Cinnamon Cooper, a Chicago-based writer and crafter, is known among our friends for being an excellent host. In this episode she talks about how she learned to host dinner parties, soup nights and her epic Halloween bash. She is the author of the Everything Cast Iron Cookbook, which is still in print and an outstanding guide to cooking with cast iron.
Includes a clip from Brandy Agerbeck's episode and a voice memo from Jacqui Cheng
Follow Cinnamon online @cinnachick on Twitter and Instagram and buy her bags at Poise.cc
Follow @findingfavspod on Instagram and Twitter. Rate and review on Apple Podcasts (five stars please)
Show links
- HuffenCooper Halloween 2010 photos and 2012 Photos
- The Jiffy Pope
- Jacqui and Jenni - the year with two Bjorks
- The Card Sharks got Smarter (Ramsin Canon) and me as NasCarmen Miranda
- Cinnamon's legendary Tomato Soup recipe
- Six Toed cats in Key West
- What is Juneteenth?
- Hungry Cat Daily
- Jewish-ish Podcast
Cinnamon 0:00
Hi, my name is Cinnamon Cooper and my favorite thing is throwing Halloween parties.
Transcript Follows
Announcer 0:04
Welcome to the Finding Favorites podcast where we explore your favorite things without using an algorithm. Here's your host, Leah Jones.
Leah Jones 0:14
Hello, and welcome back to Fiinding Favorites. I'm your host, Leah Jones. And this is the official start of year two, season two of Finding Favorites. I am pretty excited to be heading into the second year of this podcast. I don't think I expected when I started that I would -- one, that we would be in the COVID shutdown for sooo long. And two, that I would have it in me to look at year two and and say "Yeah, I'm ready to record some more."
Leah Jones 0:49
It is Father's Day in the U.S. So, happy Father's Day to the dads out there, the stepdads, the uncles, the people who are father figures. And also recognizing that Father's Day can be a difficult day for others. I am preparing to drive cross-country to meet my dad in New York to collect some of his sculptures that have been in storage for a few years. So, next week, I will be driving cross-country, stopping in Michigan to go to a memorial for our dear friend Lucy, who passed away during COVID from breast cancer.
Leah Jones 1:30
Then continuing on to New York, where my dad and I will have pastramic -- pastramic?? We'll have pastrami, we'll have some steaks, we will maybe go to the Guggenheim. And we will fill a car with sculptures and I will drive back to the Midwest. So, I'm looking forward to that. This last week, you can find me -- I was a guest on the podcast "Hungry Cat Daily," which is a podcast about Garfield. I'll link to that in the show notes. And next week, I will be a podcast on my friend Maria, who you remember from the Cheery Littlebottom episode, she started a new podcast called "Jewish-ish: A Weekly Parsha Chat Show." So, I will be on for the episode about Parsha Pinchas. So, I was recording that this morning, which is why this is coming to you a little bit late.
Leah Jones 2:21
I dug into the archives a bit. You'll hear a clip from Brandy Agerbeck's episode on Harold and Maude, a special clip from Jacquie Chang, all about this Halloween party. I know that I've talked about it on other podcast episodes. But because I don't do transcripts, which I must start doing in year two, I can't easily search for mentions of the Halloween party. So even though I know that other people have been to that party, and we've talked about it, I couldn't find the clips quickly enough. So, I have two clips from two wonderful folks in my life.
Leah Jones 3:02
This week's episode is with Cinnamon Cooper. She is a cookbook author, a purveyor of handmade purses and bags. And she is also the co-host of a party I look forward to every year, the Huffencooper Halloween party. And she's here to give us lots of tips and tricks about hosting dinner parties, big parties, costume parties, and thinking about re-entry and building our in-person communities again. So I hope that you continue to stay safe, that you are able to reconnect with your loved ones. Have a good week, enjoy your favorite things.
Leah Jones 3:58
Hello, and welcome to Finding Favorites. I'm your host, Leah Jones, and this is the podcast where we learn about people's favorite things and get recommendations without using an algorithm. It is year two -- season two starts today. And I am so pleased to have with me today Cinnamon Cooper. Cinnamon is the owner/purveyor/stitcher/designer of Poise, her handbag company, and she is the author of the "Cast Iron Cookbook" and really a girl-about-town, girl-about-the Internet. Anyone in Chicago who uses the internet knows Cinnamon. Cinnamon, how are you doing today?
Cinnamon 4:42
I'm doing wonderfully on this Juneteenth holiday.
Leah Jones 4:46
Yes, it's Juneteenth. As of yesterday, a federal holiday -- two days ago, yesterday.
Cinnamon 4:52
Yeah, yeah. 16 hours ago -- federal holiday. Hopefully, it is just the first start in recognizing all of our African-American and Black citizens and giving them the rights and freedoms that they deserve -- and should have had for hundreds of years.
Leah Jones 5:09
Yes. I agree. Hopefully, it is the first step towards greater equity and reparations. So yeah, we're coming to you, live, from a very hot Juneteenth observed in Chicago. How is your summer kicking off?
Cinnamon 5:33
This summer has felt very paused and also very explosive, at the same time. I think it's the first one sort of post-pandemic. And we're not necessarily out of the pandemic, if you look at the worldwide map, but Chicago feels like we are on the verge. I think we are at now -- 70% of citizens have had a first shot, which is fantastic, tremendous and makes me feel very, very hopeful, very appreciative. A year ago, I was not in the headspace that I am in this year. And I'm looking forward to spending time with friends and visiting people and having them into my home. Hugs. I want so many hugs, all of the hugs.
Leah Jones 6:17
Yeah, I have started -- we have a ton of mutual friends, which we'll really get into during the big topic of today's conversation. So, Jasmine, was in my COVID pod of people -- it was some of my other single, childfree girlfriends were the people that I spent the most time with. But we weren't necessarily even always comfortable spending time indoors unmasked, but we became errand buddies -- I got a car. So, Jasmine and I will go to Target, and then to like a drive-through, and have a picnic in my car all winter, with all the windows open, so we can eat. So yeah, I look forward to eat meals with friends, in more temperature-controlled ways.
