The Thanksgiving Holiday - A break from tradition, so to speak

Notice I paid attention in the blog class I attended, hosted by Savvy Trainers. I'm not abandoning my blog and I'm posting again. Hurrah!

Thanksgiving is about tradition perse. Turkey, Stuffing, Corn Bread, Green Bean Casserole, Cranberries, Pumpkin Pie, Mashed Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes, Gravy...some people stick to tradition and serve the same meal every year, and sometimes you find the unexpected. I like tradition, but I also tend to be a little unique so one of the first items I added to my "traditional" Thanksgiving holiday fare is a dish I named Cranberry Spiced Pears. This dish is near and dear to my heart because I made it the first year I hosted Thanksgiving dinner as a new bride in 1990 and it's been a constant, provided I'm "hosting" at Thanksgiving and/or Christmas Eve ever since.

I do tend to lean on "simple" and that's exactly what the dish is. S I M P L E. Just 3 ingredients, maybe 4 if you go fancy. I didn't make it this Thanksgiving because I wasn't hosting, but I will serve it on Christmas Eve if it is a sit down dinner. It's also low low low cal. "Free" in fact if you're doing Weight Watchers. A fruit if you're doing Jenny Craig.

Cranberry Spiced Pears

Ingredients:

1/2 Pear for each guest. (I usually use canned halves)

Cranberry Juice (if you're going low cal Ocean Spray has a nice 5 calorie one)

Cinnamon & Cinnamon Stick for garnish

Place the pear halves so the grove for the stem is facing up. Generously pour cranberry juice over the pear and sprinkle with cinnamon. Heat for 30 seconds in the microwave before serving. Serve on a butter dish with a single pear half in place of the salad.

Another "simple" item I've been doing the last couple of years is Maple Carrots. This idea came to me in 2010 when I entered a recipe contest at Jenny Craig. I first served it at Easter 2010, and if I'm going to a pot luck holiday meal, this is what I'll typically bring. Sadly, it didn't make the Jenny Craig cookbook, but it's always a big hit none the less. This can be made "free" if you're doing Weight Watchers and "free" on Jenny Craig as well. You can also swap one ingredient and not make it a low cal dish if you choose to.

Maple Carrots

Ingredients:

1 bag baby carrots

1/4 to 1/2 cup maple syrup (if you're going low cal, use sugar free)

Place the entire bag of carrots into a crock pot with the maple syrup and let them cook on low 6 to 8 hours.

Although I do admittedly like "simple", it's because we only have so much time. I will typically take time on one or two portions of the meal, and at Thanksgiving, it's with my cousin Gina's Italian Macaroni and Cheese. Because I'm Italian (wait, you didn't notice?) I do like to have a subtle nod to Italy now when I entertain. Basically it's because my cousin Gina told me she serves a lasagna with the turkey on Christmas and that's what her mother and grandmother did and I thought to myself, "I love that idea, I'm going to do it too." Plus it makes me feel not so very far away from home. Christmas Eve 2010 was the first year I introduced a lasagna (with Grandma Sabella's home made sauce) and I'm so pleased I did. This year I decided Thanksgiving needed a little Italian flare as well, so I decided on Italian Macaroni & Cheese. It turned out perfect. Thank you Gina, who sent me the recipe at 6 am pst time on Wednesday despite the fact she was sick. Now that's love. She also gave me permission to post the recipe. 

Gina's Italian Macaroni & Cheese

Ingredients:

1 pound rigatoni noodles, cooked and drained
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
4 cups milk
Salt
Pepper
Dash ground nutmeg
8 ounces sharp cheddar, sliced or shredded

In a small pot melt butter and whisk in flour, cook for 2 minutes, whisk in milk, salt, pepper and nutmeg, bring to a boil on medium heat then simmer for 10 mins or so till thickened. Place half of the noodles in a baking dish, cover with half the cheese and half the sauce and repeat. Bake in 350 oven for 35-45 mins.

It was a huge hit. Plus I was able to make it the night before and it traveled well. A great pot luck go to. For more of Gina's recipes, check out her blog:  http://spcookiequeen.com

I also brought the Sour Cream Muffins I love so much. I've already posted Paul Deen's recipe. I just wish they tasted more like butter. 

I introduced them at Christmas Eve in 2008 when I fell in love with the Food Network. This year for Christmas Eve, I plan on making the Barefoot Contessa's Pop Overs.

Troy's mother made Whiskey-Glazed Sweet Potatoes (amazing!). giblet gravy, pumpkin pie and pecan pie with homemade whipping cream, of course. (The recipe for the pecan pie is coming soon) It was her mother's and the recipe is framed (in her mother's handwriting) in Troy's kitchen. It was by far the best I've ever tasted.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/guy-fieri/whiskey-glazed-sweet-potatoes-recipe/index.html

Troy made a spiral ham, smoked a turkey and fried a turkey. He also made a green bean casserole with fresh green beans (I may give him my cousin Gina's panzanella salad recipe and task him with that on Christmas Eve), guacamole and salsa. He did this after reporting to work at 8 pm on Wednesday night, and working 14 hours driving a semi. He was asleep by 2 pm, which gave me time to go to a second destination.

Ciao

I'm going to start a blog = hurrah! Now what?

Hello all from near and far. I'm Robbyn from Robbyn's Nest. Unfortunately I don't have the unique idea I thought I did so there will be some changes soon. Big changes. I just don't know what it will entail yet...yet.

Moving on, my intention tonight was NOT to whine about how there are other Robin, Robyn and Robbyn's out there with blogs named "Robbyn's Nest" (yes with 2 b's), it was to talk about blogging.

My dear best friend (forever) Alithea Reyes of Alithea's Staging & Decor and I were talking about work she's going to do to my home (stay tuned. If you think I've used ENOUGH Robin's Egg Blue, you've got another think coming, besides, it's Pitsburg Paint's "White Clover" not Robin's Egg Blue. I just refer to it as that, because it is all about "ME") and she mentioned she wanted to start a blog, but she didn't know how.

