Shabbat This Week: A 5 Course Menu

I won't lie, I'm super excited about shabbat this week because for the first time in so long I am hosting a shabbat dinner! Granted, it's a small one, but I'm very happy to get off my lazy bum and actually have some people over.

I just got off the phone with my good friend Joanie and together we created what I think will be a really fun and delicious menu. I'll post photos of the foods if I can before I light the candles tomorrow evening. Here's my menu:


Shabbat Dinner:

Course 1: Challah and hummus
Course 2: Apple/Potato Soup
Course 3: Kale salad, corn salad
Course 4: Individual Mock Chicken Pot Pies, Roasted Butternut Squash, Green Beans with Almonds, Rice
Course 5: Poached Pears in a Red Wine Glaze with Candied Pecans and Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Off to the grocery store!

All the Sweet Stuff: Root Beer's Birthday!

It turns out that yesterday was the birthday of the modern root beer float! I hate to admit how long it's been since I've indulged in one. Granny--my mom's mom--used to make them for us on long, hot summer days in Dallas when I was a child. The frothy, sweet and cold beverage (or is it a dessert?) has such a unique flavor--it's like Proustian madeleine transporting me back to Granny's table.

With great respect for the classic soda shop treat, Doni and I had a taste test tonight. We used diet root beer, hoping it would cancel out the ice cream calories. That was a bad idea--it tasted like a root beer float, sure, but it wasn't rich enough and it didn't invoke the magic memories that the right flavor should. So I highly recommend ditching the diet and doing it right.

We also sampled plain vanilla ice cream and chocolate chip vanilla, both Edys Slow Churned. Doni preferred vanilla, but I loved the chocolate chip. I like the texture that it added to the ice cream and the way it just barely dissolved into the soda and left a slight chocolate after-taste. Here's a photo of my chocolate chip root beer float:


Any other interesting root beer float flavors out there?

All the Sweet Stuff: Snow Cone Showdown

In our apartment, we take snow cones very seriously and this summer we've been having mini-snow cones every night. Because I've been good today, I'm treating myself to a snow cone showdown.

On the roster tonight:

Root Beer

+
Sour Cherry
with Maraschino Cherries

Vs

Bahama Mama
+
Honeydew
with Fresh Blackberries

While the root beer and cherry worked well together, it had a slightly bitter aftertaste. Bahama Mama, however, stayed sweet, coconutty, and for some strange reason (it's non-alocholic), it has a very calming effect. I feel relaxed after a Bahama Mama snow cone, as if I'm surrounded by aromatherapy. The honeydew flavor blended nicely and the blackberries provided a tiny bit of tang and a nice texture. The results?

Bahama Mama FTW!

And next time, I'm not wearing a white tshirt...