Ravioli Day 2015

Ravioli Day is my favorite. It is also one of the few days of the year when Satchel is excited and motivated to leave the house.

"Do you think the Alleys will ever give us their recipe?" he asked me.

"No," I replied.

"Not even when they get old and die?"

"Nope."



This year marked our tenth year of making ravioli with the Alleys. TEN YEARS! (Unless we did the math wrong.) This year, Aunt Elizabeth was busy packing up her house to move, so I was in charge of making sure everyone washed their hands and didn't fuck up. I was drunk with power! Not really, it was a lot of pressure!



The best part of being in charge, was having Genevieve sit next to me AND talk to me!



As much as Satchel loves to eat ravioli, he is not usually into making it. He stayed outside most of the time riding his Swegway with the other kids. Jiro did come in and help for awhile, which was sweet. Chip took a bunch of pictures, but his computer broke or something, so I am making due with mine!



We were aiming for 50 dozen this year, but I think we capped out around 38? I could seriously make ravioli all day. I love it.



There's always lots of laughter, and not just because we are making jokes about ball size.



We eventually lured Aunt Elizabeth over with disturbing photos of giant balls and triangle raviolis.



We were basically done by the time she got there, so we moved on to the "patiently waiting for the ravioli to cook" phase of the afternoon.



This time is also known as "time to dip bread in the gravy."



Let the record show that despite being in charge and drinking a lot of Ananda, it was not me napping on the couch this year!



In Melissa's defense, she did run 13 miles earlier that morning! (Elizabeth also snuck in a power nap before dinner.)

Soon, everything was ready and the children were summoned.



Ravioli Day is the best.day.ever!



Look for Richard on the cover of the next issue of Ravioli Men Magazine.

Ravioli

As I mentioned, I left the New Face for an Old Broad event midday Saturday because it was Ravioli Day at the Alley-Browns. This marked our fifth year making ravioli with them. (Each year they make 50 dozen to get them through Thanksgiving with the entire Zanone clan.) It's one of my favorite activities because it involves 1) food, 2) lots of my friends, 3) the monkeys, 4) alcohol, and 5) relaxing.

Before I started hanging out with asians, and later marrying one, I was all about eating pizza and pasta. (My diet is mostly rice based now.) However, I don't think I ever had real ravioli until I was first invited over in 2006 to help make the 50 dozen.

Here's how it works. Kristy and Andria spend most of the day making the filling and the gravy (also known as sauce) so that everything is ready to go when we arrive. Richard makes the dough, rolls it out, and then doles it out to whoever is ready.



Then Elizabeth, who has already confirmed that you have washed your hands, watches closely as you get the filling and place just the right amount of it neatly on the dough.



She really watches closely when the fillers are under the age of 10. Here she suggested that Jiro cut the dough in half so it would be easier to fold.



The folding is VERY important.



Once it's folded, you have to smoosh it down around the filling so that there are no bubbles. Then you fork the middle to let extra air out.



Finally, you cut them out and make the edges look pretty (and secure) with a fork.



Kristy comes through every so often and loads the finished ones on pans so that she can freeze them. When we hit our quota, we start making our reward for the day--dinner.



It's SO good, and so hard not to stuff yourself.

I think my favorite part this year was when we insisted that the guys dismantle the pasta roller so it would stop squeaking. Once they took it apart, it still squeaked, so Stephanie had to go home and get hers. Meanwhile, we all stood around in the kitchen dipping baguette pieces in the huge vat of gravy.



A few other observations...

1. Satchel stayed as far away from the ravioli making as possible. He only has eyes for Joshua.

2. I forgot to bring a cute apron again. (Probably because I do not own one.)

3. Warren didn't attend due to sickness. He has only made it to ravioli day one time in the 5 years that we have been invited.

4. GK is taking after her Aunt Elizabeth.



5. Chip's pictures get better every year! (See his full set here.)

Thanks as always to the Alley-Browns for including us!

