A Tisket, A Tasket

Who doesn't love a picnic? Well, me.

Love the idea of a picnic. Everything perfectly fits in adorable containers and off you go for a meal in the grass. It's the aftermath that makes picnicking - notsomuch.

If it weren't so irresponsible - I probably would prescribe to the Betty Draper guide to picnicking and leave everything behind. (Reference Mad Men Season 2 Episode 7 - brilliant.)

If you have hung out around here long enough, you already know the Breaking News Team is more about the gear than the actual activity.

To picnic - I probably just need the perfect basket. Right?

Voilà! How about a little red basket? Courtesy of Blyton and available at Dean & DeLuca.*

*Barefoot Contessa not included for preparations of perfect picnic fare. Damn.



Stay tuned. More at 11.

Chef's Choice

I'm thinking about this for a chef friend's kitchen shower...




Index Chopping Boards - Damian Evans, 2007

The chopping boards are designed to avoid cross-contamination of food types: red/raw meat, white/cooked foods, blue/fish, green/vegetables. Stored in a sleek filing unit.

It's too cool for my counter top, but will work for hers...


Sous chef to chop and dice - not included. Bummer.


Stay tuned. More at 11.

Cookie Monster

Or should I say Monster Cookie?

The News Readin' Husband loves Oreos, but I'm confident this could equal death by double stuffed:

Yum or yuck? Not sure. But very willing to give it a try...

W-S is marketing this for your Mother's Day celebration. Ummm...is that really the best strategy to move these bad boys?

Imagine the scene: mom would end up cleaning the pan and consoling crying children when the big Oreo didn't visually live up to expectations.

There's got to be a better way to thank her for sacrificing hair appointments, her tennis game and life in general - to raise us. Like designer dish washing liquid or scented ironing water...
Just kidding, Mom.

Williams-Sonoma Goldtouch™ Sandwich-Cookie Cake Pan

No matter. I'm a big fan of novelty baking pans that take up precious storage space and are put to use once a year. Something about making a massive cupcake, just warms my heart and makes my body dance along the border of diabetic shock. Mmmm.

Stay tuned. More at 11.

Taco Night Goes Glam

Every night we embark on a culinary adventure at the News Readin' household - chicken, salmon or Mexican. We are well acquainted with Old El Paso meal kits around these parts. (It is one thing that I have gained in marriage that I could easily live without.)

Mr. News Readin' is especially fond of the Gordita kit. It includes a sauce that is a color beyond nature, that tastes like a blend of ranch dressing and queso dip. Mmm...yum. I can feel myself retaining water as I type this.

Nothing beats his big grin when he realizes that shredded cheese can be incorporated into his dinner. Ahhh...the things we do for love.

Taco night or heartburn that comes in a little yellow box night, would be much more tolerable if we dined on these:


Olé! Peacock Eye placemats. (Also available in green.)

From Vivre. On sale.


More at 11.

Special Report: Game Night Recap

(My quickie centerpiece. I know. Underwhelming.)

We hosted our inaugural Game Night on Friday. Just a little background...We've lived here for a year and a half, have met people but, really have become friendly with just two couples. So, instead of waiting for some invitation to come our way - we put this group together. To keep it interesting we made sure that we asked couples that really didn't know each other.

And was it interesting. I'm going as far as to say it was a resounding success based on these points:

• One of our Table Topics icebreaker questions - "What's the difference between good sex and great sex?" The Pilot in our group answered, "Attention to detail." Consider the ice broken.
• 10 people...a bottle of Jack, a bottle of Glenlivet, 1/2 a bottle of vodka, all the the Tequila Touchdown punch, 20 beers and then we went to our neighborhood bar for last call. Seriously.
• We actually played games. Taboo and Cranuim.
  
• Man crushes developed among the five men in attendance.
  
• Mr. News Readin' smacked another woman's ass during a spirited round of Cranium - and no one blinked an eye. Nice. Public office here he comes...
  

Thank you, thank you to all of you that answered my call for help. Here I was worried about the food! They really didn't eat very much. (How could they? All their time was spent drinking...) It ended up being:

Mini Roast Beef sandwiches - delicious, big hit!
Spicy Shrimp Cocktail - perfect with some alterations to the recipe
Cornbread Salad - yummy, but it just made too much
Spinach Artichoke Dip - a solid choice, that everyone seemed to eat
Veggies w/ Lemon Thyme Dip - the dip is so easy and really good!
Cheese Slaw - yummy, but it was just so much
Mini smoked chicken wraps - never made it out of the freezer (whoops!)
Mini lemon squares and dark chocolate brownies - store-bought, perfect sizes
Tequila Touchdown Punch - huge hit, had to make a second pitcher!

The food barely made it to the table before the first couple arrived. A 7:30 pm start time on a work day was cutting it really close. And I did so much prep work Wednesday & Thursday to avoid a panic attack! Oh well.

Mr. News Readin' was very helpful, aside from the fact that when I got home on Friday to find our bed unmade. (He gets up after I leave for work.) Glad I decided to make it up, considering everyone made a group trip to see the addition the previous owners (in attendance) made to the master suite. Note to them: When you host I'm going to tell everyone how organized your closets are...Two can play that game.

