In the Kitchen... with low-calorie pumpkin dip!

Halloween is the opening bell of holiday eating season.  Mini candy bars and gooey caramel apples make way for a tryptophan-laced monster Thanksgiving buffet, which in turn leads to stockings full of chocolate and peppermint and a neverending spiral of ham (and possibly shame, if that's your game.)

In our house growing up, the one constant between these holidays was the pumpkin, starting with the ghoulishly carved fellows (and the peanut butter/chocolate ones), and finishing with the pie to end all pies, the pumpkin.

We've arrived, people.  Pumpkin-flavored goodies are going to be available around every corner from now until next year.  These days, you can even get hot pumpkin-spiked coffee at every single coffee retailer.  It's inescapable.

Since I'm concentrating on my moderation, and on eating nutritious foods, I figure... why beat those pumpkins when you can join 'em?  Pumpkin, in moderation and with the right ingredients, can be good for you!

Today I have a recipe for you that I have totally fallen for: a low-calorie pumpkin dip that in no way tastes low-calorie, and that will stand up to all of those other calorie-dense, less nutritious recipes.  Everyone who has tried it so far has loved it.  Even friends of mine who are anti-health-food dug in and enjoyed.

 

On top of all that, it's a super-simple recipe, and it doesn't take very long.

Five ingredients - that's all.

  
In your mixer (or in a bowl with a whisk) - combine 1 cup of skim milk with two small boxes of sugar-free vanilla pudding.
 

I used Jell-O brand, but next time I'm going to purchase some Splenda instant pudding
so Tom can enjoy it - and also because Splenda is the lesser of two artificially sweet evils.

Mix it until it's smooth, and about the consistency of cookie dough.

  
Then add the 30-ounce can of pumpkin, and mix for quite awhile.

After a few minutes, it'll still look lumpy with globs of pudding. Eventually it will smooth out. 
Be sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl to fully integrate the pudding into the pumpkin.

 

Once it's smooth, add 1 tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice.

And now, for the fun part!

Spray the entire can of fat-free Reddi Wip into the bowl.  Every last bit.

 

It may be hard to combine the heavy pumpkin with the whipped cream,
so it may be helpful to stop periodically and fold it together.

  

When it's all together, it'll look like a smooth, whippy version of pumpkin pie.
It'll smell like it, too!

  

It's especially delicious with sliced apples.  Also good with graham crackers or sticks - but I've proven time and time again that I cannot keep graham crackers in my house without the floodgates of food addiction opening.  In fact, when I tested this recipe in Palm Springs, I sent the graham crackers home with my friends for their toddler to enjoy.  

Creamy, pumpkiny, yum.

This would be a great, easy dish to bring to, say, a Halloween Potluck.  (Don't do it if you come to ours, though, because I'm already bringing it!)

I'm thinking it might make a great filling for a low-cal pumpkin cream pie for Thanksgiving, or even as filling for pumpkin "ice cream" sandwiches - which my friend Teresa challenged me to perfect.  Or... dare I say... frozen pumpkin cream pie?  Maybe I'll have that recipe for you, soon!

And the best part of all?  Not counting the apples or graham crackers, 1/8 of the very substantial recipe is only 46 CALORIES.

Serves 8.  Serving size looks to be a little bit over a cup.

Of course, eating pumpkin is not the only way to go with my favorite autumnal fruit.  Tonight, I'm attending a pumpkin-carving party!  It's being hosted (and attended) by some phenomenal artists, so I'm a little intimidated, but, hey, I'm sure it'll help those creative juices keep flowing, right?

For inspiration, here's my favorite pumpkin I've ever carved, two years ago alongside Tom, his mom Jean, and my dad.

I call it "Sometimes They Eat Their Young."

All right!  Hope you're all having fun getting ready for Halloween.  I'll be back tomorrow with some great news for active plus-sized ladies in search of great workout gear.  'Til then, take care of you!

Mangia! Italian Recipes from Supper Club 600

Following up on yesterday's Adventure blog, today I'm sharing some of the recipes from our Italian edition of Supper Club 600.

This supper club was the first one that, during the full preparation time, I was home solo.  Tom used to be our primary (who am I kidding - our SOLE) cook, and the testing - outside of baking - was his turf.  Now that he has a very busy work week, it was up to me to come up with the majority of our recipes, except for Tom's favorite...