Speaking of ME...

:)

I attended Savvy Trainer's Rocky Mountain Trainer's Meeting this week and it was all about blogging. Things to do, common mistakes (abandonment, Abandonment, ABANDONMENT - ok, I hear you...I'm posting see...) and I wanted to share some of their wisdom, while giving them credit because I pay attention.

Also, mistake number 3 in this post (mistake #1 is too many Robbyn's Nest Blogs, mistake #2 is blog ABANDONMENT, and mistake #3 is the "..." I'm so fond of) - just wanted to get that out there since I can finally call myself a "writer" thanks to Joker's Updates.

Here's a couple of key points to getting started:

• Commit to 1 to 2x a week, but no "set" schedule
• 150 to 500 words
• WordPress offers free blogs and some templates for purchase
• Show Personality, Don't Take Yourself too Seriously, Be Real
• Play to your strengths

We also had some awesome demos of not just WordPress, but Google Alerts (which you can use for let's say you want to see when "Solstice" posts your Modern Family or Revenge Updates - hint HINT), Google/Trends and Google Fight.

More soon, I promise.

Ciao.

No Self-Respecting Southerner Uses Instant Grits

I love love love grits. I could eat them everyday.

Today, at work, I was doing some video editing work for a legal seminar. The video I was working with was from the movie "My Cousin Vinny" (Side note...WOW! I just noticed a flaw. Everyone knows a true Italian would spell Vinnie, V I N N I E  not  V I N N Y.)

Moving on...I was given free reign to choose whatever material I felt relative for the presentation and of course because I'm Italian, and a huge grits fan, I knew I had to start with the hysterical scene where Joe Pechi, classic Italian, asks: "regular, creamy, or al dente?"

Gambini: Eggs and grits. I like grits too. How do you cook your grits? You like 'em regular, creamy, or al dente?

Tipton: Just regular, I guess.

Gambini: Regular. Instant grits?

Followed by the response:

Tipton: No self-respecting southerner uses instant grits. I take pride in my grits.

My father, who was 100% Italian, and born in San Francisco, ate grits every day for breakfast as an adult. Who'd figure? They were instant grits, but that's not my point...

This is a man who would place syrup (still in it's plastic container) in boiling water every day, just so he could have warm syrup with his frozen Eggo Waffles. Obviously he had standards.

In regards to my father, he ate them "regular". That is provided we assume "regular" means butter, salt, pepper.

I reference Paula Deen quite a bit...I'm sure you have not noticed...ha ha. The simple fact is that Paula Deen and the Barefoot Contessa taught me how to cook. There is an episode of Paula's home cooking where she literally lines a metal disposable pan with store bought ice cream sandwiches. C L A S S I C.

With that said, I love grits, but I didn't do them justice until I saw Paula Deen make them for her recipe Breakfast in a Cup.

Butter, heavy cream, more butter...omg, I had no idea what I was missing.

So, once I used heavy cream in grits, I could not go back, which is regrettable, because, the simple fact is that fundamentally, regular grits, indeed are a very simple, low calorie, healthy, go to, instant breakfast and perfect for me at work. Thus, it was time to improvise with the staples found in most offices. Twenty minutes at home, not an issue, twenty minutes in the office, ha! I don't even have time to boil water.

With that said, here is my on the fly recipe I affectionately call:

Grits (that would make any self respecting southerner cringe...but boy are they good!)

Ingredients

1 package Quaker Instant Grits - Butter Flavor
1/2 cup hot water (preferably from the hot water dispenser on the office coffee pot)
Salt
Pepper
and...wait for it...
1 single serving of liquid half and half (the little 1 oz containers found everywhere)

Pour water into a coffee mug with salt, pepper and package of instant grits. Stir. Once at desired consistency, add half and half.

Just trust me. Honest.

Ciao

Ref:
The infamous dialog: http://www.americanrhetoric.com/MovieSpeeches/moviespeechmycousinvinny3.html
Breakfast in a cup: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/breakfast-in-a-cup-recipe/index.html
Frozen Banana Splits: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/frozen-banana-split-recipe/index.html

Banana Breakfast Biscuits

Happy Sunday! Behold one of the saddest "food related" sights in my little world, the ripe banana. I don't know where it started, how it started, or why it started...but for years, if a banana wasn't "green" I wouldn't touch it.

Even sadder is that for several years, I really couldn't eat a whole banana...(in my little food related world). Prior to that, bananas were/are one of my favorite things because it gives me a large amount of food volume bang for my buck so to speak.

Once a week I'd buy several bananas and most of the time, I never managed to eat one until it looked like the ones below.

Uggg...

I've got bananas in my freezer, waiting for me to do something exciting. I have a twist on Paula Deen's Ultimate Coffee cake, and my frozen brown bananas are the perfect fit, but normally it's just my youngest and myself at home, so although the coffee cake is one of my favorites, I only make it 3 or 4 times a year.

Last night, while I was at the Rail Club in Fort Worth, waiting for Creeper to play, I exchanged a few texts with my cousin Gina about banana bread. The seed was planted.

Leveraging another Paula Deen favorite of mine, Sour Cream Muffins, I pulled out my Pampered Chef mini muffin pan (Thanks Vivie) and decided to experiment with self rising flour. I was very pleased with how they came out.

Robbyn's Banana Breakfast Biscuits (Banscuits)

2 cups self rising flour

2 sticks butter (completely melted)

2 very ripe bananas (smashed with a fork)

1 tsp vanilla

Pinch Cinnamon (optional)

Jelly/Jam (optional for serving)

Preheat oven to 350. Combine ingredients well. Scoop into a mini muffin tin. (I like Pampered Chef's. I christened and used the Pampered Chef small cookie scoop to make sure the dough was evenly distributed.) There is no reason to grease the tin.

Bake for 20 min.