Leah Jones 7:06
I was just saying that someone last night, you know, there's that whole level of friends --of acquaintanceship, friendship -- that I maintain through -- they're people that come to your Halloween party, that come to my Hanukkah party, and then I'll see them at one summer event. And that maintains the relationship, and then on the internet in-between. And I miss those people.
Cinnamon 7:29
I do, too. I do, too. I'm lucky that we had a small pod. We live in a two-flat, so the family who lives below us, we got to spend a lot of time with, which was great. And I'm immensely grateful that we had those people. And that, because we were podded so closely together, we were fully comfortable enjoying meals together. But I'm ready to see some people who aren't them.
Leah Jones 7:56
You are such an incredible host, which is one of the things we're gonna talk about. But I mentioned your cookbook, which I have given many times when I find out people don't have a cast iron skillet. They're not expensive.
Cinnamon 8:10
No, they're not.
Leah Jones 8:11
It *can* be expensive, but they don't need to be expensive. I will often send people a skillet and your cookbook, or if they've got a skillet and they don't know what they're doing, I'll send them your cookbook. But one of my really favorite memories is when you were writing that cookbook, and you were doing parties to test recipes. I came to one and it was in the backyard, and you did an okra, a grilled okra. I don't remember anything else you cooked that night, but that okra is the best okra I've ever had in my whole life, And I think about it a lot. I've never tried to replicate it, because I feel okra intimidates me. But, I think about that a lot.
Cinnamon 9:00
I could go deep into okra because I love it so much. I think okra is definitely an underrated vegetable. I live near Devon Avenue in Chicago, which is a very popular Indian and Pakistani and Southeast-Asian strip, so, okra is available to me pretty much year-round for very little money, which is fantastic. And since I love it, it's great. The okra dish that you had is essentially just rubbed in a spicy [mumble} paste and then I put it on to skewers and then stuck it on the grill. I've also roasted it -- put the rub on the okra, toss it in into a skillet with a little bit of oil, and fried it. Smokes up the house a bit, but it's so delicious, I don't usually care.
Leah Jones 9:50
I think of okra as being a Southern vegetable. I didn't know it was also an East-Asian vegetable.
Cinnamon 9:58
Well, it's also from Africa, which was how we have it in the United States, of course, but also it's very popular in Indian dishes.
Leah Jones 10:10
I'll pay more attention.
Cinnamon 10:12
I mean, they've got the right climate for it. You need a lot of moisture, and you need a lot of heat, and a fairly long growing season. We tried growing okra here, and it happened to be a fantastically hot Chicago summer. But we got four pods before it got too cold, and the plant died. If we'd had just a bit of a longer summer, we probably would have had some okra.
Leah Jones 10:38
So as things start to nudge open, what are some of your near-term plans?
Cinnamon 10:48
I feel guilty for saying that I want to get out of Chicago, because Chicago in the summer is why I live here. But I'm going to go see my family for the Fourth of July weekend. And they're just in Columbus, Ohio, so it's a short drive. But I'm going to hug all of my nieces and nephews and my mom -- that I'm looking forward to. And then a few weeks later, we're going to take a trip to Key West, where it's even hotter and more humid than it is here in Chicago.
Leah Jones 11:17
Yes, but there are those cats with six toes.
Cinnamon 11:21
Yeah, not pterodactlyl ...
Leah Jones 11:24
Yeah, it *looks* like pterodactyl.
Cinnamon 11:27
Yeah. Polydactyl. It's five-toed cats. Hemingway's cats; they're supposedly descendants of Hemingway's cats.
Leah Jones 11:35
That's fun. Is it pure vacation, somewhere new, or if you've been before?
Cinnamon 11:42
I've been before for a wedding at about the same time of year, so I know exactly what I'm getting myself into. This trip is for my faux-goddaughter's graduation present. We had said, "Hey, graduate, get good grades, and we'll take you on vacation for graduation." So, she's bringing a friend with her, so that way, she's not the bored 17-year-old wondering why she's hanging out with the olds. So I imagine there's going to be a lot of time them I'm running away from us. But we'll also buy dinner, so, they'll come see us for that, at least. But, it's going to be fun to just get away. And we ended up getting some flights that fly directly into Key West. So that way --
Leah Jones 12:24
OH! From Chicago?!?
Cinnamon 12:25
From Chicago. We originally planned on flying into Fort Lauderdale, but car rental costs are so expensive, so high, that it didn't make sense.
Leah Jones 12:39
Next weekend, I'm driving to New York, by way of Grand Rapids, which is not the easiest detour; it adds a few hours to the trip. My dad has had sculptures in a storage unit since his show in New York in 2017. When like, life happens, and all of a sudden, it's been five years. So, we're gonna go back to get the wabbits. He's going to fly, and I'm going to drive. And I was like, "The last time we went, I rented an SUV. So the sculptures all -- every sculpture had a seat in the seat belt. And I went looking, and it was like, $2,000 for a week-long rental, not including the gas. And I wrote my sister and I was like, "Do you think they'll fit in the Ultima?" She was like, "Yeah, I think you can, you take one small bag. Everything Leah goes in the front, then all those sculptures go in the trunk, in the back seats," so I'm just gonna see what I can do. But the car rental prices are bananas.
Cinnamon 13:57
Yeah, no, it's ridiculous. Yeah. Yeah.
Leah Jones 14:01
But I'm looking forward to you know -- I'm gonna figure out some audiobooks. I haven't really had the attention -- I've not been able to read a word during this pandemic. So I'm looking forward to, instead of just listening to podcasts the whole way out, to figure out what's an audiobook I've really been wanting to listen to and maybe just do an audiobook.
Cinnamon 14:29
That sounds like a good idea. Something fun and light, ao you're not -- maybe get your brain back into gear of hearing other words?
Leah Jones 14:40
Like a narrative; get used to being able to hear a story. I just listened to podcasts that make it feel like I have company over, and that's all I do with my brain.
Cinnamon 14:53
Been a rough one. I think we've all learned a lot more about how our brains work in the last year than we ever expected to.
Leah Jones 15:01
And do I have an ADHD consult coming up? Yes, I do.