Spaghetti Aglio Olio

• 1 ounce spaghetti
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tsp good quality olive oil
• red pepper flakes (to taste)

Warm the olive oil, and then saute the garlic until browned and fragrant.  Boil the spaghetti until just al dente (which means "to the tooth," or just biteable.)   Drain the pasta, and then add to the pan.  Toss with a touch or red pepper, and you're ready to go!  Tom cooks this for himself, occasionally, for breakfast.  And it never fails - when I wake up and come downstairs, I ask him what he's been cooking because it smells delicious.  The answer is always Aglio Olio.

Now, on to some of my own recipes!

Roasted Vegetable Salad

Red bell peppers (30-40 minutes at 400)
Cherry tomatoes (15-20 minutes at 400)
Zucchini (15-20 minutes at 450)
Sweet onion (30-45 minutes at 400)
Garlic (30-40 minutes at 400)
Olive oil spray (like Pam)
Balsamic Vinegar

Spray the bottom of a few different baking pans (I recommend pyrex a few inches deep.)  I tend to pair like veggies together, because they take different times to cook.  Then prepare the veggies: cherry matoes are good as-is, peppers need to be halved and de-seeded, zucchini sliced into spears, and onion into wedges.  You can just slice the top off a head of garlic and roast all together.

Once you lay the veggies in their pans, give them another quick spritz of olive oil spray, and then pop them in the oven, time and temperature listed with each ingredient above.

When all are finished roasting, combine tomatoes, zucchini and onion in a bowl.  Place the peppers while still warm (but not hot) in a plastic zipper bag, to steam the skins.  They'll be ready for you to peel after a half-hour.  Then squeeze the roasted garlic (through the sliced top of the head) into the bowl with the rest of the veggies.  Toss with a tablespoon of vinegar, and you're all set!

Spaghetti Squash Carbonara

Authentic carbonara was my favorite dish in Rome.  I had no idea that all of America made it so improperly.  I had always thought it was a cream-based dish.  In fact, the glory of carbonara is that there is no cream, only egg - and that's what makes the spaghetti strands stick together!

Real carbonara is very caloric - pancetta, lots of egg, lots of cheese, and lots of pasta.  I lightened up the recipe by reducing egg/cheese, swapping turkey bacon for panchetta, and swapping spaghetti squash for pasta.  It's surprisingly delicious for the calories.

1 spaghetti squash
3 egg yolks
3 slices of lean turkey bacon
2 tb good-quality parmesan cheese, grated.
2 shallots, minced
Olive oil spray (like Pam)

Halve the squash and bake it rind-up 30 to 40 minutes at 375 degrees.  Cool slightly, and then separate the "spaghetti" strands by lightly scraping with a fork from stem to stern.  This can be done slightly ahead of time, as the squash will be rewarmed later.

Saute the shallots in olive oil spray, with the turkey bacon, until all are browned. Whisk the yolks together with the grated cheese.  Add the squash to the bacon pan, and pour the eggs in.  Toss the squash quickly and continually until the eggs are cooked and the cheese is melted.  Serve immediately.

Tiramisu

I am insanely proud of this recipe.  We knew, as soon as we decided to have the Italian theme, that we'd want tiramisu for dessert.  And little did I realize that tiramisu is crazy caloric per serving.  If you've eaten even a small serving of regular tiramisu, it was probably light and fluffy, and you probably didn't realize how calorie-dense it was.  A typical small serving is around 350 calories, and goes up from there.  Though - I have to apologize, this is actually 55 calories, not 50 calories.  (Still, that's a big reduction.)

But I love a challenge, so I went hunting for ingredients to combine and swap to lower that calorie count.  And swap, I did.

Swap #1: Lady Fingers.  They're not the worst thing in the world, but they're dense and rich, and in tandem with the creamy filling, they add to the overall pudginess of tiramisu.

So instead, I used individual angel food bundt cakes that I purchased at Ralph's. (Also known as Kroger's, for all of you who grew up in or around Midland.)

Swap #2: Mascarpone cheese. This little bugger crams 120 calories into a single tablespoon.  But it has a particular taste and texture that is hard to recreate, so I wasn't sure I could do it... that is, until I met Quark.

