Tag: #quick

Lentils and Roses

On By Leslie Byars RegisterIn soups, The Parties, The Recipes

One bunch of grocery store roses and a couple bags of red lentils”

Sometimes when you are doing a floral arrangement, you have your heart set on a certain flower, and you go to the store and they don’t have anything even close to what you were imagining. That’s when the fun starts.

There are no boundaries when you are playing with flowers. The world is your oyster.

In my opinion, a mass of any color or flower is usually more effective than a mixture—although I like to change it up sometimes.

When I saw these coral sweetheart roses at the grocery store floral department, I instantly thought of red lentils. That’s how my mind works. Not only were the lentils a similar color, but also they would serve as an anchor for my vases in the container for easy, painless transportation.

Gathering your provisions is half the fun.
Lentils are found in the grocery store aisle with the other dried beans.
Look for containers with dual purposes like this basket-like shape.
Miniature old-fashioned milk bottles filled with water are the vases for the roses. They easily nestle into the bed of lentils for stability.

I took this arrangement to a birthday dinner last spring. It’s nice to take flowers to a restaurant for a special occasion if they are compact and don’t interfere with the service. It instantly creates a homey feel at the table. I usually try to drop them off late that afternoon, while the tables are being set, to avoid any confusion and simplify my arrival at dinnertime.

The galvanized container and bottles are from Oak Street Garden Shop, oakstreetgardenshop.com

Don’t be afraid to put any combination together. You are the floral designer.

Now what to do with the leftover lentils after the flowers are gone?

Lentils cook quickly and make a healthy, light lunch or simple supper in a stew.

Leslie’s Leftover Lentil Stew

Makes 2 1/2 quarts

2 cups lentils

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

5 celery ribs sliced diagonally

4 to 5 cloves garlic

2 (14.5-ounce) cans low-sodium chicken broth

2 (14.5-ounce) cans diced fire roasted tomatoes

Juice of 1 lemon

2 tablespoons chili powder

1 tablespoon cumin

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Dash of hot sauce

Rinse lentils in a bowl until the water is no longer cloudy. It may take a few times. Place 2 cups of lentils in a medium saucepan; add 4 cups of cold water. Bring to a boil, and simmer for about 20 minutes until beans are tender. They will open up a little bit.

While they are cooking, sauté onion, celery, and garlic in olive oil in a large Dutch oven. Cook for about 5 minutes or until tender and onions are translucent.

Drain the lentils; add them to the onions, celery, and garlic. Add the chicken broth, and remaining ingredients. Simmer for one hour. Serve with crackers or hot French bread.

A cold week is like a rainy day you desperately need to get your life back together. You will feel organized by Friday if you check these all off your list.

Arctic Blast Activities

  1. Write your holiday thank-you notes. Yes, that never goes out of style.
  2. Clean out the cluttered drawers around your house.
  3. Set up a card table for a puzzle or a craft project.
  4. Put away all the straggling Christmas gifts and decorations.
  5. Fill in all upcoming activities, trips, etc. on a 2018 calendar.
  6. Buy a new houseplant to perk up a corner or coffee table.
  7. Start a new exercise class; change it up.
  8. Plan a spring party.
  9. Try a new recipe.
  10. Make a batch of Freezer Pizza Crusts (page 180, see Leslie’s Party Diaries)
One batch makes 12 healthy, thin pizza crusts. They are a crowd-pleaser!

Happy New Year!

Coming up in the next few weeks, Favorite Weeknight Meals, Breakfast for Dinner, Super Bowl Supper ideas, Knife-and-Fork Sandwiches, and more! Be sure to subscribe to dearpartydiary.com. I may sneak a few posts in just for those special folks who do.

Also, be sure to subscribe or pick up a copy of Birmingham Home and Garden magazine, birminghamhomeandgarden.com. My first food column is out now in the January/February issue.

I would love to hear from you. Don’t be shy about making comments or asking questions. I love getting mail! Leslie

 

 

 

There’s No Place Like My Old Kentucky Home

On By Leslie Byars RegisterIn appetizers, soups, The Recipes1 Comment

I will never forget my second-grade spring break. My parents had the bright idea that we would take an educational tour of the state of Kentucky. We started at Lincoln’s Birthplace, hit a few horse farms, ate breakfast on the track at Keeneland, and ended up at My Old Kentucky Home. Somewhere along the way—one of our first night stops—we went to Harrodsburg, Kentucky, to the Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill.

We saw every inch of this authentic Quaker village, but the part I remember most was the disappointed look on my dad’s face when we got to our room in the inn. It wasn’t the twin beds with trundles underneath, the stark white walls, the uncarpeted floor—it was the tiny, black-and-white television sitting on a small table in a corner of the room. It was Masters week, and that was not what he was picturing for his viewing pleasure. The fairways, greens, azaleas, and sky were all fifty shades of gray.

As you can tell, this book has gotten a lot of use. This is one of Shaker Village’s many cookbooks.

The silver lining—the food was delicious. We left with all three of their cookbooks and used recipes from them often thereafter. One of my mom’s favorites is the Tomato-Celery Soup, which we called Shakertown Tomato Soup from that day on.

It’s a cinch to make and takes maybe 15 minutes if you are a slow chopper. This company-worthy recipe easily can be doubled or tripled, and it is also perfect any weeknight with a simple grilled cheese.

I try to keep these ingredients on hand at all times so I can make this without a trip to the store. (Even though this sock monkey sugar bowl lid has been broken, I could never part with this handmade treasure that Sallie made me years ago.)
None of your guests would ever guess this beautiful recipe started with a can of tomato soup. Plate and bowl from Anthropologie at anthropologie.com. Spoon from my dear friend, Virginia.

