The Diva That Ate New York // Gordon family eatz

The Diva That Made Coconut Whipped Sweet Potatoes

On Twitter the other day, Mdvani (@LadiesWhoLunch1), who I believe is vegan, asked me how to make sweet potatoes on behalf of a friend. I tweeted three ways:

Then I said, “Use coconut milk if you want them to be vegan.” That, was a moment of GENIUS! And that’s how I made them for Thanksgiving and they were FANTABULOUS!

The Diva That Made Bacon Wrapped Sweet Plantains with Lime, Garlic & Jalapeno Mojo

These rock! Liza de Guia is an inspiration. Not only does the lovely founder & chief storyteller of FOOD CURATED make rich and informative videos about passionate people who bring us incredible foods, but when she was on a holiday, she tweeted about eating bacon wrapped sweet plantains and bells went off in my head! Ding! Ding! I had to make them!

I decided that the sugar in the plantains and smoky goodness of the bacon would be DELISH with a spicy dipping sauce. I love the salty, garlic in oil condiment that is served in Latino restaurants would be a good place to start, but maybe too over-the-top for my guests. The lime and chilies and cilantro temper the garlic.

My guests flipped for these! YUM! YUM! YUM!

Gobble Gobble 2010 The Diva Does Double Thanksgiving | Menu

I love Thanksgiving so much I have it twice! I have the immediate family and a couple of friends, who are orphaned, on the official day and a leftover party on the Friday for my friends who are feeding and serving the people who can’t or don’t cook Thanksgiving dinner and eat out instead. It may seem over-the-top, but it’s the way the cooks in my family show our gratitude and express our love for family and friends.

Janea’s second birthday

Ja-Ja, my niece, has evolved into a little lady since her first birthday. Now double her age, she has grown into her actual name, Janea. For her second birthday I built the menu around a savory birthday cake made of macaroni and cheese. I have some decorating ideas floating in my head, but we’ll see how it evolves.

Recipe: Panko Crusted Sesame Scallion Shrimp Balls with a trio of dipping sauces

These were a huge hit and look great on a platter! If you can’t find fresh water chestnuts, use canned. They are definitely not as crunchy and have a bit of a canned taste.

Thanksgiving 2009 Jax put the pots on!

Thanksgiving is my absolute favorite holiday! I’m so excited about Thanksgiving (read: since I don’t have my chocolate cafe weighing on me like it has the last four years) this year that I’m having it twice! For the family on Thursday and on the Friday for my friends who have to work in restaurants on Thanksgiving with a sprinkling of who were otherwise occupied on Thursday. Here is the menu as it stands now. I use a combination of dishes that that are traditional with dishes I make up to use up stuff I have too much of (read: chocolate, nuts, toffee) and a couple of things that are new and fun in the starter section. Until I actually make dinner, there are no pictures. I will do my best to get some shots on the day!

Happy birthday, Grandma-ma!

The highlight of my mother’s birthday celebration this year was the presence of her granddaughter Janea and her gift, a photo book of Janea we made at MyPublisher.com which came out surprisingly beautiful (O, me of little faith—I was worried about the resolution and quality of the printing) and of course the food!!!