I Miss You Already, Carol Brady

Here’s how my stream of consciousness mind works:

Oh no, Florence Henderson died.  Sad!  Carol Brady.  Love the Brady’s!  Except Jan…blah.  Wait, so that means Carol Brady is dead too then.  But now she can be with Mike…that’s good.   Wait, is Shirley Partridge still alive?  Did she end up marrying Reuben Kincaid?  Is Keith still wearing his puka shell necklace?  Carol Martin Brady…Martin right?  How would Carol Brady even die, because that would be weird.  

And on and on it goes and then I start thinking: 

• ·        The Hawaiian tiki taboo idol got her
• ·         Maybe it was food poisoning from the porkchops and applesauce
•       She caught Mike with Bibi Galini
• ·        Too many stairs up to Greg’s bedroom in the attic
• ·        She had heart failure when she found out Peter played ball in the house
• ·        She was beside herself because she thought creepy cousin Oliver was never going  home
• ·        She wore herself out running around Kings Island looking for Mike’s plans that Jan left  in the log ride
• ·        Died of embarrassment having to tell the PTA that it was Greg who kidnapped  Coolidge High’s mascot, Raquel the Goat
• ·        She walked in on Alice and Sam the Butcher having sex

However it would have happened, it's sad.  

Isn't it weird that Carol and Shirley Partridge didn't even know each other?  I mean, they kinda live close and both their kids are in bands--the Partridge's and the Silver Platters must have crossed paths.  If they did they coulda  just asked Reuben to introduce Marcia to Davey Jones instead of trying to sneak into his hotel room.  I'm telling you, these are just some of the many things I wonder...  

Thanksgiving Night Turkey Sandwich

By the time I sit down to eat Thanksgiving dinner, I'm almost sick of the food.  I've been cooking (and tasting) it for 2 days, and I hardly put anything on my plate.  So by 9:30 at night, I'M STARVING.  In the sea of tinfoil and Tupperware that house the leftovers in my refrigerator, I find the turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce and make myself a sandwich.  And I make one again the next night, and the next.   

It's lots of mayonnaise on toasted Italian white bread, kosher salt and cracked pepper sprinkled over the turkey, and I eat it cold.  Yep, even the stuffing...cold.  And it's soooo good :) 

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(WHAT YOU WILL NEED)

leftover:
turkey
stuffing
cranberry sauce

Italian white bread (I use Arnold)
mayonnaise
salt/pepper

Toast Bread.  Spread mayonnaise liberally on one side of each piece.  Add turkey