why i don’t cook for a living

Well, we pulled it off – the engagement party in a week. I learned a lot about what it takes to throw an elegant party for more than, say, 15 people. After our trip to the farmer’s market, I spent time compiling and creating recipes, preparing dishes, decorating, gardening, crafting party favors and making flower bouquets while my mom got the house and yard ready. All that certainly kept us busy for the week but it was all worth it on Friday, when our house was filled with smiling family and friends celebrating what we all agree is a very joyful union. So in case you were wondering after reading about all the goodies I picked up at the farmer’s market, here is the “Summer Menu” I came up with:

Hors d’ouevres – Beet & Goat Cheese Crostinis, Chard & Onion Pizza

Salads – Chinese Chicken Salad (from Bon Appetit, our beloved little local cafe and catering spot where I worked in high school…), Tabouleh (prepared by my mother), and Green Salad with walnuts, avocados, caramelized onions, goat feta and mustard vinaigrette

Main Dishes – Maui Salmon cooked in banana leaves with pineapple (also from Bon Appetit),  and Pasta Casserole with penne pasta, homemade tomato sauce, sauteed leeks, garlic, gruyere and parmesan

Desserts – Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars, Fresh Fruit and Fresh Whipped Cream

Unfortunately, in the midst of the kitchen flurry that ensued as the party took off, I failed to get photos of all this food. But I’m hoping you’ll use your imagination or even try to make some of it yourself… That said, I thought I’d share with you one of my own recipes from this menu – I’m going with the Chard & Onion Pizza, which seemed to be the most popular. Luckily, it also happens to be pretty easy.

You will need:

• Pizza Dough ~ make it yourself or check out a nearby Trader Joe’s, they’ve got some very yummy already-made pizza doughs
• Olive Oil
• Onions ~ For 1 pizza, I used 1 large white onion and about 10 little spring onions
• 1 bunch Swiss Chard
• 2-3 cloves Garlic
• 3 sprigs Rosemary
  
• Salt & Pepper
• 1 block White Cheese ~ I used handmade Goat Sage Cheddar & White Cheddar from the farmer’s market

***Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Begin by slicing all your onions lengthwise, leaving the slices fairly large. Next, chop the garlic, grate the cheese and pluck the leaves off the sprigs of rosemary. Set these prepared ingredients aside. Blanch chard in boiling water for two minutes. Set aside. Sauté garlic in olive oil for less than a minute, add onions to pan and sauté until they begin to brown and caramelize. Remove from pan. Roll pizza dough out to one medium sized pizza round (toss some flour on to your surface to avoid sticking dough).

**Sprinkle salt, pepper, rosemary and just a bit of cheese all over unbaked pizza dough. Spread chard leaves to cover dough, leaving about an inch at the edge (for crust). Cover chard with caramelized onions. Next, cover onions, with remaining cheese. Put your pizza on a pizza pan and throw it in the oven until the cheese melts and the dough begins to golden.

*Remove from oven, pour yourself a delicious drink and enjoy with good company.

At the end of the day, champagne glass in hand, I was very happy with what we had done. Our family and friends seemed full and content and Gannon and Andrea were sure to let me know how much they loved their party. I had a great time too and was so happy to be a part of such a nice celebration. Recently, I’ve though about something my mom asked me during our preparation – While I was making tomato sauce the day before the party, she asked me if I was sure I didn’t want to be a chef. I said yes, I’m sure… You see, if I became a ‘real’ chef, I wouldn’t be able to shop for ingredients at the local farmer’s market with my dad and my mom, I wouldn’t have three of my best girlfriends and my wonderful boyfriend as my sous chefs, I wouldn’t have my brother and his fiancée stopping in the kitchen to tell me they love me, I wouldn’t be able to serve dinner late or make mistakes and I wouldn’t be able to sit down and eat my own food with a crowd of people I love at the end of the night. So to all the people I know and love, I’ll be your chef anytime, but I think I’ll pass on culinary school for now.

And, once more, congratulations to Gannon and Andrea!