From My Table To Yours...

Mama Caruso in Cambodia

Want to bring authentic cooking from Cambodia, Ghana, Nicaragua or other countries right into your own home? Well I want to expand on the concept of "From my table to yours..." with an innovative concept. Look forward to a cooking club - where we will cook side by side. Time to make it happen..."from my table to yours..." what would you like to cook with Mama Caruso...in your kitchen?  Mama Caruso

Mama Caruso in Ghana

Mama Caruso in Thailand...

Creating a Simple & Elegant (and low stress) Prom Dinner Experience

Make an event special by paying attention to the little details

A Simple & Elegant Prom Dinner

Take at least one stress...or several...out of your child's prom night by following these fun and easy ideas:

• Host the dinner at your home;
• Set the table with your finest china, silver and glassware to make it special - pull out all of that stuff you have been saving for a special occasion;
• Use cloth napkins and a decorative tablecloth;
• Decorate the table with candles, fresh flowers (I like to use fresh begonias that go out into the garden the next day) and the creatively folded cloth napkins;
• Serve appetizers outside while pictures are being taken (make extras for the parents who come for photos);
• Have your guests select the menu ahead of time (ensure that they will like, and perhaps eat the food you serve- if they want macaroni and cheese - make it so, just dress up the plating...);
• Modify the menu for easy eating (serve an Alfredo sauce instead of tomato sauce);
• Keep the meal simple and accessible you are cooking for kids, who may be dressed up like adults, but they are still kids - let them be kids
• Type up the menu and put on the table as a keepsake;
• Encourage your children to invite friends who may not be attending Prom (that adds a fun and relaxed energy to the evening);
• Get into the spirit and act the part - don a Chef's jacket or hat, a special apron, server's clothing, a maitre'd outfit, pour the NON-alcoholic sparkling cider like a Sommelier - play it up and have fun! 

Simple can be elegant too

Here's our menu from this year:

Appetizers:

• Antipasto including provolone cheese, salami, procuttio, marinated artichoke hearts, olives, pepperocinis and cherry tomatoes;
• Bread sticks;
• Veggie tray with tomatoes, mini peppers, olives and a brie wheel with crackers

Salad

• Ceasar salad

Dinner:

• Fettucini alfredo
• Shrimp scampi
• Garlic bread (yes...they wanted garlic bread)
• Asparagus

Dessert:

• Assorted cakes (store bought...and again, decoratively displayed) cut into small sections
• Coffee

Sparkling cider and San Pellegrino with lemon slices were served all night

To complete the experience several of us chauffeured them to the dance reducing worries about getting dresses dirty, parking, and dealing with jackets (it was 39 degrees outside). They loved being driven and picked up right at the door. Special, elegant and simple.

Shrimp and mushrooms were
added later to accommodate tastes

Prom is fast becoming a high stress evening where the expectations of a “perfect night” are out-pacing the expectations of a two year old on Christmas Eve. The pageantry and pomp is equal to that of a wedding and could rival the costs of at least being a bridesmaid in a wedding including garter, corsage, dresses, hair and make-up. Jewelry, manicures and shoes complete the look and send the cost soaring. Take a number of stresses off of the evening by hosting the dinner party at your home and making it special by dressing up and dressing up the table - those special moments are far more memorable when shared in a relaxed fun atmosphere instead of a stilted, formal event. These guys are kids - let them be kids and have an appropriate, and special event that will be one they will be sure to talk about for years to come...and who knows, perhaps they will even host their children's Prom dinners later...much later...because they enjoyed their experience that you helped create for them.  From my table to yours...enjoy!  Mama Caruso

Where to start? How about a dinner for prom?

 I just got in a new batch of Oilerie products from St. Paul and just can't decide where to start they are all calling me to cook....from the Roasted Hazelnut Oil, Rosemary E.V.O.O. and Vanilla E.V.O.O. to the Cherry Balsamic, Raspberry Balsamic and Fig Balsamic all kinds of recipes and menus are racing in my brain - I think I am just going to have to dive in and use them all. Fortunately this weekend a friend and I are cooking the dinner for my daughter's prom party so I imagine I will be able to break these out!

For more info about these great products please go to http://www.oilerie.com/store-location/oilerie-st.paul/

From my table to yours...Mama Caruso

Life Lessons From the Kitchen...#KitchenParty

#KitchenParty at my house on Thursday nights! 