Tomato-Celery Soup

Serves 4 as a starter

2 tablespoons butter

1 cup chopped onion

½ cup chopped celery

1 (10½-ounce) can of tomato soup

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon chopped parsley, plus extra for garnish

1 teaspoon sugar

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

Garnish with heavy whipping cream and chopped parsley

Sauté onion and celery in butter; do not brown. Add tomato soup, one can of water, lemon juice, parsley, sugar, salt, and pepper. Simmer for five minutes. Celery will remain crisp.

Top with cream and chopped parsley.

Use a squeeze bottle to dollop whipping cream for perfect circles.
Use a dry toothpick to pull through center of dollop to make a dreamy heart.

Leslie Likes: Campbell’s Tomato Soup

Yields 4 Servings

Tomato-Celery Soup
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Ingredients

  • tablespoons butter
  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • ½ cup chopped celery
  • 1 (10½-ounce) can of tomato soup
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon chopped parsley, plus extra for garnish
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon pepper
  • Garnish with heavy whipping cream and chopped parsley

Instructions

  1. Sauté onion and celery in butter; do not brown.
  2. Add tomato soup, one can of water, lemon juice, parsley, sugar, salt, and pepper.
  3. Simmer for five minutes. Celery will remain crisp.
  4. Top with cream and chopped parsley.
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Thanksgiving Thoughts

With Thanksgiving approaching I can’t help but think about all of the things I am really thankful for—excluding the given, of course, health and family.

10 Things I Can’t Live Without

    1. My morning cup of coffee
    1. Le Creuset cookware
    1. Acuvue Oasis contact lenses
    1. Pasta
    1. Warmth of the sunshine
    1. Listerine Breath Strips
    1. Rainbow platform flip-flops
  1. A wood-burning fireplace
  2. Sterling silver
  3. Clean sheet night

I would love to hear from you. Don’t be shy about making comments or asking questions. I love getting mail! Leslie

Bubbly Bar

On By Leslie Byars RegisterIn appetizers, beverages, brunch, The Parties8 Comments

“I’ll have a double mimosa, hold the O.J.”

Fresh fruits and flowers set the tone for this colorful event.

Nothing says party more than a chilled bottle of Champagne. During football season, Thanksgiving weekend, or anytime during the holidays, take time to set up an attractive mimosa bar. Start with a decorative tray and a variety of fresh juices, such as orange, pineapple, and cranberry, and of course, ice-cold Champagne. For those less festive folks, throw out a bottle of vodka.

A little humor never hurt anything.

A quick and easy appetizer to serve with a mimosa bar is Parmesan-Parsley Popcorn—which falls into my Emergency Appetizer recipe category. I always have these ingredients on hand. I love to serve such a simple nibble in an interesting container. It changes everything.

Even though I’ve never smoked a cigarette in my life, I am somehow obsessed with vintage ashtrays. Certain things jump out at you and there is no explanation—other than there is a sense of nostalgia to them. I feel they will soon be extinct.

Be on the lookout for unusual serving pieces like these vintage treasures.

A large vintage ashtray is the ideal size and shape for a snack like this popcorn, and it’s always good to do something unexpected. The best compliment you can get after a party is for one of your guests to tell a friend what you did. Give them something to talk about.

One bag of microwave popcorn, tossed with Parmesan and then topped with chopped parsley. Impressive, huh?
Buttery saltines are always a crowd-pleaser; add a seasoning salt and they are over the top. Next time you have last-minute company, try Trader Joe’s Everything but the Bagel Sesame Seasoning Blend on top of saltines dipped in melted butter. Bake for 25 minutes at 275 degrees. (Bake on a rack on top of a cookie sheet.)
This blend of sesame and poppy seeds, sea salt, garlic, and onion is not just for bagels anymore.
The buttered saltines will get extra crispy baking on a rack instead of directly on the baking sheet. Find one that fits comfortably on top of your baking sheet.
And another really easy Emergency Appetizer is making a mad dash to the “olive garden” bar at your local grocery store. Spoon up a container of specialty olives, add a fancy lemon curl on top, and you are done. Voilà!

Somewhere near the ashtrays at most flea markets are the vintage ice trays—soon to be extinct too, thanks to modern-day ice machines. Look for an interesting ice tray shape, like this honeycomb-shaped one, to make a specialty cube to add to the bar. Pineapple juice freezes beautifully, and a cube of it will add a fresh taste to many of your concoctions without watering it down. Cranberry is a good choice too.

Small cubes are perfect for a skinny Champagne flute.
Cranberry juice frozen in a unique ice-cube tray almost looks like fruit when dropped into a glass of Champagne. It flavors as it melts. It’s a two-for-one special.

When time allows, order funny, printed cocktail napkins or interesting, custom cocktail stirrers.

Custom stirrers are available from Etsy at etsy.com/shop/FranJohnsonHouse.
How special are these stirrers?

Take advantage of fresh fruits and use them as a container for your garnishes, as I did here with the fresh pineapple. I simply cut a fresh pineapple in half, hollowed out the fruit from one side, and reserved the rest for garnish. You now have a beautiful bowl—that doesn’t need washing at the end of the night.

Decorate the bar with a pineapple bowl filled with the mimosa garnishes.

If hosting a special occasion with an honored guest, save one of the Champagne corks, place it in a mini glass shadow box, and let it be his or her party favor to remember the event. It will make the perfect keepsake. I buy these by the dozen—they come in handy for wine corks too. Thanks, Elizabeth, for sharing this idea with me years ago. (I have one sitting on my coffee table now that she gave me from our wedding.) It’s a thoughtful, easy gift. Your guests will be impressed.

This keepsake Cork Holder can be ordered from Mercantile + Co. at ggmercantileco.com.