just going to have to count as eating...the crumbled bacon (a mixture of Farmland and Nueske brands) was delicious, as was the Spinach & Artichoke dip. We cooked up a 'little buddy' of the stuff and ate it with blue corn tortilla chips. I was also treated to tastes of a few things which the assistant made, from scratch, and brought over for the party...bread and butter pickles, gardeniera and a few bites of a duck and ham pate (based on a Penelope Casas recipe) that basically knocked me off my feet - YUM! I'm thinking about heading out to the walk-in...I mean the garage right now and polishing it off before any guests wander over tomorrow

Here's a pic of the pate before we 'tested' it...

And here's a pic of the bacon cooking...(pay no attention to the 'Sell Out' brand tortilla chips in the background)

It'll still be a long evening of prepping the house, filling the coolers and making the prep lists for tomorrow. If I haven't mentioned yet, I love to make lists. Right now, I'm heading back to the kitchen to finally make that pot of coffee. Pretty sure I'm going to need it...

=R=

[maggiethecat]

Wow. That pate sounds amazing.

I trust your assistant brought the coffee?

[ronnie_suburban]

I'll just show up and eat my weight.

Only what?...a 6-hour drive from Omaha to Chicago

=R=

[ronnie_suburban]

Wow.  That pate sounds amazing.

I trust your assistant brought the coffee?

Yes, the assistant and the bean source are one and the same. Did I mention that he also shined my shoes, washed my wife's back while she showered, resurfaced the driveway and built a small addition onto the house?

=R=

[maggiethecat]

Wow.  That pate sounds amazing.

I trust your assistant brought the coffee?

Yes, the assistant and the bean source are one and the same. Did I mention that he also shined my shoes, washed my wife's back while she showered, resurfaced the driveway and built a small addition onto the house?

=R=

He didn't fold the laundry? He always does that here!

Rest up, tonight Ronnie! Sounds as if you're going to need all the rest you can get!

[fifi]

When I have a lot of bacon to process, I put it on a rack over a baking sheet in the oven. The thought of doing that much bacon in a frying pan is just painful to me. Good grief, I envy your cool temperatures so that your garage can become a cooler.

[ronnie_suburban]

When I have a lot of bacon to process, I put it on a rack over a baking sheet in the oven. The thought of doing that much bacon in a frying pan is just painful to me. Good grief, I envy your cool temperatures so that your garage can become a cooler.

That's a great idea Fifi...not better than an assistant who does it all for you of course, but a close second for sure

=R=

[Toliver]

...made the filling for the devilled eggs and also cooked up and crumbled the 1.5 pounds of bacon that will eventually top them...

Hold it, Hold it, Hold it right there.

You mean you top your deviled eggs with bacon?!

The mere thought of such a combination is setting my tastebuds to salivating.

Do you do anything special with your filling?

My, my, my.

Thanks for bringing a shining moment into my afternoon!

[Flocko]

Hi Ronnie:

Great blog, buddy. I love hearing of your menu and prep for the party!!....And the pictures...........GREAT!! Thanks!

Good luck and good eating tomorrow.

BTW..............Are you a real cowboy, or did you just find that hat?

(No offense meant.............It's an old Utah expression................Was part of the punchline of an old joke )

Best wishes for the party.

Bill

[ronnie_suburban]

Hi Ronnie:

Great  blog, buddy.  I love hearing of your menu and prep for the party!!....And the pictures...........GREAT!!  Thanks!

Good luck and good eating tomorrow.

BTW..............Are you a real cowboy, or did you just find that hat?

(No offense meant.............It's an old Utah expression................Was part of the punchline of an old joke )

Best wishes for the party.

Bill

LMAO! I'm a wannabe cowboy if there ever was one!

That pic was actually from Halloween 2002.

I guess you blew my cover

=R=

edited to add: the deer on the cowboy hat in my avatar pic is actually the logo of the town I live in and I added it to the pic in photoshop.

Edited December 13, 2003 by ronnie_suburban (log)

[ronnie_suburban]

...made the filling for the devilled eggs and also cooked up and crumbled the 1.5 pounds of bacon that will eventually top them...

Hold it, Hold it, Hold it right there.

You mean you top your deviled eggs with bacon?!

The mere thought of such a combination is setting my tastebuds to salivating.

Do you do anything special with your filling?

My, my, my.

Thanks for bringing a shining moment into my afternoon!

LOL! I have, in the past, always worked the crumbled bacon into the filling but this year (while I was typing somewhere back on page 1 of this thread) I realized that topping them with bacon would be better. The filling would be easier to move through the pastry bag and the bacon would actually be crunchy and still add flavor to the eggs.

The filling is basically a mixture of the yolks, mayo, several different mustards, some chopped up bread and butter pickles (from the stock brought by the assistant) and some of the rendered bacon fat which had been whipped into an emulsion/demi-mayo--another innovation conceived and executed by the assistant. The testers (hey I forgot to mention those earlier) were really good...the filling was creamy and flavorful and the bacon...well, it was bacon

I also have some really nice Hungarian Sweet Paprika from Penzey's which I'll dust on top of the bacon layer right before the party. I'll be sure to post a pic of the finished units after I assemble them.

