Dear Kay,
I was flipping through the January issue of Martha Stewart Living and was dee-freakin-lighted to discover “A Good Yarn,” this month’s featured casual supper. “When friends gather to knit and share a meal, expect as much conversation as crafting.”
Don’t they know it! It brought to mind that supper we threw together last time I was in New York. Remember? Smoky Cashews, Baba Ghanoush and Crackers, Roasted Parsnip, Celery Heart and Apple Salad with Hazelnut Vinaigrette, French-Lentil and Sausage Stew, Thyme-Cheddar Twists, Ginger-Pear Hand Pies, and Pear Chips.
Quel coincidence! Those Martha Stewart Livers sure do know the mind of the knitter.
Out of curiosity, prurient interest, and the stunning overstock of kielbasa at our house, I decided to explore this fun little menu in hopes of throwing a Good Yarn supper for my knitpals here in Nashville. I began with the French-Lentil and Sausage Stew. “A thick stew made with Le Puy lentils and kielbasa makes a hearty, no-fuss meal. Its aroma, reminiscent of French country cooking, comes from a blend of bay leaf and rosemary.”
Oh, it’s chock full of Le Puyness, all right, and only blew my allotment of cooking time for the next three days. I did not, in fairness, have to manufacture my own kielbasa.
Next up: Cheddar-Thyme Twists and Ginger-Pear Hand Pies, which look suspiciously like actual baking in that they call for dry yeast, the folding of dough in half horizontally, and the use of a rolling pin. The great news is that while I’m waiting for the yeast to activate, while I’m waiting the four hours for the dough to rise, while I’m waiting overnight for my pastry dough to chill, I’ll have lots of time to knit. Brilliant!
Frannie: “Where’s Ann?”
Betsy: “She’s still roasting that parsnip for the salad.”
Buffy: “Parsnips? Did somebody say parsnips?”
Mary Neal: “What I wouldn’t give for a pear chip right about now.”
Marthawatch
For those people living under a rock and aren’t properly keeping up, March 5 is Martha’s release date from prison–I checked in at Save Martha, a site run by Williams graduate John Small who I do believe will end up the Greta van Sustern of the Martha Stewart case. Looks like he has appeared on TV no fewer than five million times in the past year, lovin’ Martha all the way and, as proof of his devotion, selling Save Marthabilia out the wazoo. Way to make a career out of . . . nothing!
See you soon for the true knitter’s meal: this and these.
Love,
Ann
23 Comments
yeah – the word “no-fuss” in any MS magazine to me usually means quite the opposite. what, then, would be fuss?
there was a feature on sock knitting in the xmas issue (i think) that i found to be just kind of… stuck in there. i did read it anyway, though…
did you notice that the titles of your (collective) last two posts are somewhat interchangeable?
Not that I think any of your various enterprises ever ends in disasters…
the salad sounds good!
I prefer knitting tea (Harpoon, Sam Adams) and knitting coffee (Guinness) to knitting water and have found that Cheetohs, while yummy, tend to add a certain orange tinge to the fabric. Still searching for the perfect knitting snack.
Kat in Boston
Yes, I signed up for the Boston area sewing up bee.
But cheetos get your fingers all orange and crumby- and getting up to wash your hands takes away knitting time. I’ve almost abandoned my favorite TV snack, overly buttery popcorn, because it interferes with my TV watching/knitting.
I am writing this from the floor of my office, where I fell from all the laughter…
I am a staunch Martha devotee (T minus 52 days in counting) and generally swear by her recipes and impeccible, if impractical, tastes and whims. However, when I saw this article, I knew Martha had missed the mark. Cooking and knitting vie for time in my world, and if I’m going to invite the girls over for a knit out, it’s going to be take-out Chinese.
Props to you for even attempting keilbasa (it is always slightly less than vaguely reminiscent of a particularly raunchy Howard Stern segment I accidently wandered upon – I cannot go there!)
xox
Kat, Erin–I know, I know about the Cheeto dust problem. It confounded me for years. I meant to post my how-to on using cocktail toothpicks to turn a Cheeto into a proper hors d’oeuvre. Must not let fingers touch actual Cheeto. Yet must somehow eat Cheeto.
And Julia, believe me, Kay is at this moment drafting her disclaimer which states that she in no way approved this post. We have the utmost respect for Martha and frankly think she has raised the level of food/decor/lifestyle to amazing heights. I mean, I feel like she somehow is personally responsible for the presence of asiago cheese in a salad from Burger King. I can’t wait for the TV show she is planning after her release.