Cinnamon 15:06
The number of people I've read or heard about who have gotten ADHD consults, are trying to get them, has ballooned in the last year. I totally understand why.
Leah Jones 15:18
The pandemic took away all of the --I'm grateful for it -- but all of the hustle and adrenaline that kept me moving forward. I mean, it supplied a different type of adrenaline, so, I'm not gonna say there's no adrenaline living through a pandemic. But without the need to be going from here to here to here on a daily basis -- without all the movement my life used to have -- I have found that my brain is just like, "What is happening?" And then, ADHD TikTok has been very convincing.
Cinnamon 15:59
So many other people I know have been like, "I was looking at this kid with ADHD on TikTok, and I understand 100% of what this kid is talking about."
Leah Jones 16:10
So, I'm looking forward. That's one of my summer plans that I really hope that diagnosis comes through, and I can try doing some interventions and see if I can work better with my brain going forward.
Cinnamon 16:29
I mean, if nothing else, just finding out what you have to do to set yourself up to get done the things that you want to get done. Yeah, I wish you luck.
Leah Jones 16:39
Thank you.
Cinnamon 16:40
And if anybody else is struggling with ADHD, check out TikTok -- you'll find yourself there.
Leah Jones 16:47
So before we get into the main topic, I did see recently on Instagram that you sent 40 bags to Australia?
Cinnamon 16:55
Yes, I did.
Leah Jones 16:59
Was that for a specific shop or a conference?
Cinnamon 17:03
Yeah, there's a company there that is based in Botany, New South Wales. And the name of it is "Single O," they are a coffee roasting company. And they have a handful of different coffee roasting, sort of collections and kits that they sell. They were looking for a bag that they could put their big major mega-kit into, that they could sell as "Here's your bag with everything you need. It's got your coffee press and a spoon." I don't drink coffee, so I don't know the stuff. But they found me on Etsy and said, "Hey, I think this bag is the perfect size. Can you verify that the internal dimensions are at least X by X?"
Cinnamon 17:49
I said, "Yes, absolutely. That's exactly the size," and they're like, Great. Will you make us 30 bags and ship them to Australia for us?" I was like, "Sure." So they are my main -- if not my sole wholesale client this year. But, a couple times a year, I make 30 or 40 bags, ship them to them, and they put together a little kit, which you can buy for quite a lot of American money, if you tried to get it shipped to the United States -- because I was like, "Oh, maybe I'll send this to somebody." And then I was like, "Oh, with shipping? No. Nope."
Leah Jones 18:27
Although I suspect you might be able to sweet talk them into, you know ...
Cinnamon 18:33
I'm sure that I can talk them into a discount. So the bag that I'm making, essentially looks like a paper lunch sack that's a little bit larger. It's made from wax canvas; it is food-safe, because the wax is vegetable-based, which means it's also vegan. And it is also eco-friendly -- it's earth friendly -- and it's made in the United States, which is also part of my shtick; to try and support American suppliers of products for my bags wherever I can.
Leah Jones 19:17
Oh, that's outstanding. So, you've been sewing for them for a while --
Cinnamon 19:22
I think we are up to four years, five years now.
Leah Jones 19:26
Oh, that's outstanding.
Cinnamon 19:27
Yeah, yeah. They just randomly found me and then every once in a while, I'm like, "Okay, I'm setting aside everything else I'm doing for the next week and cranking out a lot of bags for these people." But I also have a shop on Etsy where I have messenger bags and these lunch bags and some Dopp kits. Not everything, but almost everything is made out of wax canvas, with the focus being American-made materials, eco-friendly, sweatshop-free.
Leah Jones 20:07
Oh, Cinnamon, I was gonna say I didn't just bring you here to catch up. but the whole point of the podcast is I get to talk to people I love uninterrupted for at least an hour. So, I did invite you here just to catch up. But specifically what we're talking about today is hosting parties. Of which you are -- I was just at a talk with Renee Rose and talking about her new book called "The Social Graces," about the Gilded Age and society in New York and the women who were the hostesses and the hosts, and where it put you in society to know how to throw a good party. And you know how to throw a great party.
Cinnamon 20:55
Thank you. I appreciate that.
Leah Jones 20:57
Which, if things go well, tomorrow, which was yesterday, when you're listening to this, you're now going to hear a bunch of clips of people talking about Cinnamon and her husband, Andrew's, Halloween party, Clips, clips, clips, clips, clips.
Leah Jones 21:15
We are in the same Halloween party circle. So, we definitely see each other every year. She is always in an outstanding costume, and I am always in a costume that got me in the door. Brandy, how are you today?
Brandy 21:29
[Start clip -- `Brandy] Great. And I have to say I wish I had more chances in my life to make and wear costumes. But that's my single -- my Super Bowl of the year is making my Halloween costume.
Leah Jones 21:42
Yeah, I love going to that party, just to be an observer of great costumes.
Jacquie 21:51
[Jacquie Chang] My favorite memory of a Huffencooper Halloween party was actually maybe one of the first ones that I went to. I don't know if it was the very first one, but it was one of the first ones. And I think the theme was something related to famous people. I'm not doing a great job of remembering all the details here, but I just remember it was something related to famous people. I was really into sewing at the time, in general -- I was sewing a lot of my own clothes, some clothes for other people. So because of that theme and me being into sewing, and also me kind of going through like a newfound Bjork phase.
Jacquie 22:31
I had always loved New York in the 90s, and she's always been cool. So anyway, I decided to be Bjork for this Halloween party. I had worked on a replica of the Bjork Swan costume for weeks, if not months. I did everything very fastidiously and carefully; it was not a janky costume at all. I mean, maybe by professional standards, it probably was. But for an amateur, it was very nice costume. And I worked on it for a very long time, there was a lot of tulle and some fake feathers -- the whole deal. I wore a body suit underneath. So there was no boob pop image, or anything like that.
