So, for our most recent pitch party, we’re cooking up a ton of food. (Pitch is a card game for four or five players, if you don’t know. We’re going to have four tables.) Here’s the menu:

• Bruschetta chips with mozzarella slices
• Puff pastry shells filled with key lime pie filling and pumpkin pie filling
• Cranberry Brie phillo cups
• Chocolate peanut butter cookies
• Corn salsa
• Cheesy bean dip
• Beer bread
• Barbecue meatballs (wouldn’t be a Kansas City party without barbecue something)

Just some real quick notes on the above…

Corn Salsa

Get a package of frozen corn. (If you’re feeling extra-motivated, you can get fresh corn and grill it.) Dice a red onion, a green bell pepper, and a green jalapeño pepper (optional, dice it really finely if you use it). Drain and add one can of black beans. Drizzle with some olive oil and slowly mix in a tablespoon or two of cumin.

Cheesy Bean Dip

Equal parts refried beans and Velveeta, cubed. Melt, and keep warm.

Cranberry Brie Phillo Cups

Buy two or three packages of frozen phillo shells. (Make sure they’re shells and not just dough!) Also get some Brie cheese and canned cranberry sauce with whole berries. Put a small chunk of Brie cheese in each shell and top with a dollop of cranberry sauce. Bake according to directions on phillo cups.

That’s all I’ve got.

Now that we’re moving back into warm weather, it’s prime time for parties. Here are some awesomer party ideas to get you started…

(Note: These are just food ideas. It’s up to you to plan a party around them.)

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Alright, I’ve made this a few times now, and it’s always amazing. Here’s what you’ll need:

• One large head of broccoli
• A few cloves of garlic (depends on how much you like garlic… I use somewhere around four larger ones)
• Olive oil
• Sesame oil
• Salt

Mince or finely chop the garlic and stick it in a large pan with a generous amount of olive oil. Don’t put it on quite yet—you only want it slightly brown by the time you put the broccoli in.

Cut off the tips of the broccoli and, if necessary, cut larger pieces into smaller pieces. You don’t want too small, but you want something you’ll be able to fit in your mouth. I’ve heard a lot of people say that they don’t like the stalk. This is usually because it’s tough and chewy. Well, it’s actually just the outside layer of the stalk that’s tough and chewy. Get a peeler and peel the stalk, then cut it into bite-size pieces. (About halfway through this process, put the garlic on medium heat.)

Once it’s in the pan, sprinkle some sesame oil and salt over the broccoli. I don’t remember exactly why, but you’re not supposed to use sesame oil as a cooking oil—it’s just for flavor. Sprinkle some salt, and sauté for somewhere around ten minutes, stirring occasionally. You’ll see parts of the broccoli turn brownish and crusty from being fried in the olive oil. Take it off the heat before it gets more than a little brown around the edges.

I made some burgers last night that I have to share. As for the burgers themselves, I didn’t do much—just some salt and onion powder. On top of that, I added a slice of mozzarella cheese (the real stuff, that comes in the shape of a little ball), some fresh spinach sauteed in garlic and olive oil, and some basil pesto mayonnaise (just basil pesto and mayonnaise mixed). I used kaiser rolls. Awesome burgers, and not a lot of work. Serve with some Parmesan fries (great with the leftover pesto mayo) and you’ve got yourself a meal.

I probably should have posted this before Thanksgiving, but oh well. (Plenty of time for Christmas!) My mom made a few changes to the basic stuffing (out of the box) that really make it outstanding. Here are the additional ingredients:

• Three stalks of celery, sliced thin
• One medium onion, diced
• 10-12 link sausages, sliced thin
• Around 6 oz. Macadamia nuts (this is key!)

Sautee all additional ingredients in the butter required for the stuffing (usually half a stick or so), then add the stuffing (12-14 oz.) and chicken broth. Leave on the heat for a little bit and stir to make sure all of the stuffing soaks up some broth. Put in a baking dish and bake at 350 for 5-10 minutes.

I’ll do some experimenting around Christmastime to see if I can make a good recipe from scratch (I’m thinking a nice cornbread leek recipe I saw on Food Network the other day).

I decided to make minestrone soup, since I’ve been cooking just about every day for the past week or so. I gathered all of the materials last night and put all the dry ingredients together (so that I could just dump them into a crock pot before I left for work). Great Northern white beans? Check. Zucchini, carrots, and onion? Check. Minced garlic and basil? Check. Pepe pasta? Check. Oh, wait a second! That last one probably shouldn’t sit in the crock pot all day! Well, it’d be too hard to fish them out, so let’s just see what happens.

That is what happens. Minestrone porridge. I seriously could have eaten this with a fork.

I actually did manage to eat an entire bowl of this, but I couldn’t let Landon and Janelle be subjected to that. It’s now sitting at the bottom of our trash can in our garage. And of course this happens right after the garbage truck has made its weekly pick-up. We’re going to be having a rather unpleasant-smelling garage in a few days here.