These were awesome served with jelly

Ciao

Ref:

Paula's Sour Cream Muffins: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/sour-cream-muffins-recipe/index.html

Paula's Ultimate Coffee Cake: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/ultimate-coffee-cake-recipe/index.html (I have a twist on this I'll share soon.)



Last Minute Dinner Party on a Dime...Literally

I am very fortunate to have a wonderful circle of supportive friends. My adorable friend Sparkie turned the big 50 on Friday, so what better excuse to host a little dinner? How about no time to cook and payday isn't until next week...and next week feels far far far away. Not a worry, with an Italian Menu, it's easy peasy.  Below is the "original" menu...and as you can tell by the picture (yes...that is straight from the pantry, vanilla pudding in a cup) there were some last minute substitutions.

****************************************************

TRATTORIA CONCIATORE

Buon Compleanno Sparkie

antipasti e insalate

Appetizers & Salad

Fettunta

slices of rustic bread, toasted, rubbed with

garlic & drizzled with extra virgin olive oil

Tomatoes Caprese

heirloom tomatoes with fresh

basil & extra virgin olive oil. Drizzled

with reduced balsamic.

Insalata Mista

mixed Italian salad with extra virgin olive oil & vinegar

primi

Pasta

Fettuccine Alfredo con Pollo

egg pasta tossed with cream, Parmigiano,

chicken & garlic

pizze

Pizzas

Margherita

tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, fresh basil & olive oil

dolci

Dessert

Affogato

a scoop of vanilla gelato doused with a shot of

hot espresso & brandy

cocktail della casa

Sparkling wine based cocktail

Bellini

Asti Spumante w/peaches

 

**********************************************************************************

Step One - Plan Your Menu

Saturday was going to be an incredibly busy day...my incredibly brave son relocated back to San Francisco and his flight was leaving at 7:45 pm. Naturally, I wanted to spend my day with him, but who wants to be "alone" at 6:00 pm on a Saturday night after such an emotional day? Certainly NOT me!

As you can tell if you get a good look at the menu (intentionally written in Italian to disguise how simple it really is), I chose a slam dunk meal. My favorite go to's that I can do with my hands tied behind my back so I wouldn't be fretting all day long about if I could pull it off.

Step Two - Off to the Grocery Store

We have a great store in Frisco called Aldi. I'm confident the word Aldi means "run in, put everything you can fit into your bare hands, run out". I believe this firmly because I never had a quarter in my procession to secure a cart when I get there. Now that is a real money saver!

Fettunta = 1 loaf of white bread

Tomatoes Caprese = 1 can of Italian diced tomatoes

Insalata Mista = 1 pre-washed package romaine lettuce

Fettuccine Alfredo con Pollo = 1 box fettuccine noodles, 1 package frozen presliced chicken, heavy cream, butter

Margherita Pizze = 1 premade pizza crust, 1 tomato, 1 package presliced mozzarella cheese, 1 small can tomato sauce

Bellini = 1 package frozen peaches

Step Three - Ask a fab friend to bring the liquor and ice cream. (The ice cream didn't arrive, thus pantry pudding...but never fear, the liquor did, and honestly...no one noticed.)

Step Four - Favors. My mom trained me to never entertain without a give a way...she was the master. I needed cheap, simple and so easy a child could do it...

1 package plastic champagne flutes
1 package colored gum balls

:)

Still need recipes...really?

Okay maybe a few...

To prep the bread for the fettunta, preheat oven to 425. I sliced the sandwich bread into quarters. On a sheet pan, layer the bread and drizzel (both sides) with olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake for 10 minutes (no need to turn).

The tomatoes caprese is simple. Open can of Italian diced tomatoes, drain, pour into crystal bowl. Serve with small serving spoon and fettuna. (honest...)

I didn't end up making or serving the salad...we were just too full.

My Alfredo sauce is my fav go to. In a sauce pan on med-low heat, 1 stick butter, 1 cup heavy cream, 1 tsp minced garlic, salt, pepper, nutmeg to taste. 

Dinner cost - $24.35/7 people

Ciao! 

 

 

Disneyworld Epcot Lesson Learned Number One - Follow the Crowd

Is there anything worse than being sick on vacation? Forget the question, I was in Disneyworld, so if I had to be sick, at least I enjoyed myself.

:)

I consider myself someone who knows the Disneyland parks really well, but Disneyworld, now that is a whole other animal, and factor in Disney's Animal Kingdom...quite literally a whole new animal!

But first, let me reiterate, that I really consider myself someone who knows the Disneyland parks well...but I knew nothing about Disneyword. Nothing. I did have a friend who just went to Disneyworld so I got a few quick tips, which was helpful, but aside from that, I never really had a Disneyworld connection. Much of my opinion and thoughts about Disneyworld were formed based on my own assumptions, and the quickest way to learn is from mistakes, so let's get right to it. Let's get the mistake I made on the table, and then I'll give you my road map to the Magic Kingdom. I don't make mistakes often, much less, admit them...so it's a banner day.

Aly and I stayed with  my best friend in a timeshare with her husband and two grandchildren. It was really an ideal location, and the ideal situation. Aly and I had our own room, our own bathroom, TV, access to inside laundry, a full kitchen, dining room, living room and quite honestly, completely our own schedule and "to do" list. The Disneyworld campus has four parks and I knew which one was going to be the first we'd explore...Epcot. I had not one doubt.

Aly and I were first in line for the hotel bus to the park. It was a beautiful ride...blah blah blah, but let's get to the heart of it. The entire ride, Aly and I spoke of how remarkable it is to know nothing. To have every step be the first time. We will filled with anticipation.

Okay...if you've ever been to Epcot stop giggling now. I'm no longer speaking to you because you didn't share with me what I'm about to share with anyone who cares to read this blog.