Jacquie 23:13
So, I wear this costume to Huffencooper party. I had worked on it for so long, I was just so proud of it. And I showed up, and there was another person there who was also wearing her own homemade swan costume. And it was just so shocking to me and my partner, Clint, that this could be possible, knowing how long I had worked on it. But instead of getting angry, I actually just thought it was hilarious. I still think it's hilarious. However many years later -- it is now like 10 years later, 12 years later -- I think it's the craziest coincidence. We found each other immediately, of course, and we had a laugh about it and took a selfie together. There were other people at this party who were dressed amazingly, I remember Jasmine was dressed up as Kim Jong Un, or maybe even Kim Jong Il. That was before Kim Jong Un came around. That's why I remember there. It was about famous people. It was kind of a weird, crazy party for me. Again, it was really just because I was shocked the whole time about this swan costume thing.
Jacquie 24:22
But also, I really got to know some of the other people who are now some of my really close friends at that party, partially just because of such a strange coincidence happening then. I also remember after that party, I had gone out with some other friends up in Boystown wearing the same costume. So I'm sure you can imagine what it's like to show up in Boystown dressed up as Swan Bjork on Halloween -- hot Halloween night when everyone's clubbing so that was a crazy experience for me. I remember it so well; I remember it like it was yesterday. I'd be reliving it in my brain at this moment. So that's my favorite memory from the Huffencooper Halloween parties. [End clip]
Leah Jones 25:10
When you just think about hosting parties that like a broad top level, or hosting, what does it mean to you?
Cinnamon 25:19
That is a great question. I think it's more about what it *does* for me than what it means to me, feeding people at its core, whether that's cocktails, or whether that's some roasted okra, makes me happy. That's my love language -- being able to make people physically feel better for the brief amount of time that they are shoving delicious items into their face -- is my way of being able to express my love, at its core. I think in order for people to truly enjoy food, or drink, they have to be comfortable and relaxed. It's allergy season here in Chicago ...
Leah Jones 26:03
Were those little kitty sneezes?
Cinnamon 26:04
Those were kitty sneezes, yes. I completely forgot my train of thought --
Leah Jones 26:08
-- you're saying your love language is food.
Cinnamon 26:11
My love language is food and making people relaxed and comfortable is the facilitator to get them to enjoy the food and therefore appreciate my love for them. And I think I threw some bad parties before it got easy. Then once it became easy, then I don't think I've thrown a bad party since then. Which is now that I think about it, pretty impressive. Because it's been, I don't know, 15, 16, 17 years since I've not thrown a bad party, which is great.
Leah Jones 26:47
How did you know they were bad parties?
Cinnamon 26:51
They were bad parties because I think it was a struggle to get people to talk to each other. Because I think one of the goals of parties is saying, "Hey, I know these great people. And I know those great people, but maybe they don't know each other. But I would like them to ," so you get them in the same room together. You get them relaxed, you feed them, you give them something to drink, and then hopefully, they also become friends. And, that's the ultimate goal. I think I'd like all of my friends to be friends with each other.
Cinnamon 27:21
I'm not selfish with my friends; I don't have a problem with my friends meeting each other and then going off and becoming better friends together, I think that's great. But, I think part of it is that people get stressed out about entertaining. And I think so many people think, "Oh, well, if you're going to be a hostess, you have to be like the Gilded Age women of New York high society, and everything has to be pristine and perfect." And in my experience, that doesn't matter at all.
Cinnamon 27:55
If somebody is inviting you into your home, and you are feeding them, and they don't have to do anything except sit there and enjoy it, that's truly all they care about. And maybe it's because our friend group is more casual, or maybe it's because we are in the era that we're in. But it could easily be Stouffer's lasagna that you baked in your oven, then maybe put a little extra Parmesan cheese on top. They're not going to care because they didn't have to go out and buy the Stouffer's lasagna, they don't have to do the dishes. They just bring a bottle of wine maybe and sit down, and it's more about enjoying time together. So I think if anything, I would love to encourage people to just go out and find out what it is that they're worried about, what they're nervous about -- mitigate that, and then just entertain. It doesn't have to be used throwing a fancy dinner party for 18 people. It could be two people, and you could be just doing take-out.
Leah Jones 28:53
Do you think that one of the lessons of this last year is that -- I mean, I talk about this, I feel like every other podcast at least -- I spent a lot of this pandemic in a dugout across the street, in a baseball field dugout, and we would get take-out and just go sit in a baseball dugout and eat. But I think people got really comfortable with the idea that it doesn't have to be a home-cooked meal, and it doesn't, you can all get -- you know, Jasmine and I will often order-in Chinese -- ordering in food for friends does not equal pizza. It doesn't have to be a pizza night every time. And ordering food and then just sitting in the backyard and eating it is a totally lovely thing to do.
Cinnamon 29:50
It's more you saying, "You are important to me. And therefore, I'm going to take away all of the work of socializing, and all you have to do is sit and talk to me. Talk to the other people who are present and enjoy yourself." And that is the only expectation of a guest.
Leah Jones 30:09
But do you have a more of a sweet spot? Are you more comfortable with a 10 person party versus a 75 person party? Do you have a sweet spot -- ideal hosting size?
Cinnamon 30:21
That's a good question. Our table fits 10 people *very* closely. So if we are having more of a sit-down dinner type of thing, 10. So eight guests is usually our max. Before the pandemic, we had started hosting some casual cocktail parties where I'd make a couple of appetizers, and then we would have a couple of cocktails available, and people would hang out. And I had plans to do so many of those in 2020. So soon, we'll start ramping those up again.
Cinnamon 30:57
But, 10 to 12 for that seemed like a really good number. I think it depends on your space. And we're lucky we live in a standard Chicago two-flat, which has a gigantic dining room. Because when all of the German and Lichtenstenian families who built our house in our neighborhood, the dining room was the center of where the family spent all of their time, so it had to be big, because of that. It works for us. I know many friends who live in one-bedrooms or studios, where having four people over means that their house is full. I think it's just a matter of finding out how many people are comfortable in your space, and making that your cap. And then, if you're uneasy about entertaining, only having to make four people happy, is a lot less stressful than trying to figure out how to make 12 people happy.
Leah Jones 31:52
My friend, Ahuva , said to me once, "On Shabbat, the apartment will take a deep breath. There's always room." She was like, "There's always room." I've, when it comes to Jewish holidays, have taken that to heart. I think some some of my friends would be like, "Okay, Leah, your apartment can't hold anymore. It's really uncomfortably full." And the more toddlers that get added to the mix, the more that changes. Toddlers need more space, they need a runway, literally, they got to get their zoomies out. And families need alternative seating options. But I do think being real about what your space can hold is an absolutely an important part of hosting.
