Potluck Parties

These past two months, Mag Club ESP has been in full effect. And what was on the menu? Beans, beans, and nothing but beans.

At Julie’s, we had falafel, spicy black bean dip, two types of lentils, white bean and cabbage salad, and hummus. A few weeks ago at Michelle’s, the spread was a little more diverse, but no sooner had I whipped out my Tupperware of Spanish Rice with Crispy Chickpeas than I noticed Kate’s bowl of roasted chickpeas in full crunchy glory sitting on the coffee table right before me.

Roasted chickpeas have become a…

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CHECK OUT OUR 10 Best Super Bowl Snacks AND Vegetarian Super Bowl Buffet!

The Super Bowl is coming up, and it’s bound to be a good game. We hear people are excited.

What do we have to contribute? Cool old Giants sweatshirts, lots of team spirit, some luck to the office pool, and food.

Together with Food Network and a host of other food sites and bloggers, we’re participating in the Big Game virtual potluck. And we’re bringing Pulled Pork Quesadillas, which are colorful, easy to assemble, and based on our favorite game day meat: pork butt. To…

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MAG CLUB HALL OF FAME: Southwestern Artichoke Dip; Lentil and Goat Cheese Salad; Caprese Salad; Chocolate Bottomed Blondies

It’s no secret that Jordana is, er, the weak link of Mag Club cooking. It’s never cause for complaint though, since her contribution usually involves take-out sesame noodles from the restaurant on the ground floor of her building. It also often times means booze. The Jordana recipe we’ve featured in the past was homemade Sangria from this Cinco de Mayo gathering in the first year…

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OTHER WARM DIPS: Panko-Crusted Spinach Dip; Ali’s Southwestern Artichoke Dip; Gooey Mexican Dip

Back on the hottest weekend this summer, that week in July when the wind stopped and the temperature never once dropped below 100°F during daylight hours, Alex and I journeyed even further south than our overheated New York to Philadelphia, to meet his parents and brother for a concert.

On Friday afternoon and all day Saturday, we walked around the city like regular sightseers, not sightseers who were drenched in sweat, ridiculously thirsty, and even a little dizzy…

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There’s quite an art, as you’ll be finding out all this week, to brown bagging. We are big believers in the benefits of bringing your lunch with you to work (we have a whole chapter about “packing the quarter-life lunchbox” in our book!), on planes and trains, and wherever your day may take  you.

We want to motivate the college set–post-grads starting first jobs and undergrads doing summer internships–to get in the habit early. So this week we’re co-hosting a Brown Bag Challenge with Small Kitchen College and a host of other bloggers. The challenge…

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EVENT: Oscar Night!
VENUE: The Couch, In Front of the TV
PARTY SIZE: 10
TYPE: Best Picture-Themed Potluck Party
MENU: True Grits with Southwestern Shrimp; Fighter Black Eyed Peas; Blackened Swan; King’s Cake

I love watching the Oscars. And perhaps it is this love that has dissuaded me from ever hosting an Oscar party. You see, I love printing out fake ballots, placing bets on the predictions, and getting overly competitive about the winners. I also love judging celebrities as they walk down the red carpet, and complimenting Rachel Zoe for all her bananas choices…

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EVENT: A Stormy Philharmonic in Central Park/Indoor Picnic
VENUE: Jackie’s Apartment, Gramercy
PARTY SIZE: 10
TYPE: Cultural Parkside Picnic, Turned Coffee Table Buffet
MENU: Roasted Eggplant Sandwiches with White Bean Spread and Chive Pesto; Pesto Chicken Salad Sandwiches; Pomodoro Fresco Pasta Salad; Wine & Cheese

One of my favorite summer evenings since moving back to the city post-college is when the New York Philharmonic takes the stage in Central Park. Last year, I picnicked on the grass with Stephanie and all her friends—a…

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EVENT: Naptime Cocktail Cruise
VENUE: Kelsey Banfield’s Boat, Martha’s Vineyard
PARTY-SIZE: 6
TYPE: Casual Summer Sail
MENU: Ina’s Guacamole (Kelsey); Gorgonzola & Pear Toasts (Kelsey); Pesto Shrimp “Lollipops”

Last summer, I tweeted about making one of these rainy day salads on Martha’s Vineyard. Or, perhaps it was a tweet about how Obama’s security helicopter circling the island was giving me a headache. Whatever it was, The Naptime Chef responded enthusiastically that she too was on the vineyard, and began a tweetastic

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BRUNCH: Julia’s Citrus-Sugared Dutch Babies

COCKTAIL HOUR: Sarah’s Coconut-Lime Coolers
DINNER: Lainey’s Cilantro-Lime Shrimp Tacos with Red Slaw
We host and attend our fair share of potluck parties. But they all take place in the city. There’s one on the agenda that’s a meet-up of all the good NYC folks who participate in Food52, but that’s only as far away as Central Park. Small fry when compared to St. Thomas.

In St. Thomas, instead of seasonal green salads and pesto chicken sandwiches and green

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Act natural, colorful, warm!

EVENT: Cara and Phoebe’s Quarter-Life Kitchen Photoshoot #2
VENUE: Central Park
PARTY SIZE: 4
TYPE: Saturday Picnic

MENU: String Beans with Mustard Dressing and Cured Shallots; Pomodoro Fresco Pasta Salad; Hard Boiled Egg Sandwiches; Carrot Raisin Cookies

Recently, we staged a picnic photoshoot for our book. Though the food, the friends, and the sun were real, and the mud was definitely real enough to engulf poor Essie’s new gladiator sandal, the constant smiling

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