Holiday Wishes

The Cave Clan wishes you the brightest of Holidays, and the rockingest of New Years!

A New Year’s Wish

From our Cave Clan to you and yours, a wish for a healthy, happy, and happening 2016!

Fondly,
The Avery Family

Caveman … Party Of Ten

(Top row, L to R)My step-father Bert, Caveboy, Cavemom, Cavegirl, cousin Michael
(Bottom row) Cavewoman, moi, my godmother/cousin Arlene, her husband Leon, cousin Wendy

Well, we finally did it! We had our first major family get-together in the new cave. It only took three months … speed is not my strong suit. Not that we haven’t had company, mind you. The Cave-in-laws have been over several times and we have hosted a number of friends, as well. But, this was the first multi cave-family gathering we have entertained since our big move back in March. The guest list was a who’s-who of the Cave Clan, including the Cavemom and her husband; several Cavecousins; my Cave-Godmother and her spouse; and, of course, the four of us. No special occaision, other than the fact the my Mom and Step-father were in town staying with us for a few days. Besides, any day ending in “day” is a good time for a party!
My original plan was to try something new for our guests to enjoy for dinner, since I’m always game for unfamiliar culinary territory, and it would give me more fresh recipes to share with you. But, there was overwhelming demand for several dishes that have already graced the pages of this cyber-rag. Although, we did throw one new salad into the mix … and boy, was it goooooooood! But, let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. There are stories to share and details to divulge of this inaugural Neanderthal gathering.

First, I must thank my godmother/cousin Arlene and her husband Leon for this wonderful and thoughtful housewarming gift. Even though we requested that nobody bring presents, because we had nowhere to store anything else, Arlene was not going to come empty handed. As the Cavewoman pointed out, Arlene always comes up with the most unique and personalized presents. She put together this great basket filled with tomato, strawberry, and pepper plants along with all the tools and foods necessary to grow big, producing plants. In fact, they are all getting planted today by the Cavekids!

Cousin Wendy also refuses to come without bearing gifts. She brought us a great butane burner perfect for entertaining, whether you are serving fondue, chicken wings, chili, or any number of other dishes. It will definitely get used well in the new Cave … just got to find a place to store it! 😉
Once everyone arrived, we served drinks and quickly set out some Hummus, Harif (Yemenite Hot Sauce) and warmed Flat Bread that I had just whipped up, and recently featured in our Middle Eastern Epicurean Excursion.

While everyone was enjoying the Mediterranean treats, I started frying up some Crab Wontons. Normally, I make these with King Crab. However, I just had a yen for some Blue Crab. Especially in light of the fact that they will become increasingly harder to get with the damage being wreaked by the oil-spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. For my veggie wife I made a bunch of them without the crab meat. Being a good chef means tasting your dishes before you serve them to your guests … at least, that’s the line being towed! The Caveboy snuck in with the camera and busted us sampling the wares.

Though, it was a good thing that we tried a few of the initial ones to come out of the fryer … they were a huge hit and went very fast! We might not have gotten any otherwise!! We served them up with a spicy plum sauce. It’s also a good thing that I reserved about a half-dozen of the uncooked ones and threw them into the freezer because I am really starting to jones for them as I write this. 😯

While everyone was enjoying the company, libations and hors d’oeuvres Cavewoman and I started preparing the main meal. She went to work on a Chopped Caprese Salad with soaked homemade croutons – the new dish I mentioned earlier. Unfortunately, it’s not the best picture of the salad. But, trust me, it is fantastico! I promise much better shots when we post the recipe.

For the main course, we served Tri-tip marinated for 34 hours in Teriyamic Marinade, Garlic-Basil Mashed Potatoes, and Sauteed Asian Veggies. Obviously, we haven’t posted the potato recipe yet. But, it is a very easy and tasty side-dish that we will share soon.
EDIT: Here is the recipe for the Garlic Mashed Taters.

We ended our fabulous meal with some of Cavewoman’s incredible Chocolate Chip cookies and a heaping plate of Leon’s world famous Mandel Bread (a recipe I’m still trying to wrangle out of him), which is kind of like Jewish Biscotti. His is the best I have ever tasted, and I just can’t seem to stop my hand from grabbing piece after piece when it is in front of me … or even at the other end of the table!
Needless to say, our first mass convening of the Cave Clan was a huge success. Everyone was full, happy, and smiling as they waddled over to the couch or overstuffed chair closest to them. The only problem with gatherings like this is that they end too quickly. But, I guess that’s just one more excuse to have yet another party soon … real soon!

©2010 Caution: Caveman Cooking/UHearMe, Inc. All rights reserved. This originally appeared on the Caution: Caveman Cooking blog at http://cavemancooking.net authored by Caveman. This may be shared and reprinted as long as this entire copyright message accompanies it.