Cinnamon 32:47
One of the things that I've done over the winters is made a couple gallons of soup, and just invited people to show up. When I first started doing it, I literally didn't have enough bowls. So, it would become a bring your own bowl party. Where I would say, "Okay, I'm making soup, I don't have enough bowls, bring your own bowl. It's dead of winter -- we'll warm it up before you have to put your food in it." But it would be 20 people or so. And not everybody was sitting and eating at the same time, which was great. But then also people were just like, "Hey, I'm just going to pull this pillow off the couch and sit on the floor. Is that okay?" Yeah, whatever you want. I'm grateful that we've got a big enough space that people can find little corners and groups of four or six people just sort of clustered together and eat soup.
Cinnamon 33:34
I tried to talk to everyone. I think a part of entertaining is figuring out how to spend time with everybody who comes. This is not possible at Halloween, which makes me sad every year. But also, for a dinner party, it's a little bit different to make sure that you talk to everybody who comes to a smaller party. I think that's my main tip, and it took me a while to learn that. I'm naturally an introvert, which surprises me why I enjoy throwing parties because normally, being around groups of people can exhaust me. But when they're in my home, and I'm feeding them, and I'm making them happy, I get energized by it. So maybe I'm not as much of an introvert as I thought I was at one point.
Leah Jones 34:20
I would much rather host the party than attend the party. Hanukkah people are always trying to get me to stop frying the latkes. And I'm like, "But if I'm at the stove, frying the latkes, everyone knows where to find me. And I will see everyone through the course of the night, and I will feed everyone. If I go to my living room, I know I'm just going to sit down and stop moving." Being at my stove cooking for that particular party, is how I circulate. I think it's hard for people to see that, but eventually everyone comes through the kitchen. I feel like at your Halloween party, you guys are in and out of the kitchen making tater tots. So, if somebody really wants to catch you, they can just wait by the oven, and you'll be by at some point.
Cinnamon 35:13
It's usually every 22 minutes.
Leah Jones 35:18
So, let's just dive in. Let's talk about-- we've been previewing it, I've been talking about on this podcast for a solid year -- is your Halloween party, which is epic. So when did it start? How did you guys decide -- what was the first one and then when did it become a tradition?
Cinnamon 35:41
The very first one was probably in 2000. It was a couple of apartments ago, and it was awful. I can say it was awful; we were much younger. It was the first big party that I had thrown; I didn't necessarily know what I was doing. Because I like making kind of fancy food, I had made a lot of fancy appetizers -- I took cherry tomatoes, and cored them out and piped basil cream cheese into them, and then positioned little basil leaves, so they look like a cherry leaf -- I went above and beyond. And almost none of the food was eaten except for the potato chips and the chips and salsa, the quick snack foods. So, I learned that at Halloween, people don't want fancy food, they want something quick and easy and comfortable, and that's fine.
Cinnamon 35:41
Yeah, so since, I have not done that at Halloween. I think the other thing that made it not the best party was that we had a few friends who brought guests who were in their very, very early 20s, who probably were very much into the fact that we had an open bar and decided to drink everything that they possibly could. And there was some cleanup; that was unfortunate, and I'll leave it at that.
Leah Jones 37:15
Oh, that's a bummer.
Cinnamon 37:18
But also, we had all the lights on and almost nobody came in a Halloween costume. So it just felt very awkward post-college party.
Leah Jones 37:29
So, a few people in costumes, that nobody's eating, some drunk -- some super drunk strangers.
Leah Jones 37:40
Glitter everywhere. Glitter. Everywhere. Somebody came in an absolutely fantastic poison costume. And she was covered from head to toe in green glitter. And I think I'm still like, it's been 21 years later, and I feel like I'm still finding bits of green glitter in my belongings. Yeah, glitter is insidious.
Leah Jones 38:01
It's truly -- is the only craft supply my sister banned me from sending the boys.
Cinnamon 38:08
Understandably. So, that one was a bit of a bomb. And then we moved into a much smaller apartment and took a couple of years off. Then, when we moved into the place where we are now and we had just finished completely re-doing our kitchen, all of our friends, our main friend group, had different holidays that they had chosen and we're like, "Well, I guess Halloween is left." And I was like, "Okay, I've learned things from my last party. So now it is going to be quick, easy, child -friendly, childhood comfort food." So tater tots made their initial presentation and have stuck around since then. But then you know, we have a cheese plate there, salami, we do a little -- maybe it's slightly fancy. Now I can afford good brie. Whereas then I was like, "What's on sale at Jewel?"
Leah Jones 39:03
I would say it's elevated, but it's still not -- it's an elevated -- basic is now such a dirty word -- but it's elevated. Basic snacks. Not a pre-sliced cheese plate; we're not getting a saran-wrappped -- you're not getting the Jewel five vegetable ranch dip thing? But it's that, done Cinnamon style.
Cinnamon 39:36
My goal is to make sure that there's enough food. So, if people have a little too much to drink, they can have something more to eat, but not have so much food that people feel obligated to eat more than they would probably want to. So that way, I'm not throwing a lot of food away at the end of the night.
Leah Jones 40:03
And when did you realize giving people a costume theme was going to be welcome and really -- that is truly what levels -- there's so many things that level this party up. But the theme, you guys release the theme sometimes a solid year in advance.
Cinnamon 40:22
Sometimes. Yeah.
Leah Jones 40:24
Usually, minimum three months in advance.
Cinnamon 40:27
Try to, yes. Yeah.
Leah Jones 40:28
And it is ... I'm terrible at costumes, but I love them. When did the theme start?
Cinnamon 40:40
The theme started from talking to friends. We're like, "Hey, we're thinking about doing a Halloween party, are you free?" And they're like, "Yeah, but I hate coming up with costumes." And we're like, "Hmm, interesting." And then Andrew, my husband and partner in Halloween crime, said, "Well, how about if we throw a Halloween party with a theme and tell people that costumes are required? That way, we don't end up with three people who went way above and beyond, and 75% of the people are not wearing a costume at all.
