On March 25th, We Can All Have a Drink with This Guy

How to plan a Mad Men dinner party 

We’re all (well, aren’t we?) addicted to a certain T.V. show, and for many of us that’s Mad Men, which returns to AMC on March 25th. Friends of mine have either set the DVR for the 2-hour Season 5 premiere, or plan on catching it Sunday night. Per usual, I’ve got my antennae trained in the direction of party talk, and its picking up a big buzz for sixties themed cocktails and appetizers.

What are my friends doing? April got herself revved up for the series by reading Mad Women by Jane Maas. It’s a day in the life of a female copywriter in 1960s Manhattan. April’s Mad Men menu is a healthy affair that makes up for all the chain smoke surrounding the Camelot era. She’s having classic roast chicken, mashed potatoes, and green beans with dinner rolls. She’s not sure about the dessert yet, but it’ll probably a cobbler, and most certainly what April describes as “straight up” Tanqueray martinis! We’ll have to visit her blog in a few weeks and see what’s on tap!

Ahhh….a girl after my own heart. I love a nice, stiff drink.

My little Mad Men gathering features The Perfect Martini. You’ll just have to click the link if you want its secrets (i.e. how many ice cubes; how much vermouth). In my 60s research I learned that servings sizes—especially when it came to drinking glasses in bars—were much smaller in the old days; about 5 ounces, compared to today’s 8! Is that why they were able to drink at work? In addition to martinis, I think Mint Juleps would be nice. I’m growing fresh mint in my backyard.

While the cocktails are reserved for show time, there’s the perfect 7 o’clock dinner to consider, one that pays homage to a time when there was more time. That’s right. It’s a dinner just like Mama (or in this case, Betty Draper used to make.) Some of us have held onto our TV trays, right? Well, get them out again for a reprisal of the Swanson TV dinner.

Got any rosemary growing alongside that mint? Fabulous. Use it—and fresh thyme—in my Meatloaf with Mushroom Gravy.  You’ll be amazed at how moist it is—you’ve just got to make sure you buy high quality ground beef and equally fresh breadcrumbs. Stylize your own salad and/or vegetable sides for this All American supper—and don’t forget Cocoa Angel Food Cake with Raspberry Sauce for dessert; it’ll pick you up by your Fedora hat and take you straight to heaven.

If you’re looking for more great ammunition in your chilled glasses and shaker, please click on my 10 Kicked Up Cocktails post; though originally intended for Labor Day weekend, these elixirs could win over the toughest client…I mean party guest. You may also want to read my Mad Men inspired tiki party post for more retro ideas. I’d also like to suggest a nice book club party menu, since interpreting this show appeals to the art and literature geek in all of us.

Don’t hesitate to post your reviews the day after Mad Men premieres. It’s sure to leave a welcome after-taste when we’re all battling a case of the Mondays the morning after. Sounds like the perfect excuse for a 3 martini lunch to me.

Bottoms up, folks : )

The Perfect Martini

2 ounces Vodka

¼ ounce dry vermouth

3 to 4 ice cubes

Twist of lemon peel, olive or cocktail onion

Combine the vodka, dry vermouth and ice in a cocktail shaker and shake to chill.

Strain the martini into a well chilled glass and garnish with either  a lemon peel, olive or cocktail onion.

Makes 1 cocktail each

Preparation time: about 5 minutes

Cocoa Angel Food Cake with Raspberry Sauce

1 cup cake flour

½ cup confectioners’ sugar

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup granulated sugar

¼ cup cocoa

10 egg whites

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 pint fresh raspberries, about 1 ½ cups

1/3 cup raspberry preserves

1/3 cup water

1/2 cup granulated sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.


1.  Sift the cake flour with ½ cup confectioner’s sugar and the salt.  Set aside.


2. Sift the granulated sugar with the cocoa powder.  Set aside.


3. Use an electric mixer to whip the egg whites until foamy.


4. Add the cream of tartar.  Continue beating until the egg whites form stiff peaks. Fold in the vanilla.


5. Fold in ¼ of the flour/confectioners’ sugar mixture.


6. Fold in ¼ of the sugar/cocoa mixture. Continue until all of the flour and sugar mixtures have been incorporated into the batter.


7. Pour the batter into an ungreased 10 x 3-inch tube pan.  Bake in the lower third of the oven for 45 minutes.


8. Remove the cake from the oven.  Invert the pan onto a funnel or bottle.  Let cool completely.  Loosen the cake from the sides of the pan with a knife.  Turn out the cake onto a platter.