;)

So there we are. Going through the ticket line wearing our "first visit" buttons, big smiles, tickets in hand. First, our finger print is associated with our tickets (I was in Disneyland this time last year, that was new) and we're through the gates. We have our map. I told Aly that I wanted to see the "lands" first because it would be completely unfamiliar. I had dreamed about the Epcot "lands" for years. Imagined everything.

It's official. We're in the park and we head to the left to the lands aka the World Showcase. And it's like the parting of the red sea, because everyone else...well they are going the other way, to Future World. Silly fools. Don't they know Future World is really Disneyland's Tomorrowland? Armatures. Complete, total armatures.

And we walk, and walk, and walk...and no one, no one is behind us. Ummmm...yes, NO ONE is behind us. Anyone see a problem here? Anyone?

I should also add, that if you are going to Disneyworld for the first time and you've been to Disneyland, make sure you read my blog, recommend my blog, share my blog, memorize my blog or call, email, whatever.

And we're still walking.

Finally, we are there! Mexico. Ahh Mexico. The park opened at 9:00 am, and it's now 9:30. Ummm, everything in Mexico is closed. That's alright, it's okay, Mexico looks "tiny" anyway.

Off to Norway!

Norway...yahoo. I'm finally reading the map guide now.

We go back back back - way back - into a corner for the ride Malestrom, which has a FP logo by the name so we're on track. It's only 9:30, and no one is behind us. No one is around us. Hey, is the park "really" open?

Stupid question?

Ahhhh...not as stupid as you'd assume. That is actually a very valid question. So here it is, mistake number one.

The "lands", the World Show Case, doesn't "open" until 11 am, even though the park opens at 9 am. What does that mean? Well it means the attractions, the shops, the food, the drinks...all of it is closed until 11 am, but you "can" walk around and scope the place out.

Lesson learned - if the crowd goes one way, don't assume they are all stupid, especially if you've never been there before. The crowd knows what they are doing, most of them probably have been in the Magic Kingdom at least one day more than I had been at that point.

;)
Well at least it's only 9:45. OMG, 9:45 am, in Disneyland this would be a certifiable disaster...but this isn't Disneyland, it's Disneyworld, and it's Epcot...all bets are off.

Thankfully Aly and I still had plenty of time. Here's how the rest of the day mapped out. One thing about being a Disneyland pro, I didn't get that self proclaimed title for nothing, I'm a fast learner and I learned fast, and the secret to learning fast is the code FP, which stands for Fast Pass.

Lesson number two - FP stands for Fast Pass, in other words, the most popular attractions (respectively - sometimes Disney gets it wrong) but let's assume, they are right. When you enter a new park for the first time, study the map for a moment and head to the area to the park with the most FP codes first. If you enter the park early, you should be able to knock out some of the biggest rides relatively fast, and if the lines are already out of control, you can Fast Pass them.

What is a Fast Pass you may ask? It's only the most amazing idea a theme park has ever deployed and it's FREE...yes, free.

And the best part? Well it still seems to be a well kept secret somehow. First of all, Fast Passes are valuable for anyone as long as you have your ticket stub. You insert your ticket stub into a machine, and the machine spits out a ticket telling you a one hour window where you'll be able to return to the line for the ride and ride at a greatly reduced wait time. Which is usually under 20 minutes.

Use the ability to get a Fast Pass wisely. The good news is that you can have more than one Fast Passes per ticket at a time, but you have to watch the time stamp of when you can insert your ticket for another pass.

Assume you'll be able to maneuver 2 or 3 in a day about 3 hours apart from each other.

What if you want more? Well we're jumping ahead here, but if you really want more...see a Disney Vacation (Timeshare) rep. If you agree to listen to the presentation, they will give you a 72 hour fast pass pass worth 3 additional fast passes per pass and that is lesson number three.

Coming soon - Four Parks - Six Days - Aaaaccchhhhooooooo Summer Cold

Disney Magic - It's a small world filled with Etouffee AND Gorillas

Home sweet home. After ten days of eating (not so much drinking...after all, I was on a road trip to Disneyworld) my scale welcomed me...heavier than the lowest weight I had seen on the scale. Ut oh...that's okay, my lifestyle change (of 5.5 years - 150 lbs respectively) continues on...at this very moment. I "almost" said tomorrow, but I've learned on my journey, that it's never really about waiting until tomorrow, it's just immediately reflecting and continuing on.

With that said, I did experience some exceptionally amazing food, and over the next few posts, I'll share everything I can remember, including recipes.

True confession - I'm a Disney N U T. I feel as if I know the Disneyland Park and California Adventure (note I'm calling it California Adventure because I have a dear friend who hates it when I call it Disneyland California) but...I still call it Disneyland California when she isn't within an earshot. Because she might read the blog, I have to behave though.

So, a true Disney nut, that is me. I'm sure if you looked up the word Disney N U T in the dictionary (provided you can find it) there will be a picture of me with my children.

Disney nut that I am, I feel I can give anyone tips on Disneyland. Where to go, what to eat, what to do first...with that said, here is my number one Disneyland tip.

Do you know that you can get into Disneyland free?

FREE! Yes free, and you don't have to watch or listen to a timeshare lecture. But there is a catch. It's a 60 minute park entry, so you have to be careful with your time. It's called a "shopping pass" and if you leave your drivers license and your credit card info at the front gate, you can enter the park to "shop", if you're gone more than 60 minutes you'll be charged for entry into the park.

I have used this to expose my friends to Disneyland when they are not sure they are ready as an adult to do the Disney thing. Warning, the last person who I exposed the shopping pass to loved the park so much, she not only went back in (without me - hey...how fair is that) she invited me on her Disneyworld vacation...and shhhh, here's another secret, she had such a great time, she's planning another trip...without her grandchildren so her and her husband can really enjoy themselves.

Awe...it's official, I've turned her into a Disney nut.

Regarding the photo..."yes...I AM wearing a sweatshirt, in Orlando Florida, in July". I was freezing. In fact, I caught a summer cold and I was sick the first 9 days of my 10 day vacation...okay, that's an exaggeration, I was sick five of the six days I entered the park.