Kitchen Party! That was the highlight of my day yesterday. #KitchenParty is an on-line, live experience sponsored by BakeSpace.com. The topic for last night's #KitchenParty was, 5 Biggest Mistakes to Avoid When Producing Recipe Videos featuring special guest Andrea Metcalf author of “Naked Fitness” a book designed to “strip away the excuses and feel good in their own skin”. With Babette Pepaj from BakeSpace.com moderating, Andrea took us through a number of do’s and don’ts when creating food videos. Many of her tips originated from her own lessons learned when shooting videos, although I wish I had asked the origins of she learned about spraying hair spray on the microwave so that it does not reflect the camera person in the picture…hmmm…

The #KitchenParty Hosts, Babette Pepaj from BakeSpace.com, Rene Lynch, LA Times editor and writer and Jeff Houck, Tampa Tribune writer bantered among themselves and between those of us connecting via Google Hangout, Twitter, blogs and Facebook and really made it feel like they were sitting right in my kitchen and we were sharing and learning with each other.

I used my laptop in the kitchen and made dinner for my family while the #KitchenParty took place. Every now and then members of my family would walk into the kitchen, pull up a stool, pour a glass of wine and join in the fun. It was really great. I am going to put some speakers in the kitchen so that the sound is better next week and I can hear over the noise of my own cooking. Babette’s cat made a friendly appearance – I love this kind of in-home connecting and am very excited about what will be rolling out of Mama Caruso’s kitchen in the very near future…

Some of the tips that were shared for creating food videos included suggestions that are relevant no matter what we are doing:

·         Be genuine;

·         Don’t overact, be yourself;

·         Make it look great – olive oil and spritzing water especially come in handy for this tip;

·         Chop or sweat – be prepared;

·         Be open – in this context: meaning open all bottles and jars ahead of time…but I prefer, be open;

·         When you make a mistake, keep on going;

·         Stop thinking about it and just do it;

·         Be willing to laugh at and with yourself.

There were so many other lessons, tips and suggestions that it would be worth watching again and you could do that too by going to www.BakeSpaceTV.com and clicking on Past Episodes of #KitchenParty. So pull up a stool, pour yourself a glass of your favorite refreshment, preferably in a mason jar and enjoy!

I can’t wait for next week’s episode, and am hoping by then to have figured out how to watch the live YouTube video cast while toggling back and forth to Twitter to interact without stopping the Google Hangout from playing. But I love Google Hangout enough that it is worth the learning curve and will keep you all posted.

So I am curious, what method do you prefer for on-line connecting? Twitter? Facebook? Google Hangout? Blogging? Go To Meetings? Skype? Others? I would love to know – it will help me as I work on delivering the next phase of my work…from my table to yours…Mama Caruso

And the Winner of the Black Olive Taste Test Is...

Broken/Damaged Olive Count

The Winner Based Upon the Judging Criteria!

What would you like us to test next?

Which one will discerning palates choose?

Which one will win the Mama Caruso taste test?

I am a generic snob. I usually refuse to buy the low end generic products available in our local grocery stores, I also shy away from the grocery store label if given the option. Lately, my local grocery store has been replacing some of my favorite name brand products with their own label exclusively, forcing me to leave town to purchase my favorite products. Pickles, baked beans and the product that inspired this article, olives have all been replaced by Hy-Vee brand products. Now there may be some products that they can get away with that kind of heavy-handed marketing strategy, but these three food types are deal-breakers for me.

This is not because I am a name snob, but because I am all about cooking for people and providing them with food that they like, and I contend that generic olives are mushy and contain more

Bloody Marys Repurposed…From Bottoms Up to Bowls Up

Bloody Marys Repurposed…From Bottoms Up to Bowls Up

Bloody Marys Mama Caruso Style 

I love leftovers. In fact, when I put together a meal I am always planning and plotting the leftover potential – which is really important since I don’t know how to cook for less than 10-15 people – even though my family currently consists of three people. If you were to come to my home on most days, you would find some of the most elaborate and fantastic leftovers just waiting for me to pull out of the fridge. I love leftovers.

Some of my favorites include cold meatloaf, cold anything from Thanksgiving, cold pizza, cold spaghetti sandwiches and today, I had the most incredible cold corned beef. My husband gave me a cast iron Dutch oven last year and while I have cooked many delicious meals in it, none have been as great as the corned beef brisket I made in there a few days ago. Usually I cook the corned beef brisket in a crock pot, but I was rushed and thought I would try it in the Dutch oven.  I have never tasted a better corned beef, it was amazing…but even better was the leftover options. I had to say goodbye to the final bite today…sadly.