Cinnamon 41:15
So, the very first Halloween costume party we threw, we actually bought cheap masks at the Halloween store and told people who came, who didn't have a costume, that they would have to wear the mask for the rest of the night. And we didn't actually make them wear it, but, that was in the invitation message.
Leah Jones 41:34
Yes, yes.
Cinnamon 41:35
Yeah. And we said that your costume doesn't have to be good, but it has to exist. I think it's done amazing things for our very smart and very creative friends. Who many times are like, "I'm not that creative." Yeah, I don't know anyone who's not creative, and I know a lot of people. It's given the ability to just sort of focus on that. One of our costume or one of our Halloweens right after we got married was "doomed couples." So we went as Persephone and Hades. As, we are, it's our party. So we're the gods of the underworld, obviously. But it was amazing, just how that small bit of a theme created amazing sort of couple costumes. And some of them were inappropriate, in the way that we had a friend who came dressed as a priest with a small little child. He was a solo person, so he couldn't come as a couple. But we had another couple who came, and their entire costume was -- he put on a pair of reindeer antlers, and then she took two lights that you touch, and they activate and wore them over her chest. And so they were deer in headlights?
Leah Jones 42:59
Ha.
Cinnamon 43:04
So we have people who go way above and beyond, and also people who literally spend five minutes putting their costume together. It's fantastic, and I remember it for years. Yeah.
Leah Jones 43:14
The time I did the least work and came in a costume was "Hollowmeme." I think was the theme?
Cinnamon 43:22
Happy Hollowmeme..
Leah Jones 43:23
And I took the silver medal gymnast meme, and I printed it out and it was like, "My costume is not impressed." I safety pinned it to my chest and I'm like, "This is what I got. She thinks I'm boring." The mash up year, in particular, sticks in my head. Because somebody came as the Jiffy Pope.
Cinnamon 43:57
Yes, my friend, Pat, came as Jiffy Pope. Complete with popcorn in his scepter.
Leah Jones 44:06
And Ramsin Canon came as the Card Sharks got smarter, and he was a shark. It was a mash up of two movies about sharks -- no one, about card sharks, and one about sharks? And I when I see sharks, in my head, I hear him saying, "The card hharks got smarter," and it's so locked in my brain. What are some of your -- when you think about themes and outstanding costumes -- also, you and Andrew, you guys do *phenomenal* costumes every year.
Cinnamon 44:47
Not true. Andrew is great at costumes, so he goes above and beyond. My costumes all never come out the way I intend to. Partly, because I never spend the right amount of time actually developing my costume. And maybe I'm justifying it, but I decided if my costume is present, but not amazing -- if I'm the worst costume in the room, then everybody feels a little bit better about the costume that they wore. Part of it is -- that the costume is not the fun part for me. But people showing up and making sure that they have fun is where I invest my time. And so, then I just have less time for the costume.
Leah Jones 45:40
I totally get it.
Cinnamon 45:41
Our last party, we revived the Happy Hallowmeme. Was that it? Or is it mashup? I think it was mash-up that we did last time. We brought back the mash-up, because so many people had asked for it. So, I came as Mary Queen of Ska. I made a fantastic collar, and did a little jig -- it was probably the most amount of time that I've put into a costume. I probably put more time into that costume than I have in all the other costumes I've created together.
Leah Jones 46:24
Last summer, because you live on a street -- I mean, Chicago streets go very far. And, I was walking near my apartment, and I crossed your street, and I looked at it. And I was just like, "There's not going to be a Halloween party this year." I feel like it was early in the summer of COVID, and it was just -- I started to realize all of the things we were going to continue to miss. And that's when I really started to realize that there are relationships I maintain, through seeing people at your house once a year. And how important it is to a lot of this extended group of people that are just like, "Well, they're the people I see at the Halloween party. And that's why we're friends."
Cinnamon 47:20
There are two thoughts. One is it was probably about last June, where we realized that we were not going to throw a Halloween party. And we spent three months talking about what our announcement would be that we were not having a Halloween party. And decided it was so depressing, that we just never even sent a message out to people canceling it. Because every time I sat down to write it, I would become so depressed about the fact that I could not see all of those people. And it was just emotionally too hard. So I ran away from it. avoidance, why not?
Leah Jones 47:56
It was clear to everyone that there was not going to be a party.
Cinnamon 48:03
I also figured if anybody messaged me a couple of weeks before the party was like, "Hey, what are you throwing your party?" I'd be like, "Yeah, you're off the list." If you want to hang out in a room full of people during this time, maybe I don't need you in my life. Nobody did that. Oh, relationships at Halloween. I take great pleasure in talking to somebody in say, January, and them saying, "Oh, yeah, so I met somebody at your Halloween party, and I don't remember their name, but they were dressed like Snow White." And I was like, "Oh, that would be my friend, so and so. And she's fantastic." "How can I get a hold of her?" And being able to make those connections after the Halloween party gives me so much continued joy. It's the party that keeps on giving. So it's been great last year, while everybody was home and alone, and I was listening to your podcast and there were so many names that popped up that I was like, "I know this person. I haven't talked to them since that Halloween party. This is great." And then they mentioned the Halloween party, but it was great to just sort of hear what they were into, whether it was watching "West Wing," or whatever it was. It was fantastic. It was your gift to me even though it wasn't about me at all.
Leah Jones 49:23
It was secretly all about you. But it was about -- I enjoy podcasts that make it feel like I'm hanging out near friends. And it has been really fun to interview so many of my Chicago internet friends and have a longer conversation that wasn't -- people I care for and and love dearly, but that we almost always see each other in a busy situation. But because of Twitter or blogs or the little sprinkles of communication we have, we maintain a friendship, we have a certain level of closeness. So for me, it's been a real gift to have longer conversations with people. It's been a blast.
Leah Jones 50:31
As the world reopens, and people try to remember how to host, how to have people over, how to cook more than one dish for the week -- what are things that you're thinking about as you think about reopening your house to people, starting to have people over again? What are the things you're thinking about to prepare yourself to host again?