Awe...

But thankfully (back to the sweatshirt) one of the stops we made before hitting the park was a Harley dealership in Gainsville Florida. Huh? Yea...my boyfriend (who house sat for me) is as into Harley as I am into Disney, so we made a few stops at dealerships along the way so I could get him a couple little things he'd actually wear. Fortunately, I found this lovely sweatshirt on sale (he'll appreciate that) and I wore it so often I finally felt compelled to tell him because I was worried it wasn't going to appear "new".

:)

An unexpected treat of the trip was finding out just how small the world is. On the way, we stopped at Darwell's Cafe, 127 East First Street, Long Beach, Mississippi 39560. Darwell's Cafe was featured on the Foodnetwork show, Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives. How cool is it that I found a clip? Got to love YouTube! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzGryWsCVLg

My daughter, 15, got the Etouffee. She love love loved it. I had one of the best burgers I've ever had. It was amazing, and after waiting quite a while before having a burger again, I'm so glad I did in his restaurant.

Just as you can see from the photo, Darwell is charismatic and engaging and loves what he does. It's a joy not just eating at Darwell's, but being able to speak with him really makes the experience.

Back quickly to "the small world"...while speaking with Darwell, I mentioned there was a restaurant also featured on DD&D from my home town, Pacifica (a couple of miles from San Francisco). Turns out, Darwell was familiar with the restaurant, Gorilla BBQ, and in fact, he has met Gorilla personally.

More about Gorilla BBQ: http://www.foodnetwork.com/diners-drive-ins-and-dives/smokin-bbq/index.html, http://www.gorillabbq.com/

It really is a small world.

Need a spicy end to your weekend...Louisiana Bloody Mary!

I'm back! Did y'all miss me? I should warn y'all that I do tend to pop up, blog a bit, then fiddle off and focus on something else, and then come back. Nasty habit. It seems to be my online life. I seem to go through spurts of Facebook attentiveness, followed by internal group Facebook attentiveness, followed by attentiveness to my personal email, followed by attentiveness to the blog, followed by attentiveness to my bedroom closet and sock drawer...  ;)


Not all in the same day...

Obviously.

I have not forgotten about the cookie challenge I gave to myself just over a month ago. My official cookie taster is on a little mini vacation so that will pick up again when she comes home. My other cookie taster seems to like Snickers Bars a lot...so I'm working up something along that line. That might take a bit. A long bit.

A very long bit.

I just returned from Shreveport Louisiana and I was so excited about the trip. I was really looking forward to being inspired by the food and the different tastes (different to me that is, I moved to Texas after spending my entire life in San Francisco less than three years ago). I had big plans, for food...I researched and researched and researched...really thought about what I'd do if this or that was on a menu...and then I went to the Dr. last week and he said those words that every bariatric patient loves to hear. "Liquids for seven days."

"Excuse me?"

"Full liquids for seven days."

Ummm, and it was Tuesday. Heavy sigh.

Okay then, plan "b". Protein drinks in an ice chest...yeah me! Yahoo.

It wasn't that bad.

No really, well I'm only on day five, but it could have been worse.

So off my boyfriend and I go to Louisiana early Saturday morning. He'll tell you I was running "late", but ignore him. We were on the road by 9:00 am. I drank my first protein drink of the day in a Loves gas station parking lot just past Canton by 10 am, so we made good time, despite me feeling the need to put on "my face" prior to a three hour ride on a black cherry Harley (named Cheri)...with blue...nah, I'll save that story for later.

Because we arrived in Shreveport several HOURS before we could check into the hotel (see I didn't make us "late"), we ate lunch at a Harley dealership in Bossier City. Eh...well he ate lunch. I envied his hot dog (I love hot dogs) and I drank a protein shake. Little piece of trivia, in case you've never had a bbq hot dog/hamburger in a Harley dealership parking lot. They serve beer. Now, square that I am, this totally shocked me. I was told it was common and that was that. Neither of us had beer...too hot, plus the bubbles make my stomach full. I was very thankful he ate the hot dog before the hamburger, because as I mentioned I was on my fourth day of liquids only and I love hot dogs. I then was tortured by a six-year-old eating a hot dog as slowly as she possibly could. I believe she even got in trouble for playing with it. I knew I had been on liquids far too long when my only thought was offering to help her eat her hot dog when no one was looking.

I survived hot dog gate without a bite and we drove a few miles to the hotel. Which was really quite lovely. So to recap, I've been up since 7 am drawing a perfect face on my face, spent just over three solid hours of riding on the back of a motorcycle (we stopped every 60 to 90 miles so the ride itself wasn't bad), and it was H O T. Did I mention it was hot? And I was wearing a helmet (because Louisiana has a helmet law). I think my brains are still cooking even though I've since taken off the helmet. So the first thing I want to do when we get there was nothing. I was tired and a whole host of other things related to being mandated on liquids for four days.

By the time 5 pm rolled around, the band (Creeper) was there checking into their rooms and the hotel bar had just opened, so I went down for a cocktail with two of my favorite people, Mina and Carrie.

I should offer in advance that I've returned my second camera in a few weeks, so there are no photos of us having cocktails, but we had so much fun!

Mina and Carrie ordered Bloody Marys (and I ordered a Manhattan). I tried to keep my face grimicing down to a minimum because the idea of vodka and tomato juice just never "struck" me as something I'd be interested in.

I did watch the bartender, because I am currious at this point. I don't think I've ever been in a room, much less inches from someone who was drinking a Bloody Mary. The bartender did not use what I would have considered a traditional glass, it was more of a round, tall margarita glass with a stem, something that could hold eight plus ounces. She used a lime to prep the rim of the glass for salt and poured ice into the glass. As she was mixing the drink she asked if they wanted Worchestershire sauce and both practically jumped off their bar chairs and onto the bar with excitement as they both said "Yes!"

