Super Bowl Sunday

My Idea of a Super Bowl

 & Fava Bean Dip!

Between "deflate gate" and under-reported tragic football concussions, I am beginning to agree with Bill Maher who said that watching Super Bowl XLIX is as off putting as watching Cosby reruns. It seems that hummus isn't the only dip being brought out this Sunday. How often do we have to hear "I am only here so I won't get fined?" Let's forgo the "chips and dips" and look at some super bowls that make everything look appetizing.

Handsome bowls can be multi-purpose -- they can hold a delectable bowl of pasta or can be used by the door as a place for your keys! Most of my favorite super bowls (below) followed me from Europe, and often found their way into my cabinets after being packed tightly and precariously in large suitcases. 

My absolute fave!  I bought this hand-painted bowl in Ravello. I think of the beautiful Mediterranean Sea every time I use it. 

Italian ceramic artisans still incorporate the same craftsmanship and designs that have been used for centuries. Can you tell which dish (below) I bought recently in Italy and which is hundreds of years old (and is at the Metropolitan Museum of Art)?

I adore this bowl from the 1930s. While I use it mostly for salads, I believe it was originally intended for pasta. 

Moorish bowls that I picked up in the south of Spain

Burnt gold and cobalt blue never go out of style!  We bought this in Ravello at the same time that a well-know designer of American polo shirts bought the entire collection of this pattern.  I wonder when we will see something similar in his home collection?

The English country scene bowls, I use them almost every day.

In the super bowl "commercial" category, it is hard to beat Pyrex. A 20 piece set can be as little as $20 and can last for generations. And "to boot" they are American made, and can assuage some fears of reheating and storing food in plastic.

Some years ago, I had an entire set of this rustic Amalfi pattern and even planned a trip back to that region just to re-plenish broken pieces; only to arrive to find that the artist had died and the collection is no longer produced! So, logically, I came home with these instead:

No kitchen is complete without a wooden bowl; and when mixing a salad, no wooden bowl is too large!

FAVA BEAN DIP

Most store-bought dips, especially Salsa, taste a bit metallic and processed to me.  If you are hosting a party, it is best to make your own.

Here is an incredibly easy dip that will be a huge crowd-pleaser:

Here is what you will need - 

Fava Beans, jarred or canned.
(You can also sometimes find packaged, uncooked Fava beans in your produce section.)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon cumin
3 cloves of garlic
1/2 lemon
salt/pepper

After draining most of the liquid, warm the jarred or canned fava beans on the stove.  If using uncooked beans, be sure to heat until the beans are tender.   In a blender combine the warm beans, with the olive oil, cumin, garlic, lemon and salt/pepper.  Blend and serve warm.  A bit of sautéd onion work well in this dip, too.

So easy and sooo good!!

Food as Centerpiece

In a Pinch, Just Make it Beautiful! 

Salad as centerpiece!

After spending an absolutely pristine, picture-perfect Saturday at the beach, boogie boarding to soft rolling waves under clear blue skies, we enthusiastically welcomed 6 guests for dinner -- who, pleasantly and surprisingly, brought 6 more!!!  Dinner parties with multiplying guests are not unusual for us, especially at our less formal house by the sea. We almost always cook in excess --  but on this occasion, we were reasonably concerned. 

Umm... not likely to be enough home-made ravioli:

So what do we do?  Put out an immediate FHB alert!!! (family holds back)

Seriously, we just get to work molding what we have into beautiful (and bountiful) food art!!

Aside from making sure there is enough food, it is imperative that the food is presented well, that it's an appetizing spread. There is a saying with market vendors that "unseen is unsold."  This expression aptly applies here...

...first, we take everything out of the refrigerator and lay it out on the counter.  Hidden food treasures are sure to be lurking in the recesses.  Crudites with a yogurt or humus dip can entertain the troops and work as a pleasing centerpiece. It's a win win. 

We look for items that can be quickly made into Bruschetta -- grilled bread that is drizzled with olive oil,  and then a simple, fresh ingredient is spooned on top -- tomatoes, garlic, anchovy, olive paste, beans, etc. It's quick, easy, hearty and of course, pretty!  

Grilled bread plus tomatoes, olive oil, red onion and garlic equals:

Delicious!

I treasure my varied collection of plates aquired from all over the world.  But, often the best way to present colorful food is to lay it out in simple white dishes. This encourages the food to shine.   

While I relish making pies with my own dough, I do not often have enough time, especially in the summer.  So as soon as I arrive home with a store bought pie, I transfer it into one of my French pie ceramics.  I do this by simply turning the pie up-side-down onto a plate, removing the aluminum tin, then placing the pie plate on top and turning the pie back over into the ceramic. 

Not only does the pie look far more appetizing, it also does not produce cringing, scrunching, metal-tearing sounds when cutting. Plus, the dough will not take on a metallic flavor when re-heating.  

A simple wooden bowl of tomatoes looks irresistible if placed in just the right spot (and off topic -- those vibrant dried straw flowers from the farmers market will last for months).

Even a simple grilled cheese sandwich can appear succulent if beautifully plated. 

For this dinner party, I was running low on cheese. But pairing a simple round brie with fruit (champagne grapes and strawberries) is undeniably appealing.  

Placing appertizer plates around the house can liven up any corner.  In this case, I put the cheese plate on a large round table usually stacked with books and collectibles. 

Fruit makes every space look appealing.  Even next to the sink, this bowl of lemons along with some dried spaghetti brightens up a fairly drab space. 

Don't be afraid to decorate a plate with your ingredients.  With this stacked Vietnamese dish, we simply dotted the plate with Sriracha sauce. Guests couldn't believe it! 

For more ideas, check out the following links:

http://www.saveur.com/article/Kitchen/The-Art-of-Displaying-Food

http://wellfed.typepad.com/well_fed/2007/08/green-goddess-d.html