I found this recipe and tried it a week ago. It worked great. First, get some sweet potatoes (figure one potato will feed between one and two people). Cut them in half, place them cut side down on a baking sheet, and bake for 45 minutes at 345 degrees. Now comes the tricky part: scoop out the insides of the sweet potatoes with a spoon, leaving about a half inch inside to hold the finished product together. Mix the potato innards with some cream cheese (1-2 ounces per potato… I used an 8 oz. package for five potatoes and it worked great), a little bit of milk (just enough to thin it out a little), some brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and crushed walnuts (all to taste). Stuff the potato skins with the mixture, then place back in the oven and bake for 10-15 more minutes.

I’m on a food kick, so I might as well run with it. I came up with this one a while back. Many grocery stores carry cans of chipotle peppers (smoked jalapeños) packed in adobo sauce. Buy one of these. Take the peppers out, conserving the sauce, remove the veins and seeds, and dice finely. Work these peppers into some ground hamburger meat and season with salt. (It’s very important not to overwork the meat. Kneading and working the meat too much will make it rock hard.) Stick these on the grill or sauté them up. While they’re cooking, mix the leftover adobo sauce with some mayonnaise (just enough to dim down the heat to your tastes). Serve with sliced red onion and lettuce.

You may or may not know this already, but they sell pre-made pizza crust dough (not the baked crusts) in the refrigerated dough section, alongside the little cans of biscuits and crescent rolls. I’m sure these are great for pizza, but they’re even better for calzones!

If you don’t know, a calzone is like a pizza folded over on itself. Traditionally, they have traditional pizza ingredients like marinara sauce, Italian sausage, peperoncini, and cheese. But you can make them with just about anything. With the refrigerated dough, just slice it into fourths (it’s square-shaped). Here are some ideas:

Breakfast Calzones

Scramble some eggs and cook up some bacon or sausage. (About six eggs for four calzones worked for me. Use your own judgment with the meat.) Cut or break the sausage or bacon into small pieces, then put some eggs, bacon or sausage, and a slice of American cheese in the middle of the slice of pizza dough. Fold the corners in or fold it in half, seal it up the best you can (it doesn’t have to be completely sealed), and follow the baking instructions on the pizza dough.

These are not just for breakfast. They are awesome at all hours of the day.

Ranch Chicken Calzones

Cook up a pound to a pound and a half of chicken. (This goes a little faster if you cube the chicken prior to cooking.) You can season it with some salt and pepper, but don’t season it too much. Next, fry up some bacon. Break the bacon into small pieces, then pour it into a larger bowl with the chicken cubes and pour some ranch dressing over them. (This will taste much better if the dressing is not light dressing. The extra calories are worth it.) It’s important not to use too much—you don’t want a soupy mess of a calzone. Add ranch dressing slowly until everything is coated and there’s very little extra dressing in the bowl. Add a slice of mozzarella cheese, seal the calzones the best you can, and bake according to the directions on the can.

Italian Stuffing Calzones

Cook up some Italian sausage and thaw a package of frozen chopped spinach. Mix these with some ricotta cheese and an egg or two. (Find a recipe online for stuffed shells or ziti to get a more precise recipe for this.) You’ll probably end up with enough stuffing for two cans of pizza dough this way. This can optionally be served with marinara sauce poured on just before serving.

Pear and Brie Calzones

You’ll need about two ounces of Brie cheese and half a pear (both sliced) for each calzone. Make sure the pears are ripe enough to be cut easily with a fork. Layer the pear and Brie slices, occasionally sprinkling with nutmeg and possibly some salt. You can optionally add some crushed walnuts or macadamia nuts—just make sure they’re crushed into small pieces. You know the drill from there.

Buffalo Chicken Calzones

Whip some eggs, then pour some flour mixed with a little salt on a plate. Coat chicken strips with the eggs, then dip in the flour mixture. (Repeat for more breading—one dip will be minimal breading.) Sauté the chicken strips until done.

If you don’t know, Buffalo sauce is just two parts butter and one part Louisiana hot sauce (although Sriracha will work in a pinch). Mix up some of that—enough to coat the chicken—and then (you guessed it!) coat the chicken.

Dice a small red onion and add that to the mix. (You may not have to add all of it.) Get one of three things: blue cheese, blue cheese dressing, or ranch dressing. (Blue cheese will probably work best.) Add some of that to the chicken, being careful not to add too much. Optionally add some mozzarella cheese. Make into calzones and cook.

Greek Calzones

This is perfect if you have a lot of leftover lamb in your freezer like I do. Take lamb, olives, fresh tomatoes, fresh spinach, and feta cheese (all sliced into small pieces) and toss in some olive oil. Add some dried oregano (this is a classic Greek seasoning) and basil, salt and pepper, and two or three minced cloves of garlic (sautéed, if you’re feeling ambitious) into the mixture, and mix the whole thing well. You can optionally add some sour cream to make it a little creamier. Make into calzones and bake.

Got any other ideas? I want to hear them. Leave me some comments.