Quark is a German cream-style cheese that is kind of similar to mascarpone, but is slightly more sour... and comes in a fat-free variety!  To adjust texture and flavor, I folded in fat-free (5-calorie) Reddi Wip after the usual tiramisu ingredients.  It may be challenging to find Quark, but I was able to locate it in a specialty grocery store (Gelson's) so you may be able to locate it at one near you.

Here's the final recipe.

• 1/4 cup Quark
• 1/4 cup fat free Reddi Wip
• 1 tb sugar
• 1/4 tsp vanilla
• 1/3 mini angel food bundt cake
• 2 shots of good-quality espresso
• scant 1/4 tsp unsweetened cocoa (or less - you don't need much.)

With a mixer, blend Quark, sugar and vanilla.  Once smooth, fold in Reddi Wip.

There should be 12 ridges in each bundt. Slice between each ridge, and use four ridges for one serving. 

Soak one side of a ridge in espresso for 2-3 seconds, then flip and soak the other side.  Repeat, and place both ridges at the bottom of the serving cup.  Then layer a tablespoon of the Quark mixture on top of the cake, sealing it in the bottom.  Repeat the soaking process for the other two ridges, and lay them on top of the Quark mixture in the cup.  Layer one last tablespoon of Quark, making sure to seal in the rest of the cake.  Sprinkle a touch of cocoa on top, and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.

Woo-hoo! 

There are other recipes we used from that day, but if I gave all of them to you... why would you buy the cow when you get the milk for free?  Just kidding.  If you want one of the other recipes from the menu I shared yesterday, let me know and I'll pass it along to you.  Everybody needs a good recipe - it's a great way to take care of you (which I hope you're doing today!)

In the Kitchen with Rosemary Quinoa

Have you tried quinoa?

You've probably seen it in magazines or on lists of healthy foods, but perhaps you don't even know how to pronounce it.  (Or maybe that was just me, a few years ago.  For the record, it sounds like keen-wah.)

It's in those magazines and on those lists for good reason. It's a rare plant source with the full set of amino acids: a complete protein.  It's even gluten-free, if that's your bag!  Plus, it's been around for a long time - it was first domesticated in South America over 3000 years ago.  It's not part of the grass family, so it's not a cereal or a grain.  (It's called a pseudocereal, as is buckwheat.)  All of that aside, it's very filling, and I really like it with veggies as a salad.

A friend of mine recently told me she has disliked quinoa every time she tried it.  I promised to attempt a quinoa salad that she'd actually enjoy, and this post chronicles that attempt.  (Audra, I'll have to make it for you soon and see if it works!)

Here are today's ingredients.

First thing's first - you MUST rinse the quinoa first.  Otherwise it'll taste yucky after it's cooked.

Chop all of the veggies into medium-sized pieces.

  

In the meanwhile, follow the directions on the quinoa box. I cook 1/2 cup dry, and split it into 5 servings.
(This is a great dish to take to lunch during the work week.)

   

You'll know it's done when the little kernels are translucent, and you can see the little "tail" curl.

  

Spritz a large saute pan with spray oil (like Pam) and start the rosemary on low for a few minutes.

  

Then add the onions, and cook them low and slow.  (Limbo-style, I always say.)

  

After about 10 minutes, if the onions are starting to look translucent, add the eggplant chunks.

  

Steaming helps to speed the eggplant along - I recommend using a round pizza pan if you don't have a lid!

  

When the eggplant is soft enough, it'll turn a darker brown.

  

And... wha-la!  Combine the quinoa with the veggies, and a single teaspoon of olive oil.
Add some sliced tomatoes for garnish, and split one ounce of crumbled goat cheese between the 5 servings.

  

I hope this inspires you to try quinoa... even if you haven't had a great experience with it in the past, combining it with flavors that work so well together (and rinsing it in advance) can combat that weird off taste it sometimes has.  Good luck... and take care of you!

Adventures with the Skinny Cow

I'm so behind in my posting that the Blogger interface has changed since my last post. Has it been that long? No, it hasn't, but I am indeed behind.  It's not a reflection of my journey - I've been exercising and eating healthy food and taking care of me.  It's all happy-life-stuff that has kept me distracted - work, prep for fixing the bedroom, cooking, and even planning for the next SC600!

This week's adventure was a perfect one for Finishing the Hat.  It involved fashion... low-calorie food... friend-makin'... and, of course, adventure!

