Party preparations

Things I made for my "pre-birthday" celebration in the Schwarzwald this weekend:

1. Bread and butter pickles: recipe from Quick Pickles; I used half the sugar and fennel seeds instead of celery seeds (since I couldn't find celery seeds). Great success here.
2. Pickled butternut squash: recipe from Quick Pickles; I used half the sugar and thinly sliced the squash instead of dicing it. The thin slicing is a big bonus for this recipe.
3. Quince mustard: inspired by several different recipes. Technique: scrub a quince then quarter it and remove the core. Chop into 1-2cm pieces and simmer those in water to barely cover until soft; puree. Add some brown sugar. Combine some of the quince puree with powdered yellow mustard, whole brown mustard, some cider vinegar, and a bit of salt. Let stand in the fridge overnight and then add more of whatever is required to make it right.
4. Almonds toasted with olive oil and then seasoned with salt and cumin
5. Cashews toasted with olive oil and seasoned with salt and piment d'espelette
6. Chili with lots of beer: from Thrill of the Grill.
7. A big tray of cornbread: standard recipe, doubled.
8. Bean salad: green and wax beans cooked until crisp-tender then tossed with minced spring onion, diced Schwarzwalderschinken, parsley, white balsamico, and olive oil.