Cinnamon 51:02
It's a great question. I think I have so many ideas, and it's all about dishes that I want to make for other people. And it's a matter of figuring out who the right people are for those dishes. One of the things that -- I just have a natural filing cabinet in my brain for everybody's food aversions or allergies or sensitivities. So that way, I'm not going to invite all of my friends who are gluten-free over for pasta, for example. Or my friends who are Muslim, they're not coming over to eat pork. I'll invite other people to the pork barbecue.
Cinnamon 51:40
I think I'm fortunate in the fact that every Friday and Saturday night, during the pandemic, I would either cook food or figure out -- for the most part, it would be me figuring out what to order for dinner, for our entire house, for five people. So I've had some experience with a small amount of entertaining. Yeah, so it's not my skills completely atrophied, but they got rusty. I think like everybody, I'm a little bit concerned that I'll remember how to converse with people. Like, what do we talk about, because nothing's happened for the last year for us, personally. And everything else that has happened in the world is not exactly fun cocktail party conversation.
Leah Jones 52:29
It's like we need to go to a finishing school, a renovation school. A restoration, a restoration school, to bring back topics, conversation starters, right? Things that aren't just "What flavor of depression did you have during the pandemic?"
Cinnamon 52:55
Yeah, and I definitely want to hear that if my friends want to talk about it. But also, I think I'd like to talk about more than what TV they've watched recently. And I feel like all of the Zoom conversations and the in-person conversations, we can always tell when we run out of new topics, because it's like, "Oh, hey, so there's this new show called Loki." TV has just become our touchpoint; it's how we've figured out what we have in common with each other in the last year.
Cinnamon 53:27
And there's nothing wrong with that, but I would like more from life than watching other lives that are made up on television. I think part of it is also me just trying to come up with -- and this is not something I've ever done intentionally before -- but come up with a list of questions about what I want to ask the people that I haven't gotten to have good in-depth conversations with for the last year. What do I want to know about them as people either what's happened in the last year, or what they think about something -- just spending some time ahead of time and coming up with a list of ideas about what to talk about. So that way, we don't get into the "So, last episode of Loki was great!" I mean it *was* great, but ...
Leah Jones 54:16
And Jocelyn came a few weeks ago with a box of questions.
Cinnamon 54:21
That's great.
Leah Jones 54:22
And was pulling cards and one that she asked us that got us going for a solid hour was -- now, it is TV related -- "If you could live within one TV show or movie for a week, what TV show or movie would you live in?"
Cinnamon 54:42
Oh, that's good,
Leah Jones 54:44
Which was a really interesting -- do you go somewhere so that you can have a luxurious vacation? Do you go to a early season of The West Wing so you can meet those people? Do you go to a show with a lot of magic, so you can be magical for a week? Do you go to an animated show? What do you value? It's kind of a vacation into a new world that you've been watching, but what is the thing that you want to be able to do? So that's a good segue from talking about TV to a different type of conversation. It's not politics. It's not religion. It's just -- anything that you just anything you do, that you think is so obvious, and everybody must do it the same way. It can get, "Do you get your toothbrush wet before, or after you put on the toothpaste?"
Cinnamon 55:48
Both.
Leah Jones 55:50
But there are people who do that differently than you.
Cinnamon 55:57
And I definitely think that one of my personal failings is that I assume that everybody is like me. And have only -- I'm almost 50, I'll be 50 this year -- but I've just begun to realize just how different I am in small ways, from so many people. And if I had realized this at 20, I think so much of my young person anxiety would have evaporated. Like, so many people I was convinced hated me. And then realized, "No, they're shy, just like I am." Oh, that's like complete -- that blew my mind.
Leah Jones 56:36
Yeah. It's nice getting older and learning more about ourselves and how the world works and making room for that forgiveness. If you're going to host a small, small dinner, what are things that people should think about? Or what's advice you have for people now?
Cinnamon 56:59
I would suggest introducing people who don't know each other or who don't know each other well. Because I think there's something about getting to know people, that opens up opportunities for conversation. And can make conversation easier once you get over the initial awkward introduction part. So I think that's my main tip -- get your people that you like, together, because if *you* like them, there's a pretty good chance they're going to like something about each other.
Cinnamon 57:34
I think also figuring out what the max is that you can do comfortably. I think a lot of people feel like they either have to go full Martha Stewart. I don't think unless you're Martha Stewart, or unless you have professionals helping you, I don't think that's possible. Yeah. And, I don't think it's appreciated. Because if it's too fancy, people are going to be just slightly uncomfortable, so keep it casual. But also, in whatever way you need to do to make it feel special. So if you're like, "Okay, I want to have people over, ,but cooking for 10 people is just way too much." Fine -- order some trays of food, but then put it into serving bowls. Don't serve it in the to-go containers. Just having it be a little more personal is all that it needs to be. And when people compliment the food, say, "Oh, well, great. Here's the restaurant."
Cinnamon 58:36
Don't try and take credit for making something you didn't make. But also, if you do make food, and it doesn't come out exactly like you want it to -- and this is something I learned from Julia Child -- Don't criticize the food. Don't say, "Yeah, but it's too salty or I overcooked it." Just say, "Thank you." Because they're not criticizing your ability to cook -- they are *thanking* you for them not having to cook. I think those are the main couple of tips. I think in general, so many people stress out about entertaining. And I would love it if people would just realize that the first time you do it, it may bomb. But the second time you do it, you're gonna learn things; it's gonna be easier. And the third time you do it, it's going to be great. So if you're uncomfortable about it, invite people who love you, anyway. And they won't care.
Cinnamon 58:36
I have really gotten over the need to have -- I mean, I never had a perfect tablescape but, we always end up moving the flowers so people can see each other, or to make room for food --
Cinnamon 59:13
-- or someone's allergic --
Leah Jones 59:52
-- someone's allergic. So flowers are nice, but not necessary. A hydrangea and a rose and a martini glass, or a little mason jar -- low profile, no smell -- that's all you need. I also -- my Passover Seder is one where we do the storytelling part of it, just sitting around the living room. And then I'm like, "Okay, there are the folding tables, some of us are gonna go to the kitchen and finish and prep the food, now that it's time for dinner -- reheat some things. And the rest of you are in charge of setting up this room for us to eat. There are the tables there, the tablecloths, and I'm not going to micromanage you -- don't ask me any questions, just make decisions."