A few months ago, my friend Joanne (who works out with me at Slimmons) invited me along with some of our mutual friends to join her for a Girls' Day Out, with lunch after class and a visit to a Skinny Cow event called "The Perfect Cup," offering free bra fittings (get it?) and samples of their ice cream cups.  I am a fan of lady-dates, so naturally, I accepted and secured my spot at the event ASAP.

I had a delicious and light lunch with Joanne, Mia and Alexa at Le Pain Quotidien, and then Mia headed home while the rest of us went over to the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood, where the Skinny Cow event was held.

Skinny Cow - if you haven't heard of them before - is a low-calorie snack company owned by Nestle.  I regularly enjoy their ice cream sandwiches. At 140 calories, they're a tasty way to sooth my sweet tooth without being triggered to pig out.  But I hadn't tried their ice cream cups before, and I was looking forward to a sample.

It was a terrific event, and extremely well-managed.  We checked in at the entrance to the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood, and each of us were handed a little remote buzzing pager (like they use at chain restaurants) which called us when our bra fitting was ready.  Then Alexa, Joanne and I stepped into the very chic-looking, pink-lit space. 

I felt immediately welcome.  There was a lovely range of ages, sizes, and ethnicities in attendance, and everyone seemed to be in a terrific mood.  The guests were being pampered, and the Skinny Cow team members were all smiles, too.  We headed for beverages while we waited for our pagers to buzz - which didn't take long.

We've arrived! With beverages in hand, and scarf on neck. That scarf played an important part in my day.
I enjoyed my white wine with mandarin oranges. (It was unexpectedly delicious.)

Alexa and Joanne recline.  Joanne's sipping fizzy water with lime.

My fitting went well - I'm nearly exactly the same size as I was the last fitting, though I'm sort of between a D and a DD now.  I was surprised to find out that we were also given a coupon for a free bra by the event sponsor, Olga's Christina.  FREE BRA!?  We had heard that there were free bras, but we'd assumed they were some poorly-constructed one-size-fits-all they handed out in swag bags.  This was an entirely better reward! I'm going to redeem mine at Macy's this weekend. 

While I was standing at one of the tall tables, a woman complimented me on my scarf.  She was adorable herself, wearing a polka-dotted retro outfit that looked like something I'd put together on Fashion Friday!  I told her so, and we struck up a conversation that lasted for, well, pretty much the rest of the event.  Cassandra and her friend Jennie also chatted away with Joanne and Alexa, and all five of us were excellent company on that unexpectedly friend-makin' Saturday.

With Jennie and Cassandra.  Aren't they cute?  Cassandra's holding one of the Skinny Cow cups.

  
Cassandra's ice cream looked yummy, so I headed to Skinny's Ice Cream Bar to snag a cup of my own.

Two good cups, indeed.

  

Even the ice cream freezers behind the bar were themed.

  
I had the strawberry cheesecake flavor, and it was surprisingly yummy - and a surprisingly large portion - for 150 calories.  Thumbs-up, Skinny Cow.

Along with the samples, beverages, and bra sizings, there were a number of other attractions, including a museum of historical bras...

I'm amused by the name of the 1930s falsies.

Plus they had raffles at regular intervals.  Cassandra won an iPod, and others won books, bags, and even makeovers.  Oddly enough, the makeup artists were often without a makeover winner.  It would've been great if they offered more of them, or even let us pay for them.

Makeover in action.

Alexa tweeted about the delightful time we were having with our new friends, and moments later, it was up on their real-time social networking screens!

It really was meant to be. 

  

The five of us even posed together with the Skinny Cow herself - accessorized for the occasion.

  
As we headed out, we received swag bags including coupons, a sample of their new candy flavors, and a t-shirt (that, unfortunately, is going to be too small for a few months. Skinny Cow, consider your audience!)

Alas, the Los Angeles event was the last on the tour, but if Skinny Cow hosts events in the future, I definitely recommend going.  The ice cream was motivation enough, but a free bra and a professional sizing? Drinks? New friends?  Far more than I expected.

All right.  I'm off to test the fifth new recipe of the day (yes, five. More on that very soon!)  Keep adventuring, and take care of you!

Barbecue Part Two: Recipe Boogaloo

Yesterday I shared my Supper Club 600 adventure at the Drive-In, and as promised, today I'll be sharing the recipes for all of the dishes we made.  (Well, all but the barbecue jackfruit, which I've already shared.)