Hells bells, I gotta respect that Mr. Small (unfortunate name, that). I’m STILL looking for that perfect “make a career out of nothing” opportunity.
P.S. Didja notice all that pink and orange yarn in that photo? Cool, eh?
I think Ann has hit upon the perfect solution for anyone who has not been able to find that perfect shade of orange for the “little project which shall not be spoken of” (..of which shall not be spoken..??) A few rows of pink, a little Cheeto dust, a few more rows of pink, …. Now if only the mattress stitch weren’t kicking my butt, I’d be able to send in my square! Of course, you could use my Dad’s solution for messy snacks. He eats his buttered popcorn with chopsticks so the butter doesn’t get on his library books (and so he doesn’t choke on another handful of kernals that go down the wrong way, but that’s just a happy coincidence!)
Wow, I had no idea he was from my alma mater. It’s a curious situation, and I find his devotion at least entertaining. I agree with Julia, though – I’d rather spend time knitting and heating up soup or ordering a pizza than making all this stuff from scratch.
I’m going to need some serious bootcamp whenever I decide to have children. They probably need more vitamins than ramen can provide. (And they should probably avoid getting scurvy.)
Yeah, I think ordering pizza is the way to go, though that stew looks really tasty! Martha is in jail? Just kidding. I have found that her recipes are either brilliant or horrific.
(Not on the subject of Martha . . . )
Perheklubi must be Molvanian. A fabulous new travel guide has recently come out, enumerating the myriad opportunities Molvania and its capital city, Lutenblag, can provide for the tourist seeking an “authentic” travel experience. Check it out. Molvania: A Land Untouched by Modern Dentistry, by Santo Cilauro, Tom Gleisner, and Rob Sitch.
You know us, if it’s a difficult travel opportunity, we’re there. I can’t go right now, though; Clif is in Tbilisi.
OK, people. I’m such a dolt I don’t even know if Mary Neal is making up the existence of Molvania. The title of that book makes me think she’s pulling my leg.
Off to google Molvania. Is it near Pittsburgh? xoox Kay
I’m not a big Martha fan, but that stew looks SO good. I think I’m going to have to go buy that issue.
Le Puyness is always a good thing I think & your stew looks particularly fine. Martha has somehow mostly passed me by (maybe living in England?) (sorry!!) but I’m thinking the pear chips may be a step too far… Chocolate always does the trick I find!
It’s too bad they don’t get “Royal Canadian Air Farce” in the US (it’s a political/current events satire show). Luba Goy plays the funniest version of Martha Stewart I’ve ever seen! And by your post, I’d say you’d certainly like it 🙂
Thanks for sharing that save Martha site. I nearly wet myself laughing. Long live Martha!
Cheetos! LOL. The best snacks for knitting are those things you can eat without touching them, like garlic noodles, chocolate fondue, and peanuts your husband tosses artfully from the other side of the couch.
I adore the Molvania book. It was the biggest hit of my department Secret Gift Exchange last year. (My office does a lot of work in Eastern Europe/Central Asia region, so we have lots of experience in dealing with the Lands Untouched by Dentistry At All.)
Of course, when I first saw it, I was nervously thinking through the Balkans and the Baltics, and wondering why I knew nothing about Molvania…
I have a friend working on translating some of Perheklubi, but he’s got the flu, so it’s going a little slower than usual. (He’s very handy with the Finnish.)
Oh AnnAnnAnn, how did I make you so mad at me that you had to torture me with this post during a week of mediocre room service dinners? Do you suppose if I buy Living in the airport on the way home this feast will somehow appear in my life in the foreseeable future?
During the brief period that several of my friends were learning to knit, Cheetos and wine were de rigeur. We still get together (although I am the only one knitting these days) and now instead of “knitting parties” we call them “wine and cheetos parties.” So fascinating to know that we are not the only girls picking that particular knitting menu!!
That sure is some fancy cooking ! I wonder if we’d get as hot under the collar as some people to be if dear old Delia (Smith) was spedning some time in the pokey ?? Not that she would of course – perish the thought !
Ann, if you really want to do a good thing for Martha, you’ll send her a copy of your recipe for Coke Can up the Wazoo Chicken (Cf. MDK “Supper” April 8, 2004).
Now, what kind of wine goes with Cheetos? I have so much trouble remembering this kind of thing.