Jim and Karen made Art for Dinner

“We had much fun and a relaxing experience. The play list was great, something for everyone!

We enjoyed being able to participate in this event in NYC.

Jim with the biggest knife he can find and The vegetables look great

We followed the instructions pretty closely, except……….. We left the garlic out of the stuffing, since I generally prefer without. And we substituted a little cognac for the kahlua in the tart, since Karen prefers less sweet; we also sprinkled some nutmeg on top. And we skipped the cheese sprinkling part at the end. We used organic flour and sugar.

Our cooks slow/low temp, so the acorn squash especially took longer than expected, but we didn’t mind, we opened a bottle of champagne and sipped while we were preparing dinner and waiting for the oven to do its work.

Karen starting the pastry crust and Jim admiring the squash

We split most of the cooking, except Karen made the crust herself (definitely the hardest part). The leftover couscous is in the freezer, and we are looking forward to eating it as is or making it into something else soon.

The best part of this is participating in a collective event or a collective of simultaneous events, sharing it in our imaginations with other people not present, some of whom we know and some of whom we don’t.”

- Jim Lehrburger

What a beautiful meal!

” I was really struck by how interesting and varied the playlist was! It was such a nice accompaniment to the cooking. Because there was an element of surprise; we talked about some of the songs, and it made the whole process more magical. I also really enjoyed the concept of others following the instructions and cooking along with us in other kitchens, with their friends and family. Although dinner preparations happen by the millions across the country every night, the word ‘communion’ jumped into my mind at some point.

- Karen Lehrburger

Steven, Kelley, Jen, and Tyler made Art for Dinner

part 1 and 2 of the ketchup packet discovered in the knife drawer

“The humor you sprinkled throughout the instructions really added a lot – it was like we all magically had several years’ worth of cooking-related inside jokes to draw upon, and it made the whole thing a lot of fun.

squash from above

dice

congratulation to jen and just sitting there reminding us

we started a settlers game because YOU NEVER TOLD US TO START COOKING THE SQUASH

We also drank cabernet sauvignon (two bottles) and played a board game (Settlers of Catan) and listened to your playlist (at least twice but who really knows), and then we listened to other playlists that Amy made for me long ago.”

- Steven Lehrburger

DINNER TIME

” I usually follow strict recipes and eschew dishes with fewer than 10 ingredients, so I found it liberating to cook an entire meal with a handful of ingredients that welcome improvisation. It was a more elemental experience than cooking in my own gadget-driven kitchen. I had forgotten how strenuous working frozen butter into flour can be without the horsepower of an electric mixer, and how removing the rough skin of a carrot with a knife rather than a certified peeler will result in a fine mist of vegetable juice settling on the skin.

pears arranged however kelly wanted and

tyler eating fruit for the first time ever, almost

I was meeting a couple for the (almost) first time during this meal, and I learned things about them I might never have if I had encountered them in another context. Tyler has a passion for dishwashing and Jen is a relaxed and amiable multi-tasker. It was also eye-opening to see how a guy who does not frequently have occasion to take up a chef’s knife approaches the task of mincing an onion (devil-may-care, one knife in each hand, tiny cutting board). I felt like the four of us got along very well in a small NYC kitchen, where tensions can sometimes run high! The only downside of good company is that it can distract you from certain kitchen essentials, like actually lighting the oven before attempting to roast winter squash.”

- Kelly Molloy

Betty and Danielle made Art for Dessert

As a baking novice I sought out the guidance of a veteran: my 74 year old grandmother.

We took some liberties and diverged occasionally from the provided recipe. Opting for healthier alternatives, we used organic whole wheat flour and cane sugar. Unfortunately Whole foods did not stock Kahula. Confession: I had to look this up to see what it was! My grandmother would later explain that at dinner party days gone by, it was protocol to cap off a big meal with a shot of coffee liquor because it was believed to help “settle ones stomach”. Hmm not too sure on that one.

My grandmother coached me as I gingerly made my way through the instructions, providing a few ‘in the know’ tips on how to expedite and ease the process. She suggested I use two knives in graceful crisscrossing strokes to break up the butter, flour, sugar and water mixture instead of the lone fork, and advocated the use of a rolling pin to flatten the pastry dough. She also cautioned that to prevent the dough from sticking and tearing, I should smother my utensils in flour.

Our desert hungry family members played a game of Scrabble as they waited for us to finish our masterpiece (as advised in the instructions we were sure to hide our warm pie crust in the laundry room to prevent the vultures from sneaking bites of our crust)

The starburst configuration of pear slices was a design inspired entirely in the moment.”

- Danielle Sheridan

playlist for January 17, 2010

Instead of having the playlist automatically harass you every time you visit this site, I removed the embedded player from this post. Listen to the playlist from January 17′s Art for Dinner here.

recipes for January 17, 2010.

Another Art for Dinner! The meal is stuffed acorn squash with asparagus and a fresh pear tart.

To be cooked starting at 6 PM EST, January 17, 2010 and then eaten at home.