Curried Chickpea Salad

An excellent source of protein!

We fell in love with this salad at Joan's on Third, our favorite place in Los Angeles to pick up a picnic-to-go.  Whenever we wanted it, we'd have to trek over to Beverly Hills... until The Times was so kind to print the recipe!

As with any recipe, Tom and I tweaked it to lower the calories... and I'm a wuss when it comes to spice, so we removed the heat.  Here's our variation on Joan's chickpeas:

• 1/2 cup diced onions
• 1 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon coriander
• 30 ounces of chickpeas
• 2 tablespoons cilantro
• 1 lemon, juiced
• Pam
• Water
• Salt

Saute the onion in Pam over medium-high heat for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add the turmeric, cumin, and coriander. Stir regularly for about 3 minutes.  It will develop into a kind of spice "paste."

Drain the chickpeas, then add to the pan and cook for about 5 minutes.

Add a tablespoon of lemon juice along with a little water, to thin the paste.
 
Remove from heat and season with the cilantro, the rest of the lemon juice, and salt to taste.


Broccoli Slaw

Light and crunchy!

  
Tom got this recipe from "Big Daddy's House," starring Aaron McCargo Jr, the winner of Next Food Network Star a few years ago.  It's a lot spicer as Aaron makes it - and it includes oil that, in our opinion, weighs the slaw down unnecessarily.  Here's our twist on Aaron's recipe:

• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 2 cups shredded broccoli slaw (we buy ours at Trader Joe's.)
• 1/2 medium sweet onion, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• 1 lime, zested and juiced
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper

Soak the slices of onion for a few minutes, which will make it slightly milder.  Then drain, and combine with the carrots and broccoli slaw. Set aside.

In a small saucepan, add the vinegar, lime zest, lime juice, salt, sugar, and the black pepper. Bring to a light boil over low heat. Remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes.


Add the mixture to the vegetables, and toss to combine.


 Blue Cheese Aioli

We served ours with crunchy veggie crudite.

I'm proud to say that I came up with this recipe myself!  I'd heard about combining sour cream with mayo to make aioli, but when I had discovered two perfect low-calorie ingredients, I knew that putting them together would make for amazing flavor and texture.  And I was right!  You can try other replacement ingredients, but if at all possible, I highly recommend these specific ones:

• 1/2 cup Trader Joe's Fat Free Sour Cream
• 1/2 cup Light Vegenaise (available at Whole Foods)
• 2 oz blue cheese crumbles
• 2 garlic cloves, finely minced

Stir it together, and that's it.  For some real foodie fireworks, bake some sweet potato fries and have at.

There are a couple of other recipes I can share with you... but they're hiding inside the movie snack sampler bags!

The spoils of Supper Club 600!

Every guest at the Drive-In received a sampler with two kinds of popcorn, some fresh market cherries, and a mini-serving of dark chocolate pomegranate "raisinettes."  (We did not make the "raisinettes" ourselves. They're available at Trader Joe's as Dark Chocolate Dried Pomegranate.  They're great, but be wary of portion size.  They list it at 1/4 cup for 200 calories - a third of our evening's calories! - so we gave our guests less than half of the recommended serving.)


We made the popcorn ourselves, with just a tiny bit of oil in the popper.  From there, we sprayed it with a little butter-flavored Pam and transferred it to a large bag (not packed - with plenty of room.)  Add the flavor mixtures and shake to coat!  Here is the ratio information for our mixtures, per cup of popcorn.


Cinnamon-Sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp sugar
Pinch of salt

Southwestern
1/4 tsp taco seasoning (with salt but without MSG)
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp chili powder

Tom - who is a veritable popcorn fiend - liked the flavored popcorn enough that he's considering bringing some to a movie theater in the future.  (Movie theater popcorn is possibly his greatest vice, and he's cut way, way down.)

That's everything!  But don't forget to come back tomorrow for the sequel... ATTACK OF THE DRIVE-IN FASHION!  'Til then, take care of you!

Supper Club 600: B-Movie BBQ at the Drive-In!

I am so happy to be writing this blog entry.  You have no idea.  I've been preparing for it for weeks!