9. Place the raspberries, raspberry preserves, water and granulated sugar into a pan.  Bring to a boil over medium high heat.  Cook for 1 minute.  Use the back of a wooden spoon to mash the fruit.  (Alternatively, you may puree the sauce with an immersion blender or a food mill.)  The sauce will be thick and syrupy.  Cook for 1 minute.  Cool.


10. Place a swirl of raspberry sauce on a plate.  Slide a slice of cake on top.  Garnish with a shake of confectioners’ sugar and fresh mint sprigs.  

Servings: 8 to 12

Preparation Time: 25 minutes plus baking

Meat Loaf with Mushroom Gravy

Serves 6 to 8

Preparation Time: About 30 minutes, plus baking

1 medium onion, diced, about ½ cup

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 pound lean ground beef

1 pound ground veal

1 to 11/2 cups bread crumbs

2 cloves garlic, minced (about 1 tablespoon)

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon tomato paste

¼ to ½ cup cream

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

½ pound button mushrooms, sliced (about 1 ½ cups)

½ cup red wine

1 ½ cups beef stock

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour mixed with ½ to 1 cup cold water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1.  In a skillet cook the diced onion in the olive oil until the pieces begin to brown.

2.  In a large bowl combine the ground beef, ground veal, sautéed onion, fresh bread crumbs, minced garlic, chili powder, fresh herbs, beaten egg and tomato paste.

3.  Add just enough cream to the mixture so that it comes together. Season the ingredients with salt and freshly ground pepper .

4.  Form the mixture into a loaf and place into a 9X5X3 inch loaf pan coated in vegetable oil spray.

5.  Bake the meatloaf for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Let sit for 15 minutes before slicing.

6.  In a small skillet heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook for several minutes.

7.  Pour the red wine into the pan and reduce until most of the liquid is  evaporated.

8.  Whisk together the flour and water to form a smooth liquid.

9. Stir the flour mixture into the gravy. It will thicken as it cooks. You may add more water until you reach the desired consistency for gravy. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper.

Pretty Please, With Puttanesca On Top?

We all know knowledge is power, but sometimes it’s FLAVOR.  Along with some good friends who have agreed to embark on a new project with me, I recommended Puttanesca Poached Cod to a friend who was unfamiliar with the sauce. Once I described it, she realized she’d had it before and loved every spoonful. Translating “puttanesca” from the Italian ruins this post’s G rating, but you’ll understand, once you make it—that its strong flavors and aromas merit a little passion. PUTTANESCA is chopped garlic, diced onions and anchovies (omitted for the Neapolitan version) sautéed in olive oil. Many puttanesca sauces add chili peppers, olives, capers, diced tomatoes, oregano and sprinkle of fresh parsley.

That being said, my puttanesca sauce is NOT Neapolitan. It takes it’s cues from the Southern Italian way of doing things and features 7 whole ounces of scrumptious sardines. You cook those first, until they melt. This fish recipe may well be the ultimate “date night” entre. There’s just something so…I don’t know…SEXY about it. For starters, making a special grocery store run for the ingredients is fun! You grab a little basket rather than a cart, and fill it with the few ingredients that go into a dish with a surprising complexity of flavors. Unless it’s already in a pantry that Austin Powers—or anyone with Mojo would approve of—you buy a little red wine, Kalamata olives, marinated artichoke hearts, 28 ounce cans of tomato, capers and sardines before stopping for your premiere ingredient at the seafood counter.

Fresh cod filets cost around $10.99 per pound, but satisfying your loved one at dinner is priceless. The fish monger wraps the cod in a neat little bundle and hands it to you the way counter service at a Parisian boulangeries wraps your pastries. Viola! You are now ready to go home and get cooking!

The Wine…

Adding the same wine you will drink later on with your meal is a fun addition to this cooking process. I happened to have a huge carafe of Carl Rossi Paisano when I made this; it’s not the fanciest to be sure, but for the price you can’t beat its nice accompaniment to all fish and chicken dishes. It can be really divine, this beverage, when served at room temperature.