Here’s what you’ll need:
2 acorn squash
1 cup couscous
1 sweet pepper (like red or yellow)
1 red onion
1 carrot
some cheese for sprinkling
1 clove garlic
1 bundle asparagus
1 ¼ cups flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons butter
1 cup yogurt
2 tablespoons kahlua
1 pear

In small quantities, but more than once, you’ll need:
water, olive oil, salt, pepper

1. Standing in your kitchen, inhale and exhale deeply. Rub your hands together to warm them up.
2. Turn on the playlist. Never at any point this evening scoff at my taste in music. You can open the playlist in a separate window here, or listen to it embedded in the following Art for Dinner post.
3. Turn the oven to bake at 375 degrees.
4. Get out your cutting board and the biggest knife you can find. Cut both acorn squash in half. With a spoon, scrape the seeds and the stringy squash stuff into the trash. Think about saving the seeds to toast, but decide you never would cook them anyway. Put your clean squash halves out of the way on top of the microwave.
5. Take your asparagus out of the plastic. Rinse the stalks under cold running water. Place them on a dry paper towel.
6. Break the white ends of the stalks off by holding the asparagus with two hands, applying pressure, and moving one hand towards the thicker end until it breaks! This is exciting because you know you broke it at exactly the spot where it gets unsavorily fibrous.
7. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Spread your asparagus out on it, then drizzle them with olive oil until they look pretty coated. If you drop one of the asparagus as you move them to the baking sheet, don’t worry. Those germs will sizzle off in the oven. Season them with salt and pepper. Trust yourself to know exactly how much.
8. Look at your vegetables lying there on the counter.
9. Sing along with the song if you know it.
10. Cut the top and the bottom off of the pepper. Turn the middle on its flat side and make one slit down the side. Stretch it down, seeds up, on the cutting board and remove the white stuff, seeds and all, with your knife. Pull the stem out of the top and any white stuff stuck up there too.
11. Dice the pepper in tiny cubes. Dice the bottom but not the top. Eat that as a snack. Slide those cubes to the edge of your board.
12. Peel the carrot. If there’s a suspicious looking nub on it, ignore it. Cut it into half. Cut those halves in half. Cut those halved halves in thin slices horizontally. If you “accidentally” cut some slices too thick, eat them. Slide those bits next to the pepper bits.
13. Peel the onion. Dice it.
14. Ditto with the garlic.
15. Grease a pastry dish just to be on the safe side.
16. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk the flour, salt and sugar together. Dice the COLD butter into little cubes. Mash it up with the flour mixture with a fork until its crumbly. Don’t worry. This is the hardest part.
17. Add 3 tablespoons water. Mash it with that fork. Just when you think you need to add more water, gather it together with your hands into a flat disc. Move that flat disc to the tart dish, press it down with the palm of your hand lovingly until it is ¼ inch thick. Pinch the excess dough away into a pretty design like a scallop or other type of seashell.
18. Put it in the oven.
19. Move your squash onto a foil lined baking sheet. Brush them with olive oil. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Trust yourself; you did such a good job with the asparagus, just sitting there reminding you. Put it in the oven.
20. Heat a medium-sized saucepan on 4 with a little olive oil in the bottom. Add the garlic. When you can smell the garlic, add the onions and carrots and peppers.
21. Put two cups water in a small pot and bring to a boil on the stove. Turn the heat off and add one cup of the couscous. Cover it, let it stand for five minutes. Time it. I dare you.
22. Stir your vegetables.
23. Check on the tart shell. Is it golden brown on the edges? If the center puffed up, poke it down with a fork. If the center didn’t puff up, don’t poke it.
24. When the tart shell starts to look just the littlest bit brown, take it out. (if one were timing, one would say this might take 13-17 minutes). Put it somewhere no one can see it. Let it cool.
25. When you take out the tart shell, put in the asparagus.
26. Season your veggies with (guess what?) salt and pepper.  Congratulate yourself.
27. Fluff up the couscous with at fork, set the pan aside.
28. Do some dishes. Dance a little when you dry the big pots or pans.
29. Now that it’s been a little while (if one were timing, one would say 15?  20? Minutes), your carrots are tender and your veggies are done sizzling them. Add them to the pot with the couscous and mix it up!
30. Taste your delicious stuffing. Say aloud to yourself “Delicious! But it could use a little _____” Fill in the blank. Then add whatever you said.
31. While you wait, drink a glass of bubbly water and slice your pear extra thin.
32. In a bowl, mix 1 cup lowfat vanilla yogurt with 2 tablespoons of kahlua. Set alongside the pears.
33. When the acorn squash seem tender when poked with a fork, take them out of the oven. Fill the centers with two or three spoonfuls of the couscous stuffing. Dot each squash center with butter and sprinkle – but only if you’ve got it lying around waiting – some grated parmesan cheese. Put them back into the oven.
34. While you’re in there, check on the asparagus. How do they look? PERFECT?! Take them out right away. Transfer them to a plate to serve.
35. When the tart feels cool enough, move it to a plate with a flat bottom. Fill the tart with the yogurt mixture then arrange your sliced pears however you want on top of the yogurt. Let stand.
36. Your squash should be almost done. You’ll be able to tell because the edges will get brown and the squash will be tenderer and don’t let the couscous dry out.
37. Take the squash out of the oven and turn the oven off. Serve each squash onto a plate, bring those plates to the table with the asparagus. Set forks, knives, spoons, and napkins at each place. Find drinks.
38. Yell, top of your lungs “DINNER TIME!”
39. Take your seats.
40. Take a photograph with a digital camera and remember to send it to amylehrburger@gmail.com afterward.
41. Someone make a toast.
42. Eat! eat! eat!
43. Warn everyone the squash might be hot.
44. Don’t apologize, even if the asparagus are a little stringy.
45. Offer to share the recipes.
46. Make plans to do something again sometime soon. Be more specific.
47. When everyone is finished eating, clear the dirty plates and bring over small clean plates. Cut the tart into 4 pieces. Serve the pieces onto the little plates.
48. Mmm.
49. Once everyone is done eating, clean up. Put away the leftovers in Tupperware. Don’t be afraid at having so much couscous left; check back on artfordinner.wordpress.com for a delicious couscous salad recipe.
50. Everyone, all together, say “thank you” like a class of kindergarteners.

You can download a PDF of these instructions here.