Every so often, my Adventure Wednesday post is extra-special to me, because the adventure of the week is a gathering of friends and loved ones for a celebration of my journey.  A celebration of food and health and joy... which IS POSSIBLE.  You can combine food and health and joy.  And that is why we started Supper Club 600, a dinner party series where we teach - by example -  that you can eat healthfully and still take great delight in being a foodie.  Each SC600 meal clocks in at less than 600 calories. And each time, it's themed for maximum party pleasure.

This time it was a barbecue.  At a drive-in.  With B movies.  And it was a blast.

Tom and I have been perfecting the menu over time, starting with the jackfruit itself.  I've already shared the recipe, but for those of you who missed it, the short story of jackfruit is: it's canned, it's unripened, it shreds like pulled pork, and it's delicious.  We first served it at another SC600 BBQ gathering, but I managed not to take a single photo of that party, so we decided to throw another one!

This time, we knew we needed to make everything simple so that we could prepare it in advance and deliver it to the Mission Tiki Drive-In, where we gathered for the occasion.  Here's our menu for the evening:

I lifted the illustration from an old B-movie poster I found while gathering inspiration for the party.

I stumbled upon the theme idea after Googling "movie fabric," on the hunt for some sort of textiles I could use to decorate.  I happened upon some amazing monster movie fabric by Robert Kaufman, and I thought... of course!  B-movies are notorious at Drive-In theaters, and it was just the perfect element to tie everything together.  Kaufman's fabric had gone out of print, but I was lucky to snag just enough on eBay, so my crafty mother-in-law Jean whipped it into table runners.  And a theme was born.

Here's the Kaufman fabric runner, plus one of our centerpieces - white hydrangea "popcorn."

  

It was the THEME THAT WOULD NOT DIE.  I ended up making personalized bags for the movie snack sampler, using an array of B-movie posters I'd found online.

Mmm.  Black Lagoonlicious!
Photo courtesy of Rochelle

We even used thematic serving forks - as modeled by our new friend David.
I got these beauties at Target during Halloween season two years ago.
Photo by Rochelle

Enough with the theme.  Let's get to the party!

We set up our table before the Drive-In opened for the night - and once other guests
arrived, there was much staring.  We could read their minds. "What the hell?"

  

THERE WAS NO ESCAPING...
Our dinner spread.
Photo by Rochelle

 

THRILLS AND CHILLS!
We offered chilled zero-calorie beverages, including still water, "fuzzy" water (as it's known in my circles)
and a selection of diet sodas from the awesome Rocket Fizz in Burbank.
Photo by Rochelle

Among them, Jones Zilch Pomegranate... plus Old Philadelphia Creme Soda,
Avery's Orange, Virgil's Black Cherry, Root Beer, Cola and Dr. Better.
Man, I love that "Children of the Damned" poster.
Photo by Rochelle

   

Every single one of our lovely guests arrived early
to help set up, and soon we were ready to dig in.
Photo OF Rochelle! (And David.)

ATTACK OF THE KILLER JACKFRUIT!
Possibly our proudest moment was hearing raves about the jackfruit from a friend of ours who is a firm non-vegetarian.

   
   

The awesome Patty is about to try jackfruit for the first time!

  

A bird's eye view of dinner.
Photo by Rochelle

Time flew past, and suddenly the sun was setting on the beautiful Southern California evening.

  
But at a Drive-In, that means the party's just starting.  Our gang grabbed their treat bags and split off into three different movie doubleheaders: B-movie horror (Fright Night & Final Destination), B-movie remakes (Conan & Planet of the Apes) and comedy (30 Minutes or Less & The Change-Up.) 

Regardless of movie quality, everyone seemed to really enjoy their Drive-In adventure.  Goodness knows I did.  Thanks, from the bottom of my heart, to Frank and the team at Mission Tiki, who made this possible; to Tom, who keeps me grounded and pops excellent popcorn; to our amazing guests.  No amount of cooking or planning really makes a party great.  It's the guests who do that.

Hungry for more about the Drive-In?  You're in luck! I'll be back tomorrow with RETURN OF THE DRIVE-IN... a close-up on the recipes from this edition of Supper Club 600, and a peek inside those little treat bags.  And if that's not enough... come back for Fashion Friday: IT CAME... FROM THE DRIVE-IN! That's right, it's a B-Movie BBQ trilogy.

'Til then, I'm working hard on taking care of me.  And I hope you'll take care of you, too.