Category: MISC

Aloha Friday ~

In Hawaii, Aloha Friday is the day they take it easy and look forward to the weekend. So I thought that on Fridays I would participate and take it easy on posting, too. Therefore, I’ll ask a simple question for you to answer. Nothing that requires a lengthy response.

If you’d like to participate, just post your own question on your blog and leave your link at An Island Life. Don’t forget to visit the other participants! It’s a great way to make new bloggy friends!

Today’s question is:
What is your favorite picnic food?

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The Need to Knead


I’ve been wanting to do a bread recipe round-up
for a LONNNNNNNNNNNG time
and it’s ALMOST finally here!


Joy at Joy Of Desserts


lil’ ‘ol me here at 3 Sides of Crazy,
are co-hosting a bread round-up
on October 15, 2008
for all types of bread recipes.
And we mean all breads!
White, wheat, banana, braided,
Sweet, Savory, rolls, biscuits, etc…
Whatever you’re in the mood to share.
We hope you will participate!

In preparation for the upcoming National Bread Month in November and for our driving desires and “NEED TO KNEAD” as well as the upcoming Holidays let’s all join in together on October 15th, 2008 and round-up all of our delicious bread recipes to look back on when we need to bake fantastic bread. I know many of mine were handed down by my grandma.

Here’s how we’ll do it:

  • Just post your recipes anytime until Oct 15, 2008.

  • Remember to use the Need To Knead Button.

  • Link to 3 Sides Of Crazy and then to Joy Of Desserts too.
  • Mr. Linky will be in place on October 15th.

    Come back here on October 15th to let us know about your recipes.

  • Then we’ll all visit each other.

To make it even easier you can link to recipes you have previously posted. Your blog can be in any language, but a translator on your site will be of a help to any who don’t speak the same language.

Want to help us spread the news about the round-up? Even if you are not sure whether you’ll be able to participate, you can still post the button in your sidebar or write a post about our round-up to let your readers know about it too.

I’m trying to pull together a great giveaway gift basket to coordinate with the NEED TO KNEAD campaign. Details to follow

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Need to Knead

We’d like to invite everyone to my Need to Knead Bread Roundup on October 15th. Joy at Joy of Desserts is co-hosting with me and we would love your recipes and your help in spreading the word about the roundup. Joy found this little baker on Flickr and thought he would be just perfect for this verse. There’s already quite a bit of interest and the more the merrier, so if you want to read all the details, be sure to click on the Need to Knead Bread Roundup post.

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Favorite Ingredient Friday ~ Appetizers & Snacks Edition

ARTICHOKE CRAB DIP
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 teaspoons minced garlic, jar
1 small jar artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 cup mayonnaise
8 ounces krab, finely chopped (about 2 cups)
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 bunch green onions, minced
salt & pepper to taste

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Mix together the cream cheese and mayonnaise until smooth.
  • Add garlic.
  • Add krab, green onions, Parmesan cheese, artichokes, salt and pepper.
  • Mix together well.
  • Spread into a well greased shallow baking dish.
  • Bake 30 minutes or until the edges are golden.
  • Garnish with green onion tops.

BAKED ONION SPREAD
1 sweet Vidalia onion, minced fine
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup mayonnaise
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
1/8 teaspoon lemon juice

  • Mix ingredients all together until well blended.
  • Spread into a shallow baking dish and bake 10-15 minutes at 350 degrees.
  • Serve with wheat thins or bread chunks.

CHUNKY BEAN DIP
16 ounces refried black beans
2/3 cup grated cheddar jack mix of cheese
1 bunch green onions, sliced thin
3/4 cup chunky salsa
2 teaspoons lime juice
2 teaspoons minced garlic, jar
small can whole kernel corn, drained

  • Preheat oven 350 degrees
  • Combine the refried beans, 1/2 of the cheese, the lime juice, garlic, 1/2 of green onions and 1/3 of the salsa.
  • Spread into the bottom of a PURE sprayed shallow baker.
  • Evenly sprinkle the corn over top.
  • Top with remaining salsa.
  • Bake 25 minutes.
  • Top with remaining cheese.
  • Bake 5 minutes more.
  • Garnish with remaining green onions.

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Tasty Thursday ~ Creamy Tomato Soup with Baked Cheese Croutons

CREAMY TOMATO SOUP with BAKED CHEESE CROUTONS

SOUP
2 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 teaspoons minced garlic
½ teaspoon oregano
1 cup White Grenache Wine
2-28 ounce cans Contadina crushed tomatoes
2-14 ounce cans chicken broth*
½ cup whole milk or heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste

Over low heat melt the butter, stir in garlic and brown the finely chopped onion. Add the wine and simmer 10-15 minutes. Add the tomatoes and broth. Stir well and simmer 1 hour or more. Add the cream during the last fifteen minutes and simmer slow-DO NOT BOIL!! Bake the croutons during this time.

*or make your own with 3 1/2 cups hot water and 3 teaspoons vegetable or chicken bouillon.

CROUTONS
6 slices thick sourdough bread
butter, melted, enough to coat bread
½ cup Fontina Cheese
½ cup grated Parmesan Cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place bread slices on oven rack and bake until dry and golden. Melt butter in flat bowl. Combine cheeses in flat bowl. Dip first in butter and the cheese mixture. Bake on cookie sheet 8-10 minutes until cheese is bubbly and melted. Float croutons on top of soup bowls just before serving.