Leah Jones 1:00:28
And I've gotten much more comfortable with trusting my friends to make a comfortable space. I know that I like to have a role and that some people feel better if they're doing -- some people really want to chop a vegetable so that they don't have to make small talk. And so I'm much more comfortable now not trying to get every bowl on the table in advance, because people are gonna want to help with that. And that is also a-okay. People can have jobs and you're not a caterer, you're a host, and they're your friends -- they're not strangers, they're not customers.
Cinnamon 1:01:23
So, let somebody else put ice in the ice bucket and put it on the table. Let somebody else put plates on the table, it's fine. Yes, I completely agree. If you make it a part of a shared experience, then it's a shared experience.
Leah Jones 1:01:35
I would say the purchase that I am happiest about in the years that I've been having people over for holiday dinners, is I bought steam trays from Party City.
Cinnamon 1:01:47
Oh, yeah.
Leah Jones 1:01:48
I got steam trays, got those little, blue flame things. And actually keeping the hot food hot all night has been-- that was my big level-up was, and I'm not gonna say it's a cheap thing to do, but it made a difference in keeping the food out of the danger zone.
Cinnamon 1:02:13
So that way you don't worry about giving your guests food poisoning because they were the *last* person to eat the mostaccioli instead of the *first* person.
Leah Jones 1:02:24
Also, my sister also got me a crockpot with three little crocks in it.
Cinnamon 1:02:30
Yes! Yeah, I love that.
Leah Jones 1:02:32
I love it. A hot dip station? The best. And again, you don't have to think about it, it's just going. And I'll do pulled chicken in one, and then two vegetarian dips. And then if people want them to be meat dips, they just add the pulled chicken to their plate.
Cinnamon 1:02:54
I think other small entertaining tips is -- I'm a list maker, so for days before our Halloween party, or before I throw any big party, I will literally just write down a list of all of the things that run through my head, in the order in which they come to me. Then a day or so before the party, I will organize them -- ideas about "Don't forget to put out silverware," or "Buy napkins", but then I group them and just crossing things off the list gives me immense satisfaction.
Cinnamon 1:03:28
And also gives me an idea about how prepared I am. One of the things that I am awful about is getting everything done before the party starts, so I'm always finishing things up as the first guests are arriving. And that used to stress me out and make me feel like I was a bad entertainer or bad person, bad host because of that. But then I realized that nobody cared because it was all things that I could do while I was still talking to people. I think I'm fortunate in the fact that I am part of a couple, so while I can be finishing up the kitchen stuff, Andrew can be the one greeting everybody at the door, offering them a drink or taking their coat, and I don't have to do that part. Being able to share tasks equally between us is immensely helpful.
Leah Jones 1:04:20
And I just designate people -- I'm like, "All right, you're doorbell now." "You're napkins, you're doorbell." People just get a job, because I am just one person. And I've gotten more comfortable with that, too -- "Yes, I'm the host, but we're a community." Unless it's a baby shower or something I'm truly hosting, and the people coming are not my people, they're my friend's people. Then, I do try to have have it a little bit more together.
Cinnamon 1:04:53
That's a little different. I agree.
Leah Jones 1:04:58
Listen, Cinnamon, this has been a blast.
Cinnamon 1:05:00
Thank you, Leah.
Leah Jones 1:05:01
What a good way to start our Juneteenth off.
Cinnamon 1:05:04
Yes, I agree. I agree, and hopefully somebody is inspired by this. Besides that they are going to invite people into their home or their backyard or out across the street from them. And yeah, hug your peoples.
Leah Jones 1:05:21
Yeah. Where can people find you online? Do you want people to find you online?
Cinnamon 1:05:26
Find me -- my name is Cinnamon Cooper. There are two Cinnamon Coopers that I know about. The other one lives in Indiana and is a student loan collector. So, I get some hate mail on Facebook. That's fine; I just don't read the that folder anymore. But I'm pretty easy to find @cinnachick is where I am on Instagram and Tiktok and Twitter. Just type that into your search bar and I'll pop up. If people are interested in the cookbook, they could go to Amazon, or their order it from their local bookstore. It is called the "Everything Cast Iron Cookbook." I think it's now selling for about 10 bucks online. A cast iron skillet is less than $20 at your local hardware store, so it's a great little gift, thank you for that. Poise.cc is my website.
Leah Jones 1:06:27
Also, if anybody was inspired by you talking about soup, you also are responsible for how I make tomato soup. If people go on the archives of Gaper's Block, Cinnamon wrote this tomato soup recipe -- you roast the tomatoes first and then you add -- it's a whole thing, but you roast tomatoes with garlic cloves first, and then it all goes in the soup pot, and you simmer it and then you blend it up, and then you can add cream or not add cream. Sometimes, when I roast the tomatoes, I toss in a couple jalapenos for the roast to give it a little kick. But I will also find this tomato soup recipe because it is one of, if not THE best internet recipe I've ever had. Certainly one of the best and one of the ones that I've gone to most often.
Cinnamon 1:07:31
That's fantastic.
Leah Jones 1:07:32
Yeah, I love that soup recipe. It is not tomato soup weather; today it is so gross, but tomatoes are coming, and I imagine it also freezes well, although I never have enough to freeze.
Cinnamon 1:07:47
It would freeze well.
Leah Jones 1:07:48
So, later in the summer when your tomatoes come in, batch cook some of this tomato soup, freeze it up and then you'll have comfort food this winter.
Cinnamon 1:07:58
Yes, January You will be grateful to September You for the work you do
Leah Jones 1:08:03
So, Cinnamon, this has been wonderful. Have a good afternoon!
Cinnamon 1:08:07
Thank you, Leah, enjoy your weekend. I look forward to hearing the rest of your guests this season.
Leah Jones 1:08:13
Thank you.
Announcer 1:08:14
Thank you for listening to Finding Favorites with Leah Jones. Please make sure to subscribe and drop us a five-star review on iTunes. Now go out and enjoy your favorite things.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
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