Ravioli

On Sunday, the boys and I went to the Alley/Brown Compound for the annual Making of the 50 Dozen Zanone Family Ravioli. The Alleys take several dozen to the extended family Thanksgiving celebration, freeze some for use throughout the year, and feed the rest to their hungry volunteers.

This was my fourth year participating and I have to say that I really, really look forward to it. Not just because I get to eat the best ravioli in the world, but because I get to spend the whole day with some of my favorite people!

Last year Satchel and Jiro were interested in helping. This year, not so much. They spent most of the day climbing trees (in their socks!) with JP.


I did manage to get Jiro interested at the very end, but for the most part I watched the other kids. C expertly cranked out ravioli faster than anyone, licking his lips the whole time. S also worked diligently, but has yet to meet her mother's and aunt's high standards for ravioli construction. (I only got fussed at a little bit.) Abe and GK also helped out for a good part of the day and it was fun being in the middle of such happy busy-ness.


Warren, in what has become something of his own tradition, arrived just in time to eat! He contributed some homemade bread to the feast, so we didn't make fun of his timing too much. (Actually after checking the archives, last year was the first year he actually got to come at all. He was sick in 2007 and working on the deck in 2006.)

I ate so much ravioli it was scary. It's so good!! I couldn't stop. I envy the people who get to eat it year round!

I hope that I'm lucky enough to participate for many years to come. (I just had a vision of us all drinking wine as we show our grand kids how to make the ravioli!) Since I'm dreaming--maybe someday I'll even get to help cook the filling or get a glimpse of the secret gravy recipe! Until then I'll enjoy carefully placing just the right amount of filling on the dough, folding it up, and poking it with a fork until it looks pretty.

Thanks to the Alleys for including me and my family and making us feel like a part of theirs.

Pre-Birthday Cocktail Hour

Team Oster hasn't hosted Cocktail Hour in quite some time. My impending birthday was the perfect excuse to invite everyone over. (It being Easter weekend, over half of the usual crowd had one reason or another that they couldn't attend, so naturally I called in some new recruits.)

I made fancy blackberry vodka tonics (adapted from a sparkling water recipe I found in some magazine in the lobby of Jiro's speech therapist's office), Warren recreated the Buffalo Chicken Dip I'd been raving about all week (after having tried it at a baby shower), and Mary brought cookies (carefully selected from the aisles at Target). Topics of conversation included bathing habits of Peace Corps volunteers, brochure photos used to sell elective sterilization procedures, and why children need fancy electronic gadgets. Throw in the Wii, a few light sabers, and some nun chuks and we had quite a party!

I had originally planned to cut Cocktail Hour short so that we could catch Caleb's show at Otherlands, but before I knew it, it was after midnight. All of the sensible people went to bed, but me, Mary, and Nat went to the Cove to test out my Nancy Jew Spy Kit.


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Needless to say, when I woke up Saturday morning, I felt every minute of my thirty-seven years.

Chez Dixon

Last night we had Cocktail Hour at the Dixons'. It was lovely.

I want a house like the Dixons' when I grow up! There is absolutely zero clutter. Everything single thing in their house is special and looks as though it was thoughtfully selected, created, or placed. It's like being in an art gallery. I could spend all night asking, "Where did you get this?"

The food was also fabulous. Brian made about ten pizzas, all of varying toppings and all extremely yummy. Warren made pesto stuffed mushrooms that even the mushroom haters gobbled up. And, Toby brought some pizza loaf! (Which Shannon turned into pizza bites.)

The kids busied themselves with LEGOS, Club Penguin, my cellphone, and general running around. (Satchel called one of his teachers, but cut the conversation short saying, "I'm at Cocktail Hour and it is really loud. I'll call you later.") I was very impressed with little Emma's ability to fit right in with the big boys.

The adults enjoyed some wine and a lot of laughs.

Thanks Dixons!

A Case of the Mondays

What a weekend! Friday night was spent at the Alleys with cocktails, sandwiches, and screaming banshees. Saturday, thanks to the rain, there was some semblance of sleeping in (rather than going to clean up Overton Park), before doing weekend chores and running errands. Saturday night I helped Natalie ring in her 30s at Sekisui Pacific Rim, the infamous Bobcat, and, of course, the Cove.


