It’s a well-known adage that getting ready for the party is more fun than the event itself.  But a little known secret is the marvelous tradition of the après-fete lunch.  Crumpled versions of the glittering visions we were hours before, we stumble into our favorite café, Neiman Marcus Fresh Market, to dissect and discuss the who/what/where/wow of the night’s festivities. And what do we order?  Chili Blanco, of course.  Despite its mundane name, this is no ordinary chili.  Truth be told, I’d never conceived of anything like it until my girlfriend Maria mentioned the Fresh Market staple as the perfect day-after food.  My friend’s size-zero frame necessitates a rigid regimen of salad-exclusive lunches - challenged only by libation-induced headaches that require something slightly naughtier than a heap of lettuce.  And nothing could be more naughty than this effervescent cheese-chicken duo served with a glass of Perrier-Jouet at the epicenter for ladies who lunch.                         As with everything else it peddles, Neimans’ chili is infused with top tier grandeur.  Roast chicken breast replaces ground beef, Sonoma Jack cheese replaces tomato puree, and white beans replace pinto.  The flavors fuse together so elegantly that it is nearly unfathomable that you can make this yourself – which is what I will be doing habitually now that Neimans has heartlessly taken it off the menu…  xx tt  

In my humble opinion, taste is everything.  I like sparkling over subtle, innovative over obvious.  And of course, the hotter the better.  This preference for extra-spicy everything manifests itself boldly in both my personality and my cuisine.  I am also completely obsessed with corn – sweet corn soup, summer corn ravioli, grilled corn salad, fried corn fitters, I could expound endlessly in the marvels of maize…    Needless to say, when I encountered a paring of my favorites in Barefoot Contessa’s recipe for Jalapeno-Cheddar Cornbread I knew that the medley of corn + spice would become an instant go-to recipe.                                                  The Barefoot’s spin on the Southern classic is, like everything else she creates, superb.  Where it lacks in elegance, it shines in flavor – the cheddar evens out the sweetness of the corncake, while the jalapenos add delectable pizzazz.  It’s also a wonderfully versatile complement to main courses: I serve this cornbread with everything from hearty winter chili to tangy seared ahi salad.  If you aren’t sure about your guests’ tastes, honey butter (1 stick butter + 4 tablespoons honey) serves as the perfect embellishment to mellow the spice.  The best part of spoiling yourself with this crowd-pleasing carb indulgence?  It is practically diet fare – I’m told that spicy foods serve as a natural metabolism enhancer that can shed up to ten pounds off your frame per year!  xx tt

Tacos hardly cater to the discriminating palate.  In fact, I would wager that nearly everyone who tries a taco likes it.  They are extremely basic – tortilla, meat, salsa, plus your choice of beans, cheese, sour cream, etc.  Though this Mexican treat may be among your favorite indulgences (hello, Taco Bell late night drivethru!), you would never dare to serve them at a dinner party, right?  Wrong!  Through a combination of my grandfather’s steak seasoning method and a filet mignon taco recipe from a friend, I have developed a taco so divine it is worthy of royalty (keep this in mind for when Prince William and Kate come calling). These gourmet tacos come with elegant accoutrements – vividly green avocado, lime, salsa and cilantro, bright white Spanish onions, and refined black beans.  But the crowning joy of the recipe is the filet mignon.  While filet carries obvious distinctions, there are two things that make it particularly special here – first, the mouth-watering soy sauce + lemon pepper marinade; and second, the fact that the tender meat is easily diced so that every bite of your taco is pure perfection (i.e. you don’t want to pull out long strips of meat in your first few bites).    My only warning for serving these at your next party is to be sure that you’ve made enough… my guests went back for thirds!  xx tt

I cannot begin to express my level of excitement when I found out that Barefoot Contessa was releasing a new cookbook this Fall.  I pre-ordered the book, How Easy is That?, on the spot, and literally kissed it when it arrived at my doorstep.  I carefully flipped through the pages, stopping to devour every single recipe.  How on earth would I choose which one to make first?  Luckily, the Queen Bee of all It Girl’s, Mrs. Gwyneth Paltrow Martin, chose for me.  In a blog post titled “Brunch with The Barefoot Contessa,” Gwynnie detailed her morning with Ina Garten making Herbed Ricotta Bruchettes from the new book.  Once my raging jealousy subsided, I decided that the elegant bruschettes would be the perfect sophisticated starter for my New Year’s Eve menu. As I’ve never made cheese before, I was a bit skeptical about making ricotta from scratch.  I enlisted the help of my friend Cameron, and charged her with picking up ingredients from the market.  It turns out that Cameron was even less confident in our cheese-making ability, and bought premade ricotta “just in case…”  Our fears were abated when we tasted our perfectly smooth and deliciously creamy ricotta.  Even better - it took less than thirty minutes from start to finish.  We turned to each other and proclaimed in our best Ina-esque voices, “how easy was that?!”  xx tt