BTW, dinner tonight was supposed to be some delivery food from Player's Grill in Highland Park, IL. After 90 minutes, we called them up and realized they'd forgotten our order, so we cancelled it and dinner's still up in the air at the moment. What did I tell you guys about relying on carry-out in the 'burbs? It's bad news

=R=

[ronnie_suburban]

Approaching 1:00 a.m. here and things are under control So many little things just creep up on ya'...it can be a kind of crazy.

Tonight we loaded the beers into a cooler and iced them (I think the white wine will be fine in the garage at 40 degrees F), 'made' the cocktail sauce for the shrimp, the dipping sauce for the rumaki (organic Santa Rosa plum puree, asian mustard, blueberry blossom honey) and plated the stuffed grape leaves and hummus. We began to set up the buffet tables, the dessert table and the bar. We also selected serving vessels for most of the items and plotted out their eventual locations.

We're going with 3 chafing dishes, 1 (possibly 2) electric warming trays and 1 punch bowl. There are primary locations and satellite locations for a few of the item, so some further decisions also had to be made. There also are about 15 condiments and garnishes that each need their own set-up and things like the bar (olives, onions, lemon, lime, horseradish, pickles, etc.) and the lox station (cream cheese, chive cheese, fresh chives & dill, capers, red onion, tomatoes, etc.) require a bit more creativity since space is somewhat limited by the quantity of items.

It's all coming together but there are a lot of details to line up. I try to imagine anything a guest could possibly need during the party and develop a method and/or system by which it can be refilled easily during the event. In case I am not around when someone needs something, I want it to be in a fairly logical and easy to deal with location. Hopefully one of the hired hands or someone who knows my house well can take it from there. If not, we'll wing it

Dinner ended up being some more sliced ham and some of that roast that my wife cooked a few nights ago...it's all a blur right now and I can't remember when she actually cooked it. I began to wean myself off Atkins a bit by eating half a rye roll with some President brand unsalted butter. I also dipped into the stash I picked up at the Callebaut store the other day. It's supposed to be for the party, but at this point, I just couldn't walk by it another time without checking it out. Mmmmm...chocolate.

G'nite all.

=R=

[hillvalley]

Ronnie, despite a raging case of stomach flu my mouth is watering!!! I am so impressed with the pate. If Chicago was closer to DC I would be begging for an invite.

Good luck tonight. Have a wonderful time.

Anybody else think Ronnie looks like a certain jolly fellow who likes to wear a red suit? He could be the egullet Santa.

[guajolote]

RONNIE ROCKS!

damn, this party was so awesome i'm still here.

wait till you see the spread, one of the all-time great ones.

[maggiethecat]

Just an incredible spread. We'll be talking about the food at this party for a long, long time. I'm still kicking myself that I didn't have more of the smoked salmon, the beautiful sushi, the jambalaya, the meat balls, the ...

Yes, wait for the pictures. A party for the ages; when I left people were still having a high old time.

Did I mention Ronnie's cheescake?

[bloviatrix]

One awesome element of being in Chicago this time of year--my garage is a steady 40 degrees F, so we pulled one of the cars out into the driveway and set up a couple of tables--and now the garage is actually my own gigantic walk-in cooler   That will come in super handy after we get the devilled eggs filled, since the finished platters cannot be stacked and are otherwise difficult to store.

We do that with our second bedroom when we entertain. I open up the windows to bring the room to outside temperature, and place the platters on all the flat surfaces available. We call it our "cold room."

It's also a great place to chill wine.

I like that, makes perfect sense to me. Of course, I'm always hot, so I'd probably want to sleep in there too--especially with the food and wine so nearby

=R=

You're sounding a lot like my husband now.

[ronnie_suburban]

*big sigh*

Another chapter is in the books and I am wiped.

We had a fantastic time and, in my mind, the holiday season has now officially begun.

I don't really have an actual count but I think the party was more lightly attended than in recent years--I think we had only about 110 people come through tonight. The weather was kind of bad and a lot of people are ill so that may partially explain it. I think there were more partial families represented this year than in any other I can remember. But, since this party is often the one time each year we see some of our old friends, the lower attendance was somewhat disappointing in that we just didn't get to see everyone. On a positive note, more food disappeared than ever, so the effort made by all who helped was not in vain in spite of the smaller turn-out.

[Hallmark© moment]

And...on a very positive note, a few of our new friends joined in and made the party special--specifically I'm talking about a few folks I've met here--who I have had the great pleasure to have met and socialized with this year. This last toast of the evening goes out to my Heartland friends...you guys made this a very special night. After all the times we've gotten together, it was wonderful to finally have you over to our place to participate in our shindig.

