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Wednesday 7 November 2012

Baby Love


Our friends Rachel & Shaun are having a baby.  Rachel is due any day now so by the time this posts, the wee bairn may have already made his/her entrance into the world.   I had asked Rachel a few months back if we could do something to celebrate the occasion.  I thought maybe the girls could get together and go to a restaurant for a nice, civilized lunch.  

Let me pause right here to offer up an apology as I know what I am about to say will offend - So here’s the thing – I am not into baby showers.  If I have attended one of yours it is because I REALLY like you.  
When our friend Rich  suggested that we should actually throw a baby shower for Rachel I was a little taken aback.   He really had no clue about what he was getting into – the cucumber sandwiches with no crusts, the inane party games, etc.  
Then I realized that Rich’s lack of knowledge of what a traditional shower entails was the beauty of the plan.  We could make it our own and totally nontraditional!  It would be potluck (cucumber sandwiches forbidden), BYOB (spirits are always a great idea) and everyone would contribute towards a gift certificate (no gift breast pumps being passed around to feign interest in). 
As for shower games – well, the fellas were quite fascinated with tales of the "nasty nappy" game.   This is the game in which chocolate bars are melted  and then smeared in a diaper.  The diaper is then passed around and the object is to guess what chocolate bar it is.  The fellas insisted that we should play this game - so that we did - we made them play as we sat back and watched the hilarity ensue.  

Here’s the other beauty of this shower.  No one at the shower has kids.  It usually turns out that I am the only person at a shower who is childless.  There is usually one or all of the following types of mom in attendance:
Milking-it Mom - The mom who publicly breastfeeds the child who is old enough to take a bus to school and who is old enough to chew steak.
Prodigy Mom – This mom has a child that does everything better, smarter and faster than any other child on the planet.  The day their child uttered their first word, Mensa knocked on their door saying that they would waive their membership exams for this wonder child.
Graphic Birth Story Mom – Usually these moms tend to be in groups.   Within five minutes of meeting you, they have you cornered telling you horrific stories about childbirth.  I have heard stories ranging from the forty stitch episiotomie to an unfortunate clotting incident in which said clot was the size of a porterhouse steak.   You know, the kind of real life facts they neglect to tell you in health class because the human race would cease to exist.
and the most annoying of all:
Disney Birth Mom – This is the mom who tells you that her birth(s) were fast and painless.  On the day she gave birth, her sheets were turned back by Disney bluebirds and chipmunks, she gave three pushes that took no more effort than squeezing out a loud fart and voila the child arrived looking like a Gerber baby (if she is also a Prodigy Mom, the president of Mensa was waiting in the delivery room to admit the Disney Gerber baby upon entry into the world).   And of course her make up and hair were perfect for the entire event.
Thanks to everyone for such a fun night.  I am still full from the potluck buffet.  A shout out to my friend Robin who introduced me to the dish that I brought.  Here's the recipe below. 
BUFFALO CHICKEN DIP
2 cooked chicken breasts (if you are lazy like me, you can buy them cooked at the rotisserie section of your grocery store)
3/4 cup of chicken wing sauce (my fav is President's Choice Buffalo wing sauce - it comes in both mild and hot)
2 - 8oz. packages of reduced fat cream cheese (you can use regular, but I tried to keep the calories down)
1/2 cup ranch dressing (I used President's Choice 3-cheese ranch)
1/2 cup blue cheese dressing (or you could skip the ranch dressing and add one cup of blue cheese)
crumbled blue cheese (optional)
shredded cheese of your choice (I used white cheddar - but you could use regular cheddar, mozzarella, fontina, etc.)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Shred chicken breasts and toss with the wing sauce.   Layer mixture in a square casserole dish.
Place the cream cheese, ranch dressing, blue cheese dressing and crumbled blue cheese (if using) in a bowl.  Mix with a beater until blended.  Layer mixture on top of the chicken .   Cover with the grated cheese (use as much or as little as you desire).
Place dish in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.  Allow dip to sit before serving. 
Serve with nacho scoops, carrots and celery. 
Although trying to keep it as low-cal as possible, I found that there was still a lot of grease that seeped up on top of the dish.  Simply wait until the cheese has cooled and dab the top with a paper towel to absorb the excess grease.
I made this dish the night before.   Once it had cooled I wrapped it in foil and reheated it in the microwave for five minutes prior to serving.  



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