Opening Amy Sedaris’s I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence is entering another universe. This is Amy’s universe of wacky creative kitsch manifested as tasty food, weird crafts and even weirder thoughts. I adore this book and wish that I had thought of it myself. It’s a real treat to look through and what’s more is that this book is deceivingly useful. It may look like just a tongue-in-cheek entertaining guide, reminiscent of the more sincere 1940s book Entertaining is fun! by Dorthy Draper, but it definitely has some great recipes and tips in there…
I Like You channels a retro vibe through its colorful pictures; they give off that warm 1970s glow and you feel like you’re flipping though an old Betty Crocker cookbook. The 1950s are also rehashed in some Amy’s no-fuss let’s use convenience/canned foods approach to cooking and baking. For example, a key lime pie recipe which I made into tartlets for a party a few weeks ago simply consists of one can of sweetened condensed milk combined with eggs yolks, lime juice and poured into a pie shell. Right at the beginning of the book she lays out her vision: “Think simplicity, because if there is one thing I am, it’s clinically simple.” This is illustrated in a section entitled “Rich Uncle Comes to Visit” where there is side dish named “carrots coins” and the entire recipe reads: “Slice carrots so they look like coins. Sauté with butter, salt and pepper.” Yes, she stays true to her vision.
The recipes are created, borrowed and stolen ideas from a variety of sources including Amy’s friends, family members, backs of cans, old cookbooks and her own noggin.They mainly consist of American comfort food basics (think macaroni and cheese, pies, stews, casseroles, potato salad, chicken parmesan etc). Even when it comes to Hors d’oeuvres it’s unpretentious fun stuff—Amy Sedaris is a big fan of “cheese balls”:
“Cheese balls are good if you are on a budget, because one can serve a cheese ball while entertaining on Monday, spend Tuesday perking up the ball, and then serve it to a different group of friends of Wednesday. They’ll never know the difference. To freshen up a cheese ball, merely reshape the ball back into its original form, being careful to cover gouge marks, and then roll it through the remaining nut shake to mask the renovation. Decorate with a poke or party pick.”
I have learned some great entertaining tips from Amy. Here are a few good ones:
*When introducing people, try to avoid saying something that could be embarrassing like: “This is Barbara, she can’t have children,” or “Matt’s on mood stabilizers,” or “Lenny just got fired. He was the promotions manager at Nowells.”
*A good trick is to fill your medicine cabinet with marbles. Nothing announces a nosey guest better than an avalanche of marbles hitting a porcelain sink
*Try and provide a place where people can put their coats once they’ve arrived. If your place is small, hang them on a shower rod in the bathroom. But be aware of pickpocketers. If you toss garments on the bed or in another room, provide a small mirror because girls and certain types of men like to take a quick look-see after they’ve taken off their coats
*Possible guest combinations to avoid: astrologer & astronomer, fraternity brother & anyone else, psychologist & psychiatrist, movie star & scene-stealer, the newly divorced couple, the director & out-of-work actor, A girl, her boyfriend & his secret girlfriend, serial killer & drunken teenager
There are also tons of quirky craft ideas (some examples: a pantyhose plant hanger, penne earrings, dishrag doll etc.) but most of all I enjoy the food bits.
Here is a recipe for the most delicious oatmeal raisin cookies I have ever eaten. I admit that that may not be such an impressive statement to make—I mean, I don’t think that everyday people are presented with many opportunities to eat oatmeal cookies nor would they go out of their way to do so. I can’t imagine someone choosing to make oatmeal cookies over chocolate chip, peanut butter or even regular sugar cookies. Some people just get turned off by the idea that one of the star ingredients, oatmeal, has health benefits and argue that if they’re going to make cookies they may as well use more “forbidden” ingredients such as chocolate, candy or drugs. I’m totally biting Amy’s style I know…I must say though,these cookies are just great. I add shredded coconut and crushed nuts to make these cookies even more delicious and hearty in texture and flavour.
Lumberjack’s vanishing oatmeal raisin cookies
Ingredients:
- 1 stick of softened unsalted butter
- ½ cup of brown sugar
- ¼ cup of white sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
- ¾ cup of flour
- ½ teaspoon of baking soda
- ½ teaspoon of cinnamon
- 1 and ½ cups of oatmeal
- ¾ cup of raisins
- Optional: 1/3 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
- Optional: 1/3 cup of chopped pecans/walnuts
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees
- Cream butter and sugars together
- Add vanilla and eggs
- Mix all dry ingredients and add to batter, then add your raisins (plus coconut & pecans if you decided to make these additions)
- Chill the dough; form into balls and then bake for about 10-12 minutes
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The cookies cooling
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- Carrot cake cupcakes
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- Pineapple upside down cake
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- lime tarts