Yields: 6 BOWLS
Time to make: 1½ hr

I do the memes: Menu Plan Monday hosted by Laura at I’m an Organizing Junkie, Favorite Ingredient Friday hosted by Kathryn at Overwhelmed with Joy, Freezer Food Friday hosted by MJ at mjpuzzlemom, Scrumptious Sunday hosted by Meredith at Mercedes Rocks, Tasty Thursday hosted by Pumpkin Patch, Watchin’ What We Eat hosted by Lorie at Honey I Shrank Myself and Slow Cooking Thursday hosted by Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom. Doing them all make great additions to help keeping me on track and finding so new recipes!


We have the Need to KNEAD

Have you heard about the Need to Knead Bread Roundup? I wanted to do a bread round up and Joy at Joy of Desserts, another Scrumptious Sunday participant offered to make this great button and co-host this bread Roundup on October 15th along with the help of Barbara at Candy Hearts and Paper Flowers who has so generously offered to be our Mr. Linky person. We will roundup all types of bread recipes. We already have a number of people signed up and it promises to be great. You are all invited to participate. We would love it if you would join us, and we would love it if you would help us spread the word by putting this button in your sidebars or even writing a short post about the roundup.

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There's a new meme in town ~ The Revival of Common Courtesy ~ First Edition {1} ~ Being the Perfect Hostess

Though Emily Post’s advice in the 1920’s was addressed to a different era, the fundamentals like common sense and common courtesy are elements still pertinent today. With our busy schedules today it takes a lot of work, just as much now as back then, to make a dinner party or weekend a success. The key is in the planning and preparation. You do not want to appear or feel stressed out. With the proper planning and preparation everyone will have a good time including yourself. In order for your guests to have a good time, you need to also.

Emily Post addressed several classifications; mealtime parties, weekend visits, uninvited guests, single women, lingering guests, liquor problems and unexpected gifts. While some of her information is a bit dated, the basics are still the same.

Mealtime Parties ~ Be ready* ahead of time, don’t plan on anyone being late. *Ready means not answering the door in your cleaning clothes with the dust cloth in hand, having the table set as well as the appetizers and cocktails ready to be served at the invitation time.

If this is a larger occasion with assigned seating, be sure to seat guests next to others that they will have things in common. Be especially aware if you have invited children how their placement will affect the mood of the affair.

If you have invited everyone for a backyard BBQ, don’t wear formal wear and diamonds! You want to put your guests at ease. While events today tend to be more casual, your job as hostess is still to put your guests at ease.

Make sure you mingle with all your guests and not keep yourself secluded in the kitchen.

Keep an eye on your guests refreshments. Make sure to offer more as necessary so they don’t feel awkward asking.

Weekend Visits ~ Communication is the key to a good weekend visit. Be sure to cover all your bases in the invitation. Let your guests know if they need their swimming suits or more formal dress for a special night. Let them know what equipment you have on hand if you’re planning on a day of tennis or golfing, etc…

When your guests first arrive be sure to give them a tour including where their room, the bathroom, towels and such are located. I like to also keep a small basket of essential toiletries (small sample shampoos, soaps, a toothbrush and traveling toothpaste) hung in the guest room. I also make sure there are always empty drawers and plenty of “real” hangers hanging in the closet. By real I mean hangers that are not the throw aways from the cleaners that won’t support a suit coat.

I also like to place fresh flowers in their room before they arrive. This isn’t sometimes possible in the winter and so I have a bright and cheery silk arrangement in there also.

If something is off limits be sure to say so up front. Maybe you have told them to make themselves at home and help themselves to whatever they like. You have a special dessert planned though that will use the fresh strawberries. They will not know to not eat the strawberries unless you have said so up front.

Share your plans by giving your guests a basic time line regarding what time you’ll be serving breakfast or leaving for the lake, etc…

If your guests are family or really good friends, don’t be afraid to ask for help when necessary. This will also make them feel more relaxed and promote a more relaxed atmosphere for the weekend.

Uninvited Guests ~ It is like Murphy’s law that an unexpected guest will always show up at the most inconvenient time. Other than normal common courtesy, you have no obligation to an unannounced visitor.

You do have several choices when they arrive at mealtime. If the meal will stretch to include additional portions invite them to stay if you would like. If it will not, feel free to explain to them that you were just about to eat and would they mind stopping by later. If you are on your way out to an appointment or another dinner engagement it is okay to let them know that if they would call first next time they are in the neighborhood you would be sure to be available to see them. All of this is at your discretion based on your relationship with the guests. You naturally always allow more leeway with family and close friends, but it is still your choice.

Single Women ~ In today’s world, this is not the problem it once was. Nowadays this pertains primarily to older women who may not want to arrive or depart by themselves. An attentive hostess will foresee this and ask someone near her if they would mind picking her up and bring her with them and then seeing her home also.

Lingering Guests ~ The best and effective way to end a party at the appropriate time is to close the bar. You could also stifle a hidden yawn, suggest to your spouse that you go to bed to allow your guests to get home or jokingly suggest your guests drop the kids off at school on their way home. You know your guests best and need to decide the best course of action.

Liquor Problems ~ This is pretty much the same today as it was then. As the host you are responsible for seeing that a drunken guest gets home safely. Their car keys should be taken away and discretion used based on each situation.

Unexpected (FOOD such as wine or cakes) Gifts ~ While it is thoughtful, it does not require a priority if it is unexpected. If you have already purchased a wine that coordinates with your menu or prepared a dessert for the meal yours should take precedence. Be sure to thank the donor and tell them how much you will enjoy their gift.

“What are the little things you
do to make your guests feel at home?”

Next week we will cover being a gracious guest.
August 12th ~ The Art of R.S.V.P.
August 19th ~ How to Write a perfect Thank you note & knowing when to do so

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