Smogasbord Reflections

OH, I'm sorry, did I say something about a Mediterranean FEAST?

When I was little, my favorite night of the year was New Year's Eve.  Every year, my sissy and I would get to select one or two of our favorite foods to be part of our traditional "smorgasbord" dinner, upon which we would feast from suppertime until the ball dropped at midnight.  Our family's crab dip, shrimp cocktail, cheese and crackers, chex mix, polish kielbasa, pizza, and, always, a relish tray would be spread out on the kitchen table. We could eat as much as we wanted, and stay up as late as we wanted, to ring in the New Year as a family.  To this day, it remains one of my best memories--and my favorite tradition, one that I love to carry on each December 31st.

From Caputo's Market in the burbs (thanks MIL!)

But that doesn't mean that I don't like feasting at other times!  Our family is a snacking family, one that recently has evolved its own happy hour tradition.  When sissy and I visit our parents back in the mitten, we have a new tradition of the happy hour.  At a set time (5) each day, we come together as a family and share a small drink, and a small snack, and reconnect with each other.  This little hour of relaxation reminds us how precious the hours we spend together are, despite how many we spend apart.

So perhaps it fitting that I like to carry on these traditions at my own home.  I can't let a New Year's Eve go by without preparing entirely too much food, regardless of how many people are or are not coming over. And, of course, the relish tray lives on.  I never knew a "relish tray" was somewhat unique to our family and not a common thing, I just thought that every extended family meal or gathering started with one. It's a simple spread of nibbles, always including carrots, celery, green & black olives, sweet and dill gherkins, cubes of sharp cheddar, and radishes.  You put it out when you're cooking the real meal, so that all the kitchen visitors have something to snack on (besides whatever is being prepared).  It keeps inquisitive fingers farther from the knife blades while giving the cook some company.

Above and beyond the humble relish tray, there is something exciting about a spread, be it an antipasti platter or smörgåsbord or buffet.  You can eat whatever, whenever, however.  You can go back again and again, combining new dishes and trying others.

The secret here is that a relish/antipasti tray is a fun, different sort of way to eat--but incredibly easy.  In its most basic form, it requires no cooking at all.  It can be as healthful or indulgent as you want it; it can embrace any culture or theme.  Accompanied by crackers or some hearty bread, it can be anything from a light snack to a filling dinner--like ours last night.

Our spread above included Double Gloustershire cheese, spicy summer sausage, garlic dill pickles, kalamata olives, roasted red pepper (fresh from FIL's garden), sugar snap peas, artichoke hearts, cucumbers, Boetches spicy ground mustard, Turkey Artichoke meatballs, hummus, and thick slices of Caputo's Italian bread.

Anytime I can parlay my fondness for snacking into an actual meal, I call it a success.  Plus, it helped me keep my energies up while recounting for the internet world how amazing the meal really was.

Meatball perched on a red pepper atop hummus-smeared bread.  Mmmm.