Winter is my absolute favorite season of the year.  The drop in mercury means glittering lights, dapper snowmen, lazing fireside, sledding, skiing, and of course après-skiing.  There are a plethora of cocktails to fight off the chill at the end of the day – hot toddies, Irish whiskies, mulled wine, extra-spicy bloody marys…  But without a doubt, my favorite winter libation is brandy-infused eggnog.  Eggnog has an aristocratic heritage.  The elite beverage was born in England, where it was primarily served to the upper class due to its expensive ingredients (milk and eggs were rare commodities pre-refrigeration).  Happily, these ingredients are staples in modern society, which leaves little excuse for buying the not so fab prefab version.  I decided to make this recipe for an annual holiday party with all of my closest friends.  To ensure that everyone had a fantastic time I had the brilliant idea of doubling the alcohol content.  The result tasted more like moonshine than eggnog…  Fortunately, I had simple syrup on hand to rebalance the flavors.  The eggnog was a hit at the party, and made for a rambunctious, if not entirely memorable, evening.  xx tt

A heartfelt confession, dear readers: I am completely smitten with roast chicken.  After a dalliance with Barefoot Contessa’s Roast Lemon Chicken with Croutons, I have reverted back to my original amour, chicken Pot-au-Feu – a traditional French mixture of meat baked with vegetables. The origin of my roast chicken romance stems from my mother’s version of Pot-au-Feu.  My favorite memories of coming home in college are those where I’d fling open the heavy oak door of my family home in Palo Alto and the smell of chicken and vegetables roasting in wine would waft over me.  I was immediately enveloped in olfactory wonderment, accompanied by a very keen craving.  What makes this recipe so unique is the addition of sauvignon blanc.  Ever the advocate of alcohol-laden food, mom’s recipe includes an entire bottle of the wine, which infuses every bite with intoxicatingly complex flavor.  Like any true love, Monsieur Pot-au-Feu and I have evolved together over the years.  While my mother serves the chicken sliced with the roast vegetables on the side, I dreamt of a more sumptuous version - a creamier concoction similar to a beef bourguignon.  The best way to achieve this effect is a thickening agent, common in creamy foods like mac + cheese, sauces, and gravy, called a “roux.”  At first blush, this technique seems intimidating, but it is really just flour, butter, and cream whisked together.   By adding the roux to the vegetable/wine/broth/herb mixture post-roast, my wish was realized…  Quel dénouement!  The roux combined with the vegetables created a buttery, velvety, and decadently delicious stew worthy of my deepest affection.  Whip up your own Pot-au-Feu this weekend, and you’re guaranteed to start a roast chicken love affair of your own.  xx tt

Most of my favorite desserts involve an effortless combination of cream, sugar, and fruit: raspberry zabaglione, strawberries and cream, and fresh peach milkshakes (just to name a few!).  I also find anything topped with caramelized sugar to be completely irresistible – who doesn’t?  For a recent fete, I felt compelled to concoct a new dessert.  I realized that nothing could be better than marrying my two sugary loves into a unique fruit gratin. Initially, I wanted to use raspberries, crème fraiche, and brown sugar.  When I got to the market, I was extremely disappointed to find that raspberries were out of season, and the amount required to feed eight guests would be prohibitively costly.  Skimming the rest of the produce department, my eyes landed on bananas.  They are deliciously sweet and inexpensive.  Sold!                           This spur of the moment decision to substitute bananas for raspberries changed my plan of action.  Pairing bananas with regular crème fraiche would be bland and boring.   By chance, I remembered that my little brother’s favorite childhood snack was bananas dipped in cinnamon sugar.  I decided to whip the traditional spice into the crème fraiche, add a generous splash of dark rum, and voila – my Banana Brown Sugar Gratin was born!  xx tt

Touted as the ultimate summer soup by the Tuscans who invented it, I can’t think of a better winter supper than pappa al pomodoro.  This is my favorite soup to order at San Francisco’s beloved Zuni Café – the crusty bread melts into the tomato basil for a deliciously straightforward soup/sauce concoction.  While Zuni’s head-chef, Judy Rogers, modestly describes pappa al pomodoro as an “easy dish to make when you have too many ripe tomatoes, a half loaf of yesterday’s bread, and not much else,” Barefoot Contessa’s adaptation is anything but simple.  The Contessa adds carrots, onions, fennel, dry red wine and pancetta to the pot, heightening the traditional recipe to an entirely new level of culinary complexity.     The first time I had this version of pappa al pomodoro was at an impromptu SF Giants game-watching dinner party hosted by my good friend Cameron.  The terribly thick fog blanketing our fair city called for something to eviscerate the chill, and the pappa couldn’t have been more perfect.  Not one to labor for hours on end in the kitchen, Cameron described the creation as one that is extremely easy to prepare.  Moreover, she’s made it so many times that she’s developed her own variations – her favorite being the addition of sweet Italian sausage.  I have since replicated the Contessa-Cameron version several times myself.  As I’m certain many of my fellow Williams-Sonoma aficionados will understand – this delectable soup instantly calls to mind the warm and flavorful scent that envelopes you upon entering one of their ubiquitous stores.  Mmmm…  xx tt

Table + Teaspoon could not be more thrilled to be featured in today’s Style Studio Blogette!  Thank you so much, Keylee and Style Studio!!  xx tt Liz Curtis is not just a gal about town, attorney, and philanthropist - she is also a sexy blonde who can cook, arrange flowers, and host a party that would make Martha Stewart green- oh, and she is the author of the latest hot foodie blogTable +...