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This would have been more fun had I not scheduled an 8:30am photo shoot/interview at Gibson's Donuts for an upcoming Memphis Parent story. Luckily the sugar and coffee procured there got me through the rest of the day which was spent preparing for our quarterly Sunday dinner with the Smiths. Warren went all out, per usual, and we had a great time eating, talking, playing Mario Cart, shooting bows and arrows, and watching ourselves on WKNO.

Monday morning came just a little too soon.


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New Year's Eve House Party 08

Wow, I am getting fancy! NYE House Party Pics via Flickr Toys and a video, thanks to my awesome new camera!

The food (Spring Rolls by Saigon Le, Bahn Mi sandwiches by Lobster King, Gyoza by Warren, Baked Brie, Apples & Honey by Shannon.)





Warren & Richard each got a new bag. Yes, Brian is jealous.



I was being mischievous, apparently. Or maybe, sarcastic.


(And yes, I wear my coat and favorite hat ALL of the time!)

Here's some random shots from the evening.



And, wow, I think I might have actually uploaded a video of Andria & GK dancing! I could have sworn there was music playing...

Dinner with the Smiths

In July, I invited myself over to the Smiths' house for a little game called Mystery Box. It involves either Colleen or Ben coming home with a box of mystery ingredients and the other having to prepare a meal with them. Ben invited all of Team Oster to join in, and it was a blast. (You can read all about it in the October issue of Edible Memphis.)

Last night, it was our turn to reciprocate and have the Smiths over for dinner. (Colleen and I originally planned to surprise Warren with a mystery box of ingredients but when I hinted at this Warren said he would be nervous enough cooking for a chef with known ingredients and weeks to plan.)

Warren decided to grill giant tilapia, beef kabobs, and chicken thighs. In addition to that he made a yummy quinoa salad, stir-fried Vietnamese greens, rice, edamame, and apple pie (with apples gleaned from a work site). It was a feast!

Ben enjoyed getting to sit down while someone else cooked (and using Warren's electric fly zapper!), Colleen & I enjoyed chit-chatting and gossiping, the kids enjoyed running in and out of the house with various plastic weapons and flashlights, and the dogs enjoyed more attention than they've had in six years.

We (the adults) all enjoyed quite a bit of wine too...which is why the pictures only tell half the story.


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GNO

GNO=Girls Night Out

Six hot mamas and one smokin' not-mama started the evening at my house with champagne, perfectly arranged fruit, and tales of stretchmarks, then packed into Sassy's minivan for a night on the town. We ate (and drank) everything they had on the menu at Mollie's, then headed to Mary's in the hopes of having a "Mary Day" but our stay was short-lived. We couldn't resist the call of raw oysters and handsome bartenders at the Cove. Instead of calling it a night and heading home at a decent hour, we ended the evening cage dancing at Senses.

I'd say that we definitely set the bar extremely high for future GNOs! I even wore high-heels! (High for me, anyway!)

Thanks to Mary & Elizabeth spending Friday evening with me in Macy's shoe department, and an even bigger thanks to Steph for borrowing Chip's camera! Too bad (for you) that she didn't carry it around all night! Maybe Melissa will unveil the pictures taken with her iphone...oh wait! She did, only they aren't as salacious as I imagined. Maybe the dude at Senses will somehow find us through the magic of the Internet and show us his pictures! (I'm guessing Mary's YouTube search turned up empty.)

Until then, I give you Steph's party pics:


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Ravioli

This time last year, my little family was lucky enough to be included in the Zanone family ravioli making. It was just about the most awesome thing we did all year.

Thankfully, we received another invite this year. I didn't want to get my hopes up since I was sure that there was no way it could be as fun as it was the first time. So I told myself to stay calm and not expect too much.

I had to work all morning Saturday and, despite my "don't get excited" mantra, I was antsy with anticipation. I couldn't wait for the clock to strike 1:00pm, rush home, pick up the boys, and get my ravioli on.

