Social Gracious

Eat Up Downtown

Eat Up  Downtown

You know how I adore a bargain! So imagine how I feel thinking about seven whole days to enjoy three course meals in downtown Jacksonville for $25.00? This is the third annual Eat Up Downtown event and diners are revving up their culinary engines to sample everything they can from August 17-23. No coupons to clip, no tickets to buy, just you, a date if you wish and a great meal.

I prefer to imagine myself in really hip clothes stepping out of an immaculate, sexy sports car and then having a leisurely drink at a trendy bar beforehand. But that's my fantasy. Probably I'll be slapping on some lipstick and apologizing to the valet about the state of the minivan.

There are twenty restaurants participating including Morton's, BB's, and one of my faves, Chew. Plus so many more great places, old favorites and hopefully some new. Some restaurants prefer a reservation so you may want to preview the menus on the Eat Up Downtown website and call the restaurant you intend to visit ahead.

Summer Sangria Recipe

Summer Sangria Recipe

Around my house we also call this "Mother's Little Helper" but you can give it whatever nickname you wish. Once you bring it along to one gathering people will be requesting it all the time. That's OK because it's easy, elegant and inexpensive. Perfect for picnics, cookouts, beach gatherings, parties or showers. Usually I use my Pampered Chef Mix & Stir pitcher but for fancy company you could put it in a pretty cut glass or crystal pitcher. So nice with the fruit slices floating on top. I have also served it in those glass dispensers with the valves.

1 regular size bottle inexpensive red wine
1.5 cups orange juice
1/2 cup brandy
1/4 cup sugar (I use turbinado raw)
2 Tbs. Cointreau, Triple Sec or other orange liqueur
2 Tbs. Pomegranate liqueur (if you have it but don't make special trip, it's fine without)
2 Tbs. Grenadine syrup or Pomegranate flavored syrup
2 Tbs. fresh lime juice
2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
1 orange sliced
1 lime sliced
1 lemon sliced
1.5 cups lemon lime soda like Sprite

Mix all ingredients except sliced fruit and soda. Add sliced fruit. Add soda just before serving. I usually double this recipe with the big ol' bottle of cheap red wine.

Download Sangria Recipe

OAMC How Kristie Got Her Nights Back

About six months ago I learned of the phenomenom sweeping the nation by the name of OAMC, or the Once a Month Cooking club.  I had participated in a variety of these for profit endeavors over the last few years including Super Suppers, Main Dish Kitchen, Dream Dinners and finally no-fuss Meals.  The idea behind these places was great, they do all the prep work and you go into a professional type kitchen with a group of friends, a bottle of wine and an hour or so and follow their recipes.  You go home with 6 large or 12 smaller ready made meals for your freezer.  The problem though was that UberGeek is relatively picky so he requires a pretty high quality meal.  Secondly, getting together a group of girlfriends who can agree on one of the predetermined dates at these companies was tough.  Finally, just when we would find one of these establishments we really liked locally they would inevitably go out of business.

A group of my twin and triplet mom friends and I began talking about starting our own OAMC where we could get together once a month at one of our homes, swap meals that we made up ahead of time, have a few hors d'oeuvres and chat.  We started researching the idea and some of us checked out Cooking Among Friends an online resource with info for starting your own club, recipes and an informative blog.  There was even contact info for purchasing those cool aluminum containers they have in the for profit food prep places.  We decided that we could do it and set about publicizing the idea with our twins and triplets group.  There was a response from about five women who would form our core group for the swap and we have since been joined by several more.

Since then we meet every month.  We each make ten meals, label them with contents and directions and freeze them.  We load them up in a cooler and head to the host's house.  When we arrive we typically have some food, drinks and good conversation.  Then we get down to the business of shopping each other's meals.  We get two meals from each of the members and since we bring 10 meals to swap we go home with 10 meals to put in our own freezer.  I have really enjoyed the experience.  UberGeek typically heads out to the freezer at the beginning of each week and pulls three out to stick in the frig.  Then he can decide which he wants to eat throughout the week.  I will then make a few fresh meals and we can also have the hurried family staple, hot dog or sandwich night which pretty much takes care of meals for the week.  The fact that they are labeled with directions also makes them easy to prepare for UberGeek who usually specializes only in breakfast cooking, boiling noodles or microwaved hot dogs. 

If you are interested in starting your own OAMC I highly recommend the following books to get you started with recipes, instructions and more:

Cooking With Friends

Don't Panic, Dinner's in the Freezer

Fix, Freeze, Feast

Last night my OAMC group met and my freezer is now full.  I want to include a recipe one of my OAMC twin mom extraordinaires shared with me.  It is for Macaroni and Cheese with Ham.  Not just any Mac & Cheese, but the most luscious, creamy, gooey, cheesy macaroni & cheese ever with the addition of ham to make it a complete meal.  UberGeek goes back for seconds which says a LOT!

Download Mac and Cheese with Ham

Bon Appetit