*Raises Glass*

*clink clink*

[/Hallmark© moment]

Ok, as for the food, the list of what I didn't have is probably shorter than the list of what I did have In no particular order I had...shrimp with cocktail sauce, pate on baguette with bread and butter pickles, smoked ham, baked brie, devilled eggs, jambalaya, meatballs, chorizo con chihuahua, veal sauage with parsley, bavarian mortadella, cervillat salami, tortilla chips, mini sesame bagel with lox, chive cheese and red onion, more than a few sugared pecans, 1 raspberry linzer cookie, 1 rugelah, 3 glasses of punch, two pieces of spicy tuna maki (inside out with misago), a coupla' handfulls of the roasted chickpea & pistachio mixture, a few chocolates, more than a couple mini hotdogs, diet sprite, fewer than 5 mini spanikopitas, a smattering of pretzels, some ficelle, avocado and goat cheese dip, rumaki with dipping sauce, a glass of mulled mead, a slice of spice bread, a hunk of fudge...oh hell, you get the point and I'm still leaving stuff out.

Not only will I try to be more thorough in the morning, I'll even try to post a few pics too. Wow! I can't believe the damned thing's over already. Now, all I have left to do is pass out.

=R=

Edited December 14, 2003 by ronnie_suburban (log)

[ronnie_suburban]

Started the day (around 10 am - Yikes!) by brewing up a pot of hand-roasted guatemalan coffee in my plunge pot. For the record, I took it with just a tiny splash of half & half. Thanks again to my bean source for the excellent kickstart.

I also helped myself to a slab of the leftover pate, 2 toasted, mini sesame bagels with chive cheese, fresh chives, a touch of fresh dill and some lox. After that, I ate in tiny little pecan pie/tart and a milk-chocolate and macadamia biscotti. Yes, I actually eat We're heading to another holiday party shortly, so there will be even more of that particular activity coming up soon.

I'm still a bit tweaked from last night. It's really hard to settle down after that many days in a row of prepping for such a large event. In a perfect world, there is no party today, and I stay home, watch the Bears game and recreate the entire buffet from last night in my 'walk-in' for grazing during the week.

Below are a few pictures from last night...

The buffet table...a few desserts had not yet shown up.

Meatballs in a BBQ/Beefy sauce...we moved a lot of these this year.

Chorizo con chihuahua...ended being entirely consumed.

A cross-section of the outstanding pate...and part of my breakfast

Rumaki...every single one was eaten.

Shrimp...this is about half of the 15#...every shrimp was eaten.

Love them mini-hotdogs...we made 500, but would have been fine with 400.

Bake brie with chopped pecans and brown sugar, topped with puff pastry. I made 2, the other had the Star of David.

The revamped, SW style Avocado and Goat Cheese Dip.

Assortment of necessary (and delicious) carbohydrates

Spinach & Artichoke Dip

Devilled Action Action Shot

Like delicate snowflakes...no 2 eggzactly the same.

Yule Log...made by my step-mom, the showoff

I'll be back this evening to make the final installment to my blog and tag next week's blogger. Any volunteers before I cruelly pluck someone from the ether against their will?

=R=

[Mayhaw Man]

We have a big holiday shindig ever year. Those meatballs (exactly the same thing) disappear in short order, no matter what else people have to graze on.

Those littel hot dog things are great. Another item that dissappears quickly. I like to put em close to something rediculously expensive (caviar, salmon, beef tenderloin) and watch the hoi polloi go for the weenies. I don't know why, but I always find it very humorous and satisfying.

Thanks for the great reports this week. I have really enjoyed them as we are not doing a big party until sometime in January due to some family health situations. The food looked great and your mil has a right ot be proud of the Yule Log. Give her a break. That thing looked great

[Fresser]

Oy, what a party!

The entire Heartland contingent could have showed up at Ronnie's last night and he wouldn't have run out of food.

I actually brought a few pounds of fresh string beans, hoping to whip up my famous Stir-Fried Green Beans, but Ronnie assured me that they'd hold till the next day. So here's the recipe:

Wash the beans and trim the ends off.

Then heat a large skillet (or soup pot, as it stops splatters) and add your favorite cooking oil or margarine. Plop the string beans in and stir-fry them quickly.

About five minutes in, add cloves of crushed garlic, onion powder and continue to stir-fry. When they're cooked to the desired crispness, splash in some soy sauce and toss some more. You're done!

Probably the best part (for me, anyway) was romping with the little ones after dinner. About four little beasties converged on me and gave the Fress Man a tag-team wedgie!

Even adorable Iris joined in, as she snuck up behind me, wound up and smacked me on the butt!

Oops...don't tell G-Man that.

[Cusina]

Ronnie, what a beautiful spread. I can tell from everyone's responses that it was a great evening. 110 people is still quite the party!

It is nice to sit down after it is all over and reflect on how many great people you have to feed some great food to. I love that kind of entertaining too. Congratulations and happy holidays!