• 24Nov

    Cooking for a Crowd

    Here is an easy recipe for the holidays. It is great to transport to another location or to prepare for your own celebration. It assembles in about 5 minutes and bakes in 35-40 minutes. And kids love it too!

    Creamy Corn Pudding

    Serves 6-8

    1 – 14.75 ox. can corn, drained
    1 – 14.75 oz. can creamed corn
    2 extra large eggs, beaten
    1 – 8 oz. pkg. corn muffin mix
    1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted (1 stick)
    1/2 cup light sour cream
    1/2 cup low-fat ricotta cheese
    1/2 teaspoon salt
    Freshly ground pepper, to taste
    1 cup cheddar cheese, grated

    Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in 9″ x 13″ glass casserole or baking pan in microwave for 30 seconds (more if needed). In a medium bowl, mix all ingredients together except for cheddar cheese. Pour into pan and bake for 20-25 minutes. Sprinkle cheese on top and bake for 10-15 minutes more or until butter knife inserted in casserole comes out clean.

    Happy Thanksgiving!
    Patricia Mendez

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  • 15Nov

    There is No Such Thing as a Silly Question

    Last year, my oldest son Martin and my daughter-in-law Cheryl decided it was time to take the plunge and host their first Thanksgiving feast for our family. I happened to be over when the turkey came home from the store and Martin asked me what they should do with it. I explained to them that they needed to:

    1. Defrost it in the fridge in it’s original wrap in a pan for 2-3 days to thaw.
    2. Take out the bag of giblets (liver, heart, kidneys) out of the large cavity of the turkey and (reserve for stock) before roasting.
    3. Take out the neck in the opposite smaller cavity of the turkey (reserve for stock) before roasting.
    4. To make it easier, I recommended that they not put the stuffing in the turkey, but rather bake it in a separate casserole dish.
    5. I told them to refer to the “My First Thanksgiving” chapter of my book, Easy Entertaining for Beginners for further simple instructions and a detailed step-by-step checklist.

    They thought that sounded easy enough. I got a call from Martin the night before Thanksgiving and he sounded a bit confused. He said, “Mom, I know you said the turkey neck would be inside the turkey, but ours is still on. Do I just rip it off?”

    I knew immediately what he was talking about. I gently told him that the body part he was referring to was not the neck, but rather the tail of the turkey! He was a little embarrassed, but I told him not to be. Think about it. When the bird is alive, he is not laying on his back as he is in the neat packaging he arrives in from the store. He is the other end up. It can get confusing if you have never prepared a turkey and I thought it was a perfectly understandable mistake. I waited till I hung up to have a good laugh.

    The next day as we were in the final 30 minute countdown before the meal, I showed them how to use an instant-read thermometer to see if the turkey was finished roasting. It was no where near ready and I could feel the doubting look in my turkey roasting abilities cross Martin’s face. Hmmm… follow the checklist in your chapter and everything will be finished on time?? I admit I was stumped. The stuffing was in the casserole, not in the turkey which can typically increase the roasting time. What in the heck was going on?

    It ended up taking another full hour to roast. As Martin was readying to carve it for the meal, my daughter-in-law said, “Oh, by the way, I stuffed the turkey with some leftover ham I had in the refrigerator. I thought it might be good.” Ham! Now, that was original and my shaken confidence was restored.

    Ah-Ha, there was a perfectly sensible reason the turkey took an extra hour to roast. There was about 4 cups of chopped up ham tightly squeezed into the cavity so the turkey took much longer to fully roast! I wasn’t going crazy after all. And you want to know the really funny part? The turkey AND the ham tasted pretty darn good. They did a great job and we had lots of fun.

    Happy Entertaining!
    Patricia Mendez

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  • 11Nov

    My First Thanksgiving

    Thanksgiving is the one meal hosts can feel the most pressure about preparing. The entire celebration is set around the meal, the Thanksgiving feast! Messing it up could make for a household full of unhappy guests. Gulp! For a beginner, the pressure could be off the charts!

    Let me start by saying what most cooking classes and books don’t tell you. Of all the meals you typically prepare in a year, this one can be the most labor-intensive. Preparing a Thanksgiving meal can be a lot of work. Every year, fantastic cooks and chefs are challenged to come up with a new take on what is a very traditional meal. They offer all types of variations and new recipes. However, since most people eat a Thanksgiving meal only once a year, they like the basics: turkey, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, vegetables, rolls and pumpkin pie for dessert. So if you are a beginner who is cooking for a crowd, to keep it as simple and doable as possible, stick to the basics. The reason I tell you this is not to discourage you, but rather to prepare you. I like to know what I’m getting into ahead of time, so I can gird my loins for the battle!

    Having said that, if you follow my previous advice of pacing yourself and being organized you can pull off a delicious, memorable meal for your family and friends. And you will have joined the millions of home cooks nationwide who stare in disbelief when a Thanksgiving meal that has taken 3 days to prepare has been consumed in 15 minutes flat! Take it as a compliment. Your family will enjoy your meal and your guests will have one more thing to be thankful for…you!

    Happy Entertaining,
    Patricia Mendez

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  • 03Nov

    Easy Holiday Entertaining

    When November arrives it has a way of jolting you into the reality that the holidays are right around the corner! Yikes, so much to do. This month in my blog posts, I would like to give you some easy holiday ideas for entertaining along with some recipes and tips for feeding a crowd.

    I hosted an Easy Holiday Entertaining event at my home recently. The one thing that my guests agreed on was the fact that they are busier than ever in their lives. EASY Entertaining ideas are needed and have great appeal to them.

    I think entertaining should fit your life. Whether you work full-time inside or outside your home, the thought of squeezing in a dinner party, Thanksgiving feast or Christmas Open House can be overwhelming. Here are a few timesaving tips:

    1. If this is your year to host Thanksgiving or a New Year’s Eve party, be realistic and cut down on other things to make it managable for you. You don’t want the holidays to be a blur of exhausting activity that leaves you needing a week to recuperate.

    2. It is ok to take guests up on their offer to bring an appetizer, side dish or dessert to a large meal like Thanksgiving. This can take some of the pressure off and you can concentrate on the main meal items.

    3. It is ok to take guests up on their offer to help with clean-up after a large meal, like Thanksgiving.

    4. It is ok to fill in your menu with some favorite purchased items that you know your guests will enjoy. You can pick up a mouthwatering dessert at a local bakery. Local warehouse stores are huge successes because they understand what their customers need. At the holidays they carry tons of delicious dips, fresh breads. pre-made food. Take them out of the store containers and serve on your serving pieces for a beautiful presentation of purchased food along with a few recipes that you prepare.

    5. Do a few things and do those well. Concentrate on the food, table and the tone that you set as host. Forget the idea that everything has to be absolutely perfect. If you concentrate your efforts on these three areas, you will pull off fun and enjoyable dinner parties.

    Patricia Mendez

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