Cookie Swap: Part 1

Disclaimer: this post is not about salads. It is about dessert. I eat salads, so then I can eat dessert.

My birthday was a few weeks ago. Some years, I feel determined to mark my birthday with a celebration. Other years, I prefer a low-key birthday. And sometimes, there are hurricanes. First there was Katrina. I planned to celebrate my birthday in Florida with family, and no surprise, due to the hurricane, my flight was cancelled. (Please know, I am in no way minimizing the catastrophe that was Katrina. I just happen to have a late-summer birthday that coincides regularly with hurricanes. Usually, those hurricanes don't impact me directly because I live in New York. Katrina did. . . and so did Irene.) Last year, ironically a year I was determined not to do anything special for my birthday, Irene hit. My wonderful husband and friends didn't listen to the not wanting to celebrate and planned a brunch for me that was cancelled after New York learned Irene was on the way and Mayor Bloomberg shut down the subway system. And then our apartment leaked--but that is a story for another time.

After last year's hurricane birthday, I wanted to mark this birthday with people I like and dessert. So, that is exactly what I did!

I first learned about cookie swaps on one of the food blogs I occasionally read. In short, a cookie swap is when several people gather, each bringing several dozen cookies to share. At the swap, everyone exchanges cookies and brings home a mix of several types of cookies. Cookie swaps are especially popular in December, when people are looking for a quick way to put out a variety of cookies at holiday parties. For more on cookie swaps, read this article from the queen of entertaining herself, Martha Stewart.

For my birthday swap, I invited a small group of friends to bring over their favorite cookies. Seven people participated in the swap, so I asked everyone to bring about four dozen cookies to share with the group. In theory, this would allow everyone (while only seven of us were swapping, there were significant others and other friends at the swap) to sample each of the cookies at the party and still take home four or five of each variety. Well, I over estimated! 

I took the above photo post-sampling, pre-swap. It turns out that no one wanted to sample nine whole cookies (two people brought two types). 

Before I get to the cookies, a few more swapping details. To counteract the sugar and fat, I put out watermelon; chips and salsa; and pita chips, carrots, celery and  hummus. I also served gummy bears and peanut butter M&Ms to compliment the sugar and fat. We served beer and diet soda to drink. This was an adult swap so no milk necessary.

In honor the swap, I wanted to try a new recipe. I decide on rugelach since rolling out dough would give me the street cred I needed as swap host. I reached out to one of the best bakers I know, a former co-worker, for her recipe. She sent me to. . . you guessed it. . . Martha Stewart! Click here for the recipe. In the realm of rugelach recipes, this one is a winner. Instead of rolling each rugelach individually, this recipe calls for baking the dough in rolls and slicing them into the cookies after they cool. Since my husband is anti-nut, I left out the walnuts. I also omitted the currants and cream from the recipe. Lastly, I used regular raisins. They turned out just fine!

I did learn a few lessons to apply next time I make these:

1. I can use less apricot preserves. Two to two and half tablespoons per log is plenty.
2. Parchment paper is far superior to wax paper when it comes to rolling out dough.
3. I should have cut them slightly bigger.

All of the recipes at the swap were fantastic. Stay tuned for part two of this post for more swap recipes. Here is a sneak peak.

Fiesta Salad and Housewives

In the three weeks that my husband and I have been back from our Australian vacation, we've hosted two small gatherings to celebrate our birthdays. As Jews, we are forbidden to send our guests home hungry. Needless to say, we have lots of leftovers falling into categories of cookies and cheese. Today, I will tackle the cheese.

The husband insisted on buying a GIANT block of Manchego for our first gathering. Manchego, being a Spanish sheep's milk cheese, naturally inspires a Latin-theme salad. My Latin food tastes skew Mexican (and we had all the right ingredients in the house already, including another party leftover, chips and salsa), so I decided the use some of the Spanish cheese in a Mexican salad. And guess what. It worked!

As Andy Cohen would say, here's what (makes two big salads):

• leftovers: tortilla chips. salsa and Manchego;

• 1 head of romaine;
• 1 pepper (I used orange, but any color would work);
• 2/3 an avocado;
• 1/3 can of black beans, rinsed;
• 1/3 can of corn;

• a few sprigs of fresh cilantro;
• granulated garlic;
• lemon or lime juice.

Here's how:

1. Chop the romaine and pepper.
2. Combine with the chopped avocado, corn and beans.
3. Grate or finely slice the Manchego and add to the salad.
4. Finely chop the cilantro (I used about 1-2 tablespoons) and add to salad with 1-2 tablespoons of lemon or lime juice and granulated garlic to taste.
5. Toss salad and add a few tablespoons of the salsa to taste. Toss again.
6. Crumble tortilla chips on top for crunch.

Finished product:

Since the salad makes two portions, I ate one for dinner and packed the other up as a lunch salad. I left the tortilla chips on the side and crumbled them in at work. The salad was a little deflated the next day, but boy, it was still delicious!

Earlier in the post, I mentioned Andy Cohen, Bravo's executive vice president of development and talent. As far as I know, Andy has nothing to do with salad. (I would know; I read his book.) But, since this is my blog, it makes sense that I blog about things I like, and believe it or not, I like more than salad. I also like. . .wait for it. . .the Real Housewives of New York, New Jersey, Atlanta, Beverly Hills, and of course, Bethenny (who I think would greatly appreciate this salad blog). I know, high quality. And I just need to take a moment to sort out some thoughts about the recent goings-on of the Housewives. 

I am a few episodes behind on RHONY, so forgive the lateness of the observation. I don't know what to do with Ramona. Do I like her? Do I think she is crazy? Do her facial expressions remind me of my mother's? Yes! Yes! Yes! On a recent episode of Housewives, Ramona orders Aviva, another housewife, out of the pool because she is not wearing her swimming leg. (Back-story: Aviva lost part of her leg in a childhood accident. She now wears a prosthetic leg below the knee.) I hope Ramona did this out of concern for Aviva, but it was totally inappropriate. Later in the episode at a dinner party hosted by Aviva and her husband, Ramona orders Aviva's kitchen staff to skip the salad course and go straight to the main dish. Mind you, Ramona is a guest at Aviva's Miami apartment!

But here is where everything becomes really confusing! On the next episode, Ramona calms down her friend, Sonja, who appears to be drunk, after Sonja yells at another housewife's boyfriend. In this moment, Ramona helps her friend avoid further embarrassment, appropriately taking control of the situation. So who is Ramona, an overbearing nag or a caring friend? I have no idea. Discuss.