Then they told me that Worchestershire isn't used in a Texas Bloody Mary...okay, so now I'm really currious so I HAD to ask for a sip...okay I had a few (thanks Mina). Technically it was a liquid vegetable and I really, really really had been lacking in the vegetable department for the past few days.

;)

Mina and Carrie also spoke of their use of celery salt, so I had to throw that in as well.

In honor of Mina and Carrie, I had to post my conception of the Louisiana Bloody Mary.

Louisiana Bloody Mary


Makes 2

Ingredients

3 oz quality vodka

6 oz tomato juice

The juice from two fresh lemons

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Dash freshly ground black pepper

Dash freshly ground white pepper

Dash kosher salt

1 tsp dijon mustard

1/2 tsp celery salt

Tabasco sauce to taste

Louisiana hot sauce to taste (optional...makes it spicy)

1 lime wedge (to adhere salt mixture to rim of glass - lemon works too)

1 tbsp horseradish (optional...makes it spicy)


And for an extra special kick of flavor, 1 tbsp A-1 Steak sauce (my kids fav, so it's always in my pantry...works rather nicely. Hey...I have to sample what I blog about!)

Celery stalk for garnish

Kosher Salt and Celery Salt mixed for rim of glass. 3/4 Kosher salt to 1/4 celery salt.

Prep glass with lime wedge and salt mixture. Add ice to brim. In a pichter mix ingredients and serve in glass. Garnish with celery stalk.

Want more variations?

Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloody_Mary_(cocktail)

My Favorite Restaurant in the World is in Atlanta, Georgia and it's called...

Confession...

In 2007, just as I was "thinking" about starting my weight loss journey, I traveled to Atlanta, Georgia on business. When I arrived, I was informed that I was going to be a dinner guest at a restaurant named "10 Degrees South."

I nodded...and didn't think that much of the name. Not that I didn't like the name, I didn't think about what type of food it would be and then my host volunteered. "You'll love it, it's South African Food."

I think at that moment you could have heard a pin drop.

I was...am...one of the most finicky eaters in the world. I'm getting a little better in my old age, I mean I'll no longer cry if someone accidentally puts mayo on my burger, but I still want nothing on a deli sandwich except mustard...and meat...and cheese. Mustard first though, that's the most important ingredient. Same with hot dogs. No mustard, I'm not eating it.

(And I love hot dogs.)

My boyfriend is on a Harley two week road trip that will take him from Dallas to Laconia, New Hampshire and back in 14 days (respectively). Tonight I got a phone call from Georgia and I immediately remembered that eating at 10 Degrees South, was literally the most magical food experience I've ever had in my entire life.

I remember they'd pair beef with cherry sauce, and lamb with apricot...I love love love meat, so I fell in love with the restaurant. Sadly, I've only been there once, but...I found out they sell one of their sauces, so I intend to buy it, and I'll try to replicate one of their dishes...(wish me luck).

I haven't forgotten about the cookie challenge. More recipes and the photos of the Peanut Butter Bon Bons are coming.

Really, I promise.

:)

Ref: http://www.10degreessouth.com/index.aspx

Party Like a Rock Star with Pulled Pork Nachos

About a month ago, I challenged myself to come up with a menu for my boyfriends birthday based on Creeper's heavy metal album, "Welcome to Room Number 9".

The good news is that I finally purchased a new camera. The bad news is that the food was such a hit, it went fast, so I wasn't able to get photos prior to serving...lol.

:)

Menu

Timmy - BBQ Pulled Pork Nachos * The Magic - Deep Dish Antipasto Pizza

Push It - Mini Cheese Cakes

Pulled Pork Nachos

Ingredients:

1 bottle Merlot

1 Pork Tenderloin

1/2 cup BBQ sauce
Tortilla chips
2 cups shredded Mexican style cheddar and jack cheese

2 oz Chipotle Mayonnaise

3 Tbsp Sour Cream
2 tsp Sweet Relish

1 can Green Chilies

The night before.

Sear tenderloin in fly pan along sides to brown. Placed seared tenderloin in a crock pot and fully cover with a bottle of Merlot wine. Place on warm and let set until ready to serve.

The next day.

Just prior to serving, remove tenderloin from crock pot and using two forks "pull" pork meat so it has a shredded texture. Place in sauce pan on low heat with BBQ sauce. Set aside.

Preheat over to 500 degrees. Layer a deep dish aluminum pan with a single layer of tortilla chips. Cover with shredded cheese. Top with another layer of chips, and repeat at least 3 layers. Set some of cheese aside to cover once pork is added. Place chips and cheese in oven for a few minutes, only long enough to melt cheese. Remove from oven and cover chips and cheese with pulled pork tenderloin and place back in oven until the cheese has melted. Add chipotle mayonnaise and sour cream to a zip lock bag. Snip end with scissors and draw mixture in a thin line on top. Top with green chilies and sweet relish.

Having a fabulous Sous Chef always helps. Thanks Sparkie.

Deep Dish Antipasto Pizza

This is a recipe

http://www.pamperedchef.com/our_products/recipesearch/recipedetail.jsp?recipeId=9576

Mini Cheese Cakes

Ingredients:

3 8 oz packages cream cheese

1 cup sugar

5 eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla

Topping

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup sour cream

1/2 tsp vanilla

Mix until smooth. Line a cupcake pan with metal cup cake tins. Bake at 300 degrees for 30 minutes. Do not brown. Once complete, mixed 1/4 cup sugar, 1 cup sour cream and 1/2 tsp vanilla. Dab 1 tbsp of sour cream mixture on each cake and bake an additional 5 minutes. Refrigerate until ready to serve (or freeze).

This was my mother's recipes, and pulling out her personal, cookie bake, recipes lead me to my quest to make each of her cookie recipes (133) over the course of this year. I vowed to myself I wasn't going to change the integrity of her recipes, but I did decide to add 1 tsp of cherry pie filling just prior to serving as a variation. Typically my mom would use fresh strawberries.

