Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Sunday Supper and Sort of a Recipe


Occasionally we here at Team Rosenberg hatch a fine idea. (And by occasionally, I mean annually.) Sunday night was the culmination of one such scheme. Inspired by the realization that there are many people we adore that we just don’t get to see enough of, we made the decision to start a new tradition and host a potluck Sunday Supper at our house once a month. We invited family, friends, and all of the neighbors on our street. We invited people that live out of town, out of state and out of the country, and will continue to do so in the hopes that one of these Sundays, our far away friends might be in town and join us. We are hoping many people will become regulars.

Sunday night was our first supper. We had 35 people wedged into our little house. There were kids and parents and grandparents and old friends and new friends and brownies and seven different kinds of salsa. There was always someone playing the piano and it was all just what we had hoped for.

Selfishly, not only did I get to see lots of my favorite people, and eat lots of food that I didn’t have to cook, I got to do it all barefoot. Also, for someone like me who has a history of just the teeniest smattering of paralyzing social anxiety, getting to chat a bit and then also have some hostess-y jobs to do was a perfect combo for me.

People brought a lot of excellent food and crazy good desserts. I did a build-your-own-tostada deal which is an easy, cheap, good thing. Even though it’s quite simple and does not require a recipe, at Jeff’s adamant request, I will share the how-to of it. Jeff lost count of how many he ate of these. (And by Jeff, I mean me.)

You can use canned refried black or pinto beans – I did my own. I threw a bunch of dried pintos in the crock pot and let them go for a day and then smashed them up with a potato masher. I fried corn tortillas (and by I, I mean my mom) one at a time in a skillet with a little vegetable oil until they were crispy and brown, salting them with a pinch of Kosher salt on one side. We set out bowls of grated cheddar, shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, salsa and sour cream and then let people build away. Jeff has asked me to mention that the magic is in assembling it in the following order tortilla/beans/cheese/lettuce/tomato/salsa/sour cream. Once your guests have departed, you can eat everything that’s left over. (And by you, I mean me.)

It was fun. Start angling now for an invite for next month. I'm thinking spaghetti.

12 comments:

  1. That's a great tradition. Maybe it's a good reason for "Smacksy" to reunite and get used to performing for the masses again. Falco and Nu Shooz won't be there to ruin the gig.

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  2. Sounds like a good time! And by the way, I love spaghetti . . . just putting it out there.

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  3. Stealing that idea as I type this

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  4. Sounds wonderful! I am now angling for that invite to the next one. I love spaghetti.

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  5. Ross - That makes me happy.

    Katie - Get in here.

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  6. What a fun and great idea! I love get togethers with family and friends...nothing's better!

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  7. Once a month?! Holy. You're, like, SuperHostess! That's way too often!

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  8. I talked myself out of once a week. (My cousin has done that for 20-something years.)

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  9. That's a really nice tradition. I want to be that nice person with the house open to everyone.

    Very cool.

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  10. So so great. Wish we weren't a continent apart.

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  11. I'll be there next month. I was driving back from a wedding..boo. btw, Jeff is a genius! That is exactly the right way to put a tostada together.

    serena

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