Who Knew? There's An Art To Spur-Of-The-Moment Cooking

Until about 10 years ago, spontaneous entertaining didn't happen at my house.

Hosting a gathering without adequate planning made me as hysterical as a hen house full of chickens. Ask any family member. I could have sold tickets to my solo-act circus shows.

Time was needed for pondering, researching recipes, shopping and food prep, not to mention the last-minute scrubbing of tile grout at 1 a.m.

I finally realized that my own standards, not those of my guests, were making me work unnecessarily like a madwoman.

Learning that you don't need to spend days in the kitchen or know how to make duck confit has simplified any size soiree I host these days.

Now that we're settled in our new house and the kitchen is organized to my liking, I've been feeling that it's time to pull out the matching place settings.

One thing about being a food columnist is that the people you work with are curious about how the dishes you're writing about taste.

I had gotten so many requests that I decided to bite the bullet and quit procrastinating. I announced just 24 hours ahead of time that I'd be making lunch for my friends at the Tribune office in Ruskin. Not one said they couldn't make it!

What was I thinking? Just minutes after the call, I felt slightly panicked.

Impromptu meals can be a challenge, but they're fun to create. And they can be inspired more or less from the ingredients you have on hand.

A cool head and a double batch of tabouli sitting in my fridge with no place to go got me through this momentary jam.

But if I was going to impress the troops, I knew I would have to do better than a crock full of tabouli. This was either my chance to show them some of my slick moves in the kitchen or fall flat on my face - in this case into a bowl of wheat bulgur and chopped parsley.

One bowl of tabouli also wasn't going to cut it for eight to 10 people, either. I decided to use it as the main attraction.

After surveying first what I had in the kitchen, I headed to the grocery store with a Middle Eastern theme in mind. Hummus, homemade pita toast, potato salad and a platter of grilled pineapple and grapes came to mind.

For dessert, I thought mint julep brownies sounded good. They would add a finishing touch to indicate I had given the whole thing a great deal of thought.

My old, let's-make-this-harder-than-it-needs-to-be self thought of adding a few belly dancers. It might be fun, but I caught myself and moved on.

Everything was well-received, although there was definitely not enough grilled pineapple. Happily, my impromptu lunch was a success.

On Easter Sunday, I fixed dinner for six. The night before, I realized my menu didn't have any starch, except for a yellow squash casserole, so I searched the Internet and found a recipe for these savory minimuffins.

The cheddar cheese and sweet cranberries complement each other nicely, bringing sharp, sweet and tart flavors together in a single bite.

A basket of these muffins looked tempting on the holiday buffet table. All-purpose flour can be substituted for the whole-wheat pastry flour if desired. Allow longer baking time for larger muffins.

SAVORY CHEESE, CRANBERRY AND HERB MINIMUFFINS

1/4 cup canola oil

1/2 cup chopped scallions

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon dried sage

1 cup unbleached white all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

3/4 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

Generous pinch of cayenne, or to taste

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

1 egg

1 cup low-fat milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add scallions, thyme, oregano and sage. Cook for two minutes until fragrant. Remove from heat and set aside. In a mixing bowl, combine both flours with baking powder, salt and cayenne. Stir in the cranberries and cheese.

In another small mixing bowl, beat egg lightly. Slowly whisk in the milk, and then whisk the cooked scallions and herbs, including all the oil, into the milk and egg.

Fold the dry ingredients into the egg and milk, mixing until combined. Scoop the batter into lightly greased minimuffin tins. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool a few minutes before taking muffins out of the tin. Serve warm. Makes 30-36 minimuffins.

Source: www.wholefoodsmarket.com