I am so thankful I had not one but two Sous Chef's. My friend Shannon came over the night before the party and we made the cheese cakes and toffee (which I decided not to serve) and my friend Tal assisted with the pizza and nachos at the party.

Link to digital download:
http://www.amazon.com/Welcome-To-Room-9-Explicit/dp/B007FH3F94

Metal music was relatively new to me...but I was a big 80's hair band fan and I must confess...I love love love Creeper, the album and the amazing friends I have because of metal.

:)

I'm ready to make my grocery list and plan for the first few cookie (I use the term loosley) recipes

One of the secrets to baking and cooking is to have a plan and the ingredients at your finger tips. I decided that as I venture out to the grocery store today for the ingredients for the Peanut Butter Bon Bons, I should have the ingredients for the next few recipes I'm planning on making on hand.

Day 1 - Sunday (Today)
Peanut Butter Bon Bons (recipe was posted yesterday)

Day 2 - Monday
English Toffee

Day 3 - Wednesday
Lil Butter Cookies

Day 4 - Friday
Mini Cheese Cakes

Grocery List

9 sticks butter
7 eggs
6 Hershey bars
4 cups flour
4 cups sugar
3 8 oz Cream Cheese
2 cups graham cookie crumbs
2 tsp vanilla
2 cans frosting (1 vanilla, 1 of any choice - I'm thinking chocolate)
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup sour cream
25 foil cupcake cups 

1 large package chopped walnuts

lemon

concentrated lemon juice

salt

Okay...I now have no excuses. While I'm at it, I'm going to pick up the ingredients I need for Paula Deen's Sour Cream Muffins. It's a fabulous muffin that I make often. That adds 2 additional sticks of butter to my grocery list, 1/2 pint of sour cream and 2 cups SELF rising flour.

Peanut Butter Bon Bons - Cookie Recipe #1

First thing tomorrow morning, Alyson and I will begin production of cookie recipe #1, Peanut Butter Bon Bons.

Warning - since these recipes are from my Mother's collection, I'm not making any changes, even when mincemeat is required (bleck).

Peanut Butter Bon Bons

Ingredients:

1 can ready to spread vanilla frosting

1 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup butter or margarine softened

2 cups graham cookie crumbs

1 can any flavor ready to spread frosting

Combine vanilla frosting, peanut butter and margarine until well blended, stir in crumbs until mixed, form into balls and chill one hour.

Melt remaining frosting over low heat stirring occasionally. Dip balls into frosting, allow excess to drip on racks over waxed paper, let stand about six hours at room temperature.

Makes 48 to 52.

--------

Pretty obvious why Aly and I decided this recipe MUST be done first. Easy, yet scary. Kind of like a traffic accident, "can vanilla frosting", "any flavor can frosting"...this is a I can't look away from recipe. I've never seen anything like this. Got to love the 1970's.

:)

133 Days of Cookies (Respectively)

My mother was a fabulous baker. My cousin Gina can both bake and cook. I think people who can do one of the two is amazingly talented, but people can do both, just take my breath away, so just like in the that movie, where the writer (yea...I've got several hundred pages of fiction stuffed in a drawer) aspires to make every recipe from that famous cookbook.

I can be more specific...but I know everyone already knows what I'm talking about.

Anywho...I believe someone can do anything if they try, over and over and over and over. I'm that way with everything, kind of like a bull in a China shop. I will succeed over my own dead body. And yes, one day I'll get going my novel again. A quick side note, in 1993, it was read by an editor who thought it could fly as juvenile fiction. Well I was insulted. I felt I had been completely misunderstood. Today I look back and think...umm Harry Potter, Twilight...uggg, I missed my window.

Enough of that.

:)

Back to cookies. The number 133 (1133, 33) is my lucky number. Since 1988 that number has given me strength and courage, and persistence and the feeling that I'm not as alone as I feel sometimes. One of the treasures I have from my mother is her personal cookbook of cookies from her Cookie Bake parties when I was a child. I pulled the recipes down a moment ago because I'm going to make her mini cheesecakes next Saturday for my boyfriend's birthday and I thought, I really should bake more. I wonder how many recipes there are in this book...

Guess how many there were...133.

Okay, so now I know I MUST do this. I'd love to do a recipe a day, but sadly enough, my daughter and I are wimps when it comes to food volume. Last Thursday we went to an Italian Restaurant (shhh...don't tell anyone, it's all stuff I can make with my hands tied behind my back at home, but I wanted to be catered to) and I ordered an appetizer, and soup. She ordered soup and a main course. Three bites into the appetizer and soup both our of our eyes were rolling back to our head from being full. She ran to catch the waiter and cancelled the entree.

We're total wimps...ohhh and we still took food home.

So if I make a batch of cookies a day, even if I only make a dozen, that is 10 that will be put into a jar or the freezer. So at the end of the week, that is 70 cookies in a jar or the freezer...931 cookies after 133 days. My freezer won't be able to take it. I have a refrigerator with french doors and two pullouts for the freezer...no bueno. I don't have room for anything in there.

So ship my cookies off with my kiddos...well my older 2 don't eat nuts, so that won't work. My boyfriend's daughter is a baker...(let's get it straight, he's a biker, she's a baker - we spent several minutes last week specifically talking about cake balls) and a good one, so he's surrounded by treats all of the time, and for the most part, doesn't eat them when he's here. Now if I didn't have bananas and yogurt...that would be another story...

I'm not sure how I'm going to make it work, but I'm going to try for 2 to 3 recipes a week. That should take me the calendar year. Wish me luck.

:)



Finally...I've made Quesadillas without using the Microwave!

Sigh, I must confess, when my parents purchased a microwave, I started making Quesadillas. Ummmm or so I thought.