I came home to the most insane toy disaster I had ever seen. Worse even than the post-cocktail evening carnage that is de riguer for the 8+ kids who usually attend. It was like they decided to see what their room would look like after the apocalypse.

The monkeys must have known that I wouldn't punish them with "No ravioli party for you" because it would mean no ravioli party for me.

After finally getting the mess cleaned up we headed to Castillo Alley for the festivities around 2:30pm. The minute I walked in, the stress of the toy disaster dissipated. I eased into my chair at the table, sprinkled some flour in front of me, selected my "tool," waited for RJA to hand me my "wad," and got to work.

The afternoon was filled with smack talk, iced tea with just a touch of vodka, and lots of laughs. Of course, I easily managed to have an even better time than last year.

Highlights of the day:

1. Seeing RJA in his wife beater tee
2. Eating
3. Snuggling Hammy and later seeing him sleep in his sling while Andria made ravioli
4. Eating
5. Discovering that Satchel turned his leftover dough into a "baby" he carried around in his sweatshirt pouch
6. Eating
7. Brian's balls
8. Eating
9. Being deemed #2 by Aunt Elizabeth
10. Eating
11. Harlow waving at everyone as she ate
12. Eating
13. Being in the same room with almost everyone on my blogroll
14. Eating

The only thing missing was Warren, who was home sick. To console myself, I reminded myself that at least he wasn't home working on the deck like last year!

Best of all, Chip and Shannon both took a lot of awesome pictures!

Happy Halloween!

We really like dressing up for Halloween. And when I say "we" I mean Satchel, Jiro, and Warren. Especially if it involves face paint.

This Halloween the boys actually chose rather subdued costumes--they each dressed up like little boys that they watch on TV. Jiro was Ash, Pikachu's trainer on Pokemon Diamond and Pearl and Satchel was Ben 10, from Ben 10.



Warren had visions of obscure Clockwork Orange people and other more exciting creatures, but the boys held fast to their decisions. Warren had planned to not dress up, since the boys were being so boring, but a last minute hat sighting at the Asian market inspired him to dress up as a "Zen Master."



He was quite the conversation piece amongst our Vietnamese neighbors and I found it quite fun that he decided to talk like Yoda all night.

We started the festivities off in our own neighborhood. I walked the boys down to the far end of the street just before dark, so that we would waste no time. We picked up their little friend, Jack, along the way. There are a lot of kids on our street and I had anticipated a lot of activity, but there was realy only one or two other groups of children trick or treating and very few houses actually had their lights on. This, however, did not stop the boys from having a great time and amassing a fairly large amount of candy.

We made it back to our house around 7pm to news from Warren that not a single trick or treater had stopped by. When I explained that there weren't many out and that every single house near our end of the street was pitch black he cheered up a little...or at least didn't take it so personally.

Anyways, this news added six bags of candy to the boys overall stash!

Not content to "just" trick or treat in our hood, we drove over to Evergreen to meet up with some friends, and apparently most of the city's youth population. It was really quite fun to have so many trick or treaters around and it inspired me to try and get our neighborhood more in the spirit of things next year.

As we were driving over Warren asked me if any of the other parents were dressing up. "Uh, I seriously doubt it," I said obviously forgetting that I had sent Kristy off with a bag full of my derby attire. (She even had some authentic bruises to match!)



We ended the evening at a party at our school director's house featuring tangerine martinis, a baked potato bar, and yummy homemade pumpkin pie. If Warren didn't have to get up at 4:00am to drive 3 hours to work, we could have easily stayed out all night.

Cocktail Hour

A few weeks ago, RJA instituted "Cocktail Hour." We missed the first two and only got to stay at the third briefly. Last night was our first full on Cocktail Hour and it was almost like being back at the beach house, but with Team Chockley, Team Sweazy, and Aunt Elizabeth. (And no beach.)

(Jiro and) I took pictures.


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I think it was the longest Cocktail Hour to date, lasting about 4 hours. I can't wait until we get to host.