Some Variations

I’ll leave you with a few variations on my puttansca poached cod that will fire your imagination for future dinners: serve the fish and generous ladles of its sauce over a bed of homemade mashed potatoes or crispy garlic bread; a bed of whole-wheat spaghetti also works beautifully. In the umpteen times I’ve made cod a la puttanesca, I have noticed that it doesn’t come out identical each and every time. Sometimes the sauce is super saucy, and one needs to eat it with a spoon. It almost reminds me of a Fast and Furious Fish Stew;  however this dish turns out, as you sip red wine and take your sweet time in creating it, it is always deeply nourishing for stomachs and hearts alike. Enjoy, my friends…        

Puttanesca Poached Cod

Servings: 4
Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Level of Difficulty: easy
Special Appliance:  skillet with lid

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 (7-ounce) tin flat fillets of anchovies packed in oil
1 (14-ounce) can marinated artichoke hearts, about 8 to 10 medium size, sliced
1/3 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
6 large garlic cloves, peeled and sliced, about 2 tablespoons
2 tablespoons capers, drained
1 cup red wine
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
4 (4 to 6-ounce) fillets of cod

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Place the olive oil and anchovies (with oil) in a skillet over low heat. Cook until the anchovies begin to melt. Increase the heat to medium high. Add the artichoke hearts, olives, garlic and capers. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes. Pour in the wine. Cook until most of the liquid disappears, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer until the sauce reduces by half, about 10 to 15 minutes. Place the cod into the sauce. Cover the skillet with a lid. Cook until the cod just begins to flake, about 5 minutes depending on the thickness of the fillets.

Season the top of the fillets with salt and pepper. Serve the cod surrounded by the sauce.

More Super Snacks for Super Bowl Sunday!

A few weeks ago it was crab cakes. Today I’m talking chips—homemade chips baked in drizzles of healthy extra virgin olive oil and sprinkled with salt, paprika and maybe a few red pepper flakes if you’re looking for a little kick to go with that half-time beer.

Veggie chips give you that same “can’t stop eating these” immense satisfaction you get from commercial potato chips, while letting you keep the girlish figure we NFL fans obsess about. All joking aside, I really do have some great chips up my sleeve that will have both the Patriots and the Giants in the room asking for more.

You may want some clarification on the first batch of chips. They are called kohlrabi chips. How do you pronounce the name of this German turnip? “COAL-RAH-BEE”. It’s a darn cute little vegetable—click here to see a photo. It could be tricky to buy since it’s growing season doesn’t start until May (runs through November), but I’ve actually seen it for sale in Wal-Mart Superstores and know that, once blanched and frozen, you can keep this tasty veggie on tap in your kitchen for up to 6 months.

Kitchen Must Haves or KMH for this Project

I slice my kohlrabi with my favorite Kitchen Must Have, the mandolin—a great chef’s version of which can be purchased on Amazon. This KMH will slice up your chips so that they look more like fries. Any way you slice them, your kohlrabi chips will be well received—the simplicity of them is as beautiful as your team winning!

Another great veggie-turned-chip from the cabbage family is kale. It doesn’t need a deep-fryer to turn into a delicious snack either—just your largest cookie sheet and a pre-heated oven. Kale chips came highly recommended by a member at one of the community gardens I volunteer in. She showed me the kale growing like crazy in her assigned garden bed, and—like others on the internet who rave about these easy-to-make chips—used the word “addictive.” She said she uses a little bit of red pepper flakes on hers. I can imagine adding all kinds of interesting signature flavors to homemade chips—and don’t even get me started on all the homemade dips you can make with another underrated KMH, the food processor! Get out the roasted red pepper cheese spread!

Speaking of favorite things, I want to recommend a page from Nana’s Kitchen that has plenty of game watching toys for better entertaining. Click the Sundays With Da Family link to see all the wares that’ll make your parties rock better than the half-time entertainment. Here’s a list:

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·         --All-Clad 99009 Stainless-Steel 6-1/2-Quart Slow Cooker—for those obligatory baked beans you see on so many yummy game day buffet lines!

·         --Superbowl Parties Chip and Dip Bowl—the main event on this list

·         --Salad On Ice™ Serving Bowl for those game day snacks and burger garnishes that need to stay crisp and fresh

·         --Heart-Shaped Chopping Block: I threw this in because it’s February and Valentine’s Day is on the heels of Super Bowl XLII  

• Am REALLY starting to crave salty snacks just writing this...and the game is still days away…Better get to the Farmer’s Market or check in with the CSA.

May the best man win!