Less than 30 years later (I'm sure it was less than 30 years, 25 years...well...who knows) I was watching my cousin Gina in my kitchen making Quesadillas for her daughter. And she didn't hit the power button on the microwave once.

I noticed she used 6 qt, stainless steel pot. Very smart.

I didn't think about it again, I'm sure my daughter still made Quesadillas the way I taught her, in the microwave...but I made a mental note that if "I" was making Quesadillas, I'd make them Gina's way.

Flash forward 20 months later...yea, I mentioned I don't "cook" often...to continue, flash forward 20 months later and a coworker, Chris, casually mentioned he made Quesadillas.

I went flying down the hall to his desk and said, did you use a 6 qt sauce pan?

"I used a griddle." he replied.

"Ohhh a griddle." I said. "How?"

He gave me some brief instruction and I merged the two ideas together in my head. I made a mental note that "when" I was going to make Quesadillas again, I would not use the microwave.

As it turns out, my youngest daughter committed to making Quesadillas for a school project. Nice timing huh?

You should have seen the look on her face when I informed her we were NOT going to use the microwave. I thought she was going to fall over.

Today we went out for the ingredients: 8 inch flour tortillas, shredded Mexican style cheese, sour cream, salsa and...wait for it...butter.

Now, everyone who still uses the microwave is confused...(I know for a fact I wasn't the only one)..."butter". Yes butter.

Step 1, butter the tortillas on one side
Step 2, put a small amount of butter in the pot, set burner to high
Step 3, after the pot has a moment to preheat and the butter is bubbling, place the first tortilla, butter side down in the pot. Cover with 1/4 cup of shredded Mexican style cheese. (You can never use too much cheese, so if you use more, no worries).
Step 4, place last tortilla, butter side up on top of the cheese
Step 5, after several moments, use a spatula to check if the tortilla on the bottom is browned, if it is, it's time to flip
Step 6, once both sides have browned cut into 8 pieces and garnish with sour cream and salsa if desired

This was so quick, easy, tasty and CHEAP (my favorite), I know it will be a go to dish I'll make often. A picture will follow soon, my camera is broken so I have to use my cell.

Mother's Day Menu - The Happiest of Days

A happy happy happy belated Mother's Day to all of the Mother's out there. Yesterday was quite honestly, the happiest Mother's Day I can remember, plus it was all about "me". When I was a new mom, since I was a single mom much of my children's lives, Mother's Day focused on my own mother, who was such a critical part of my life and support system. She enabled me to have it all because she helped me so much raising my three children (21, 20, 15), I was able to still have a very successful career. On July 7, 2008, my mother passed away, my life changed on a dime, and the next several years focused on my grief from not having a living mother and how much I missed her.

Yesterday, about 6 pm, I thought about my mom, and when I did, I had the distinct memory that I was moving forward with my grief and I almost woke up this morning feeling "guilty" for not thinking more about her yesterday, so I opened Facebook and did an appropriate tribute.

It was literally the first time in my memory that I felt like a matriarch of my family.

Since it was my day, things went my way...which meant I cooked breakfast. I love love love to cook, but I don't do it as often as I'd like, so I took the opportunity.

Mother's Day Menu

 

Munka - A Swedish Pancake

(also known as Æbleskiver)

 

Apple Syrup

 

Maple Coffee

---------------------------------------

Munka
Ingredients:
2 c. buttermilk
3 eggs separated
2 c. flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tsp. Baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
Granulated sugar for rolling

Beat egg yolks and stir in buttermilk.  Sift dry ingredients together and stir in buttermilk and egg yolk mixture.  Fold in stiffly beaten egg whites.

Heat the munka pan on the stovetop at medium heat with butter or shortening in each slot (you can also use applesauce). My munka is cast iron, it belonged to my mother. I use a toothpick to turn the munka which will bubble like a pancake will when it's time to turn.

Roll in granular sugar prior to serving. You can also use a ligonberry jam, powdered sugar...anything in your imagination you would typically put on a pancake. I use granulated sugar, because it's a tradition.


Apple Syrup
Ingredients:
1 can Apple Pie Filling
1/2 cup Maple Syrup

An apple flavored munka is not uncommon, thus why I will occasionally use applesauce in the slots, however, I wanted to make it the traditional meal my mom did, thus I used butter. To compensate, because my boyfriend loves apple pie, and it's the easiest thing in the world (to me) to make a flavored syrup, I used a can of apple pie filling. I love to make flavored syrup because it's basically open a can of fresh fruit and add maple syrup, and as Will Farrell said in the movie "Elf", maple syrup was one of the primary food groups, or something like that. I don't feel like looking up the quote, or the spelling of Farrell. You can also use jam. If you use jam I try to make it equal parts syrup to jam. Heat on stove top at medium heat until combined and warm. Serve warm.


Bacon

Bacon is the that in my opinion gives me the most bang for my buck so to speak. I've been dieting "years", in fact, as of today, it's official, I'm 127.2 lbs down (yip yip yip yahoo) and bacon is a food that for the amount of calories it packs, brings a punch of flavor. About 50 to 75 calories a slice, the key is to keep it at 2 slices...I have nothing less to say about that.

Sometimes I'll do bacon in the oven, 425 - 20 minutes on a cookie cooker that is sitting on top of a cookie sheet, but I'll also do bacon in my dutch oven on the stove top. Depends on how crispy I want it. If I start with frozen bacon, I'll use the dutch oven. Using the dutch oven makes the color crispy and black, but sometimes you are just in the mood for lightly burnt bacon.


Maple Coffee
Ingredients:
1 part Half and Half
1 part Maple Syrup
2 parts Coffee

It's magical...trust me, it's my Christmas go to and I was out of coffee creamer at home. Please don't listen to my boyfriend who said he'd wait until next Christmas to try it...

:)

Cook on the stove top, at low to medium heat. Top with whipped cream if you wish. This dish translates beautiful to a very low cal treat, use fat free milk, or fat free half and half with sugar free maple syrup!