You are here: Home / Flourishing with Food and Friends Let’s do something different this week, shall we? Rather than focusing on a category of recipes suitable for the summertime, I’m going to dig around Mr. Big Food’s Big Food Manual and Survivalist Flourishing Guide with special attention to food, friends, and flourishing. Today we’ll look at “the smörgåsbord—an old Scandinavian custom—[that] has grown strong
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We started this week’s series of Big Food posts with the smörgåsbord. That was prefaced by very short explanation of flourishing–in the classical sense. Today we’ll see how Jeff Smith interprets living well. From The Frugal Gourmet by Jeff Smith (1984) [All emphases mine] THE HORS d’OEUVRES BUFFET The cocktail party is a very American
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Let us return, every now and again, to the ways of ancient times–striving to flourish! From The Frugal Gourmet Cooks Three Ancient Cuisines: China, Greece, and Rome (1989) APPETIZERS (1989) It is hard for Americans to understand the meaning of an appetizer because we see the meal as a single unit. In all three of
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Be content in many ways before the meal is finished From The Frugal Gourmet Cooks Italian: New and Old Worlds, Simplified for the American Kitchen, by Jeff Smith and Craig Wollam (1993) ANTIPASTI (1993) Most Americans confuse antipasti with hors d’oeuvres. Hors d’oeuvres refers to fancy little edible works of art that are to be
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“Frivolities.” I liked that. df: of little weight or importance Yet, “capable of setting a mood.” APPETIZERS (1961) From The New York Times Cook Book by Craig Claiborne (1961) Appetizers or hors d’oeuvres are the frivolities of a meal, and, like champagne, they are capable of setting a mood. There are several that are almost
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Appetizers … are the frivolities of a meal, and, like champagne, they are capable of setting a mood… Craig Claiborne And so I thought we might amble along the champagne byway on the road to flourishing. This is long but interesting. Toward the end there are sections on How to Serve Champagne (I can’t make
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HOW TO MAKE A CHAMPAGNE FOUNTAIN Champagne is considered by many to be an indispensable part of any special occasion. Why not add drama and excitement to the service of the Champagne by creating a Champagne Fountain? This will not involve any extra expense at all (all that is necessary is 23 wine glasses) and
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DISPENSING SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY From Celia Marks and the Editors of Southern Living Magazine, Southern Living Party Cookbook (1972) Hospitality, a synonym for the South, comes from the heart. Even the most discerning disciple of etiquette may fall short as a hostess if she fails to bestow this gift upon her guests. For hospitality is a
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From Cooking with Czech Recipes Cookbook, Texas Czech Genealogical Society (2021) DEDICATION We dedicate this Cookbook to the honor of the tireless Czech cooks who have laboriously planned, gathered, and prepared for the nourishment and happiness of her (and, in some cases, his) family and friends, sending wave after wave of culinary fragrance drifting across
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ELEGANT SOUPS From The Creative Cook (1978) If bread is the staff of life, soup is the food that restores the spirit. It can be made in wondrous variety. There is truly a soup to fit every nuance of mood, to set perfectly the spirit of the occasion. Soup goes back to the very earliest
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From Pillsbury’s Food for Friends (1978) If you don’t have this cookbook in your library, you are really missing out. Here are the search results at Bookfinder (also a few other hits at that big store in the sky). This is one of my all-time favorites. It’s occasion and menu-based–perfect for the person just starting
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I would have to turn in my Southerner Identification Card if I didn’t include something about barbecuing in this series. What could be better than a pig pickin’ with friends? More Food, Friends, & Flourishing From Smoke & Spice: Cooking with Smoke, the Real Way to Barbecue, on Your Charcoal Grill, Water Smoker, or Wood-Burning
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Years ago a friend and his family were preparing to move to Nashville. They wanted to have a party–a genuine pig pickin’. And so they asked Mr. Big Food for his help. Happy to! It was tremendous fun! Note the time stamps. A real pig pickin’ takes a while. NOTE!! Do not click through if
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Therefore I am convinced that “being at table” means that you are most often with and concerned about someone else. The Frugal Gourmet Whole Family Cookbook: Recipes and Reflections for Contemporary Living by Jeff Smith (1992) Do you by chance recall this, from last Saturday’s first post about Food, Friends, & Flourishing? [Aristotle] thinks that
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