I can’t remember a time in my life when I didn’t LOVE leftovers. Now about a year ago when I started hearing the term “repurposed” when referring to leftovers, I was really offended because I don’t want anyone to touch my leftovers – I want to savor them in their original, pristine state. Period.  I don’t want my leftovers transformed, elevated, reconstructed, deconstructed, or repurposed. I want my leftovers cold and abundant…that is until just a few weeks ago.

I belong to a book group that operates under the theme of “we read to eat” which means that we cook a meal each month that resonates with the theme of the book. It is a great concept and has served us well for over eight years. We select books based on the eating possibilities which are what got us to the book “The Lobster Chronicles” many years ago. While the book was not my favorite, the lobster fest that we had hosted at my house was so popular it became an annual tradition for our January meeting. This year we picked a book from a culture that is known for its bland food traditions and just overrode our “rules” and served lobster in lieu of the book’s theme.

Cooking for me is a lot about the presentation and I decided to serve a large bowl of Bloody Mary mix with large skewers of veggies for those who wanted something festive and an alternative to the Boston-based beer I was serving. I made the bowl of Bloody Mary mix without alcohol or ice so that I could make it ahead of time, allow the veggies to marinate a little and let my guests do their own mixing with their choice of alcohol or no alcohol, selecting veggies to add to their glasses. Fun, festive, flexible and interactive – something that you certainly want to offer at any dinner party.

The Bloody Marys were a hit! However, as I mentioned before, I usually make enough for fifteen people, we only had six, so I had a huge bowl of Bloody Mary mix and veggies to deal with for leftovers…which actually excited me on the first day…and the second…and then I realized I was going to throw away some really really great tasting food if I didn’t think of something to do with these leftovers…and quick! At that moment REPURPOSE hit me in the inspiration. I took all of the veggies off of the skewers, dropped them into the bowl, took out my immersion blender and voila as if by magic my leftover Bloody Mary mix was repurposed as a super delicious gazpacho. I added a little seasoning and my family enjoyed large bowls of a truly repurposed leftover for dinner. From bottoms up to bowls up – I can embrace this kind of repurposing. What is your favorite leftover food? And, what repurposing experiences have you had? Would love to hear about them and share them from my table to yours and back again…Mama Caruso

Bloody Mary Bowl Recipe Mama Caruso Style:

Mix all of the ingredients in a large bowl and increase amounts for your own taste

            1 liter of Mr. & Mrs. T Original Bloody Mary Mix

            1 liter of Mr. & Mrs. Spicy Bloody Mary Mix

            2 - 5.5 ounce cans of V8 juice

            2 - 5.5 ounce cans of V8 Spicy Hot

            2 lemons squeezed into the bowl

            1 tablespoon of Worcestershire Sauce

            3-4 dashes of hot sauce

            1 -2 teaspoons of freshly ground pepper

The Veggies:

            6-8 green onions, washed and cleaned of wilted or damaged greens

            6-8 celery stalks cut in half lengthwise

            3-4 cucumbers peeled, quartered and cut lengthwise

Stand the veggies upright in the bowl in the mix

Skewers:

Using 8-12 inch skewers

            Alternate black olives, green olives, pepperocinis

            Alternate pickled mushrooms, green, yellow or red bell peppers cut into 8ths, 

            1/3 of a bread and butter pickle spear

            Put a small lemon or lime wedge on either sides of the veggies to hold 

            everything  in place, lemons and limes also add color and a nice punch of 

           flavor too.

Stand the skewers upright so that the veggies and pickles are in the mix in the bowl.

Sprinkle fresh ground pepper over everything

Feel free to use your imagination, add other veggies and pickles to taste.

Make ahead of time, keep in the fridge until ready to serve, serve with a ladle into glasses large enough to hold one or two of the skewers, some ice, the mix and some vodka if desired.

To Repurpose:

            Take the veggies off of all of the skewers and put in mix.

            Add any veggies desired to balance out the mix

            Pulse the immersion blender, or pulse in a food processor to a thick consistency 

           for a soup with some texture, or liquefy for more of a smooth texture.

            Sprinkle ground pepper on top

            Serve cold with popcorn or croutons on top.

From my table to yours...Mama Caruso

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