Back in November I vowed to throw a huge inauguration bash.  Hats.  Horns.  A loud, crazy, ‘let’s hear it for hope, change and democracy’ party.  The day before the inauguration I’m instead left with thoughts of the blowout celebration that I would have had.  Blame my lack of festivities on too many like-minded friends traveling, too many deadlines and too many other festivities to plan.  With my fantasy menu still in mind, though, below are a few items that I would have served had I hosted a “Yes We Did!” shindig. APRICOT-GOAT CHEESE COINS Makes 25 Wouldn’t it be nice if the economic crisis could be solved so simply, with a platter of apricot coins?  (Yep, I’m really reaching with that one.)  Originating with my friend Elizabeth, who found a variation of it on the Food Network website, this recipe has been altered yet again to make it slightly simpler but no less delicious. 25 dried Turkish apricots 3 ounces goat cheese 2 teaspoons skim milk handful of candied, cinnamon almonds, cut into small pieces honey for drizzling Whisk together the milk and goat cheese until cheese becomes smooth and spreadable.  …

I have spent countless hours fussing over complicated appetizers.   Frantically sauteeing shitakes and scallions for mushroom puffs as the final minutes until party time ticked away.  Haphazardly rolling out and filling fresh pastry dough so that arriving guests would have piping hot, miniature red pepper quiches as soon as they crossed through the doorway.  Sweat.  Anxiety.  Ultimately panic as friends crowd the kitchen to watch me spoon roquefort-parsely batter into small, greased pans for their fresh-from-the-oven popovers.    No more!  In 2008 I called a moratorium on time-consuming hors d’ouevres.   Rather than resort to chips and salsa, crudite or a wedge of cheese with crackers — not that I haven’t carted those out, too — I have amassed an assortment of simple appetizer recipes.   Insalata caprese remains one of the easiest offerings.  Gather together a ball of mozzarella, a few ripe, red tomatoes and lots of fresh basil.  Slice the mozzarella and tomato and layer the slices on a plate, alternating between tomato, mozzarella and basil.  Sprinkle some fresh ground pepper over top and serve with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil.  Simple.  Fast.  Delicious.   If the layers seem a bit too …

After talking to the staff at various Williams-Sonoma stores, some of whom dissuaded me from trying to bake it again, I steeled myself for one final attempt at making the Build-A-Bear Workshop Santa bear cake.  On the morning of December 23, the day before our annual Christmas Eve party, I set out the ingredients, pre-heated the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit, greased and floured the cake mold, and prayed to the baking gods that this time I would get it right.  (For an accounting of preceding Santa bear cake disasters, read the previous entry, “Trials of Holiday Baking.”) In spite of past tribulations, things went fairly well.  No molten batter oozing over the edge of the pan.  No decapitations.  No suicidal falls.  Only a slight neck fracture that I braced with frosting.  So far, so good. After the cake had cooled and I had consumed both dinner and stiff drink, I prepared to decorate.  Since Sean was the driving force behind this holiday treat, he was given the chance of the season – to aid in outfit application.  Little did he know that this exciting opportunity would last until one in the morning.  Ah, Christmas …

  Ask me to make a pot of succulent coq au vin, a platter of spanikopita based upon that fragile phyllo dough or eggs Benedict with a picture-perfect Hollandaise sauce and I’ll rise to the occasion every single time.  Give me a “simple” culinary task, such as using a 3-dimensional cake mold to make a cutesy Christmas bear, and I flounder over and over again. Case in point:  The Williams-Sonoma Build-A-Bear cake pan.  Sean bought this adorable, Nordicware pan and the accompanying fondant Santa bear outfit at Williams-Sonoma as an early holiday gift for me.  The plan?  That I master making this cake before our annual Christmas Eve party.  We both envisioned our friends and family crowding around the dessert table on December 24th, all smiles as they ooo-ed and ah-ed over the cake.   “Ah, look at the cute, little Santa bear.  Isn’t he just the sweetest thing?”  They’ll definitely say something about that cake but more likely it will be, “What on earth is that freak of nature supposed to be?!  Someone please take a knife to it and put it out of its misery!” The first failure …

Recently the New York Times ran a small story about Europe’s reversal of a ban on selling “ugly” produce.  At the time I laughed at the bizarreness of this ruling.  I did the same two weekends ago as I stood on line at the Phoenixville Farmers’ Market, a knobbly parsnip clutched in my right hand.  Years of hanging out at farmers’ markets and of intermittently and unsuccessfully growing my own vegetables have taught me that beautiful does not mean better.  In fact, in most instances the pretty produce found at grocery stores is downright bland.  Granted, every now and then my farmer’s market purchases might yield a crooked carrot or dirt still clinging to my microgreens.  Yet, because of the wealth of good, seasonal products and opportunity to support local and increasingly biodynamic farmers, it remains my preferred place for produce.  Thanks to the luxury of travel and of dividing my time between city and suburban life, I have a long list of favorite markets at which I shop.  In New York I go to the place that anyone who has ever lived in or around the city seems to know, Union Square’s Greenmarket.  Greenmarket has …