Everyone got along and enjoyed the evening. Of course as a hostess, you can think all of the ways things could have gone better.

No one had more fun than everyone's favorite News Reader. Understandably exhausted from his hosting duties (read: out drinking all of his guests), he did not make it out of bed until 4:45 pm yesterday.

Must be nice to not worry about clean up.


We now return to your regularly scheduled program.

Calling all Marthas, Barefoot Contessas and the like...

Two things push me over the edge: packing for an extensive trip and entertaining in the casa de News Readin'.

Today I am pleading for your help with the latter.

On Friday, we are hosting the inaugural gathering of our game night group. (Yes, yes, I know - very exciting lives we lead.)

I am at a complete loss as to what to serve. My menu planning has gotten this far

Cheese Slaw with cornbread crackers
Cornbread salad
Spicy shrimp cocktail
Hot spinach artichoke dip with cracked pepper pita chips
Lemon thyme dip with vegetables
Mini roast beef sandwiches

Lemon squares
Dark chocolate brownies

Tequila Touchdown punch from Martha (See, I still need you girl!)

Is this enough for 10 people at 7:30 pm? Note: the invitation read nibbles and sips, so dinner is not expected.

Any suggestions? Do I need to add in another mini sandwich? I thought about mini pulled pork sammies.

Okay. I'm off to another baby shower armed with resilience from the wily ways of the Mommy Mafia and a set of Beatrix Potter books.

Thank you for your attention to my entertaining crisis. I need all the help I can get...

Looking forward to all your fabulous suggestions,

Mrs. News Readin'

Cornbread Goodness

On Saturday we headed to Athens to watch the UGA Bullgogs take on the GA Tech Yellow Jackets. Mr. News Readin's family is split down the middle between UGA and GA Tech alumni, making this an annual family gathering of aunts, uncles and cousins the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

UGA VII - Mascots don't get any better looking than this...

This year his cousin put together an impressive post-game tailgate. We're talking massive RV complete with two smokers, tables and chairs for 30 people, two flat screens and the most delicious array of perfect football watching food.

After sitting in the rain watching the Dawgs lose, we needed a little comfort food.
Smoked ribs, spice rubbed chicken breasts, sausage, pulled pork complete with fluffy Merita white bread, potato salad, green beans and cornbread salad. Comfort food found.

Mr. News Readin' and I both went back for seconds of the cornbread salad and I even scored the recipe from our host's wife.

Here it is:

Cornbread Salad

Ingredients:

* 1 recipe of cornbread
* 1 envelope ranch dressing mix
* 1 cup (8 oz) sour cream
* 1 cup mayonnaise
* 2 cans (16 oz each) pinto beans
* 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
* 10 slices bacon, fried very crispy, and crumbled
* 2 cans whole kernel corn, drained
* 1/2 cup each of chopped red bell pepper, green bell pepper, green onions and
several chopped tomatoes

Preparation:
Make up the cornbread, cool.
Stir together salad dressing mix, sour cream and mayonnaise until blended; set aside.
Combine tomatoes, bell peppers and onions. Toss gently.
Crumble 1/2 of the cornbread into a large bowl.
Top with half each of beans, tomato mixture, cheese, bacon, corn and dressing mixture.
Repeat layers.
Cover and chill for at least 3 hours.
When ready to serve, stir the all the ingredients together.*

*She did not serve it all mixed together and left it all in layers.

She had me at cornbread.

This recipe could be easily augmented with taco seasoning instead of ranch dressing for a TexMex dip with the addition of black beans and some cilantro.

We are hosting our game night group in January and this will most definitely be on the menu!

Enjoy...

Cooking Segment

A few posts back I mentioned a delicious goat cheese pizza I prepared for Mr. News Readin' after a long day of...well...news reading.

I took some liberties with two different recipes from Tyler Florence and Sandra Lee. Now remember, Mr. News Readin's palate has matured in our five years of marriage, but he's no Tom Colicchio. (Read: we no longer buy the cheese that squirts out of a can.)

Here it is:

1 10 oz. ready-to bake pizza dough
1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup marinara sauce
1 (3 ounces) package of prosciutto, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 fresh rosemary sprig, needles stripped from stem
3/4 cup of mushrooms (crimini, portobello or oyster), chopped
1 ounce goat cheese, crumbled
½ cup freshly grated pecorino
2 tbsp. fresh basil, chopped

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Coat a saute pan with olive oil and place over medium heat. When the oil begins to look hazy, add prosciutto, stirring for a minute or two to render the fat and flavor. Add in garlic and rosemary, sauteing for a minute. Add mushrooms, cooking until nicely brown. Season with salt and pepper, as needed. (Note: prosciutto can be quite salty, so I would strongly recommend not using any additional salt.)

Lay pizza crust on a foil-covered pizza pan or cookie sheet. Spread sauce evenly over pizza crust. Sprinkle sauteed mushrooms and prosciutto over the top, leaving a 1-inch border around the edge. Sprinkle goat cheese, followed by basil.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, depending on how crispy you like your crust.
Before cutting the pizza, grate pecorino over the top. Cut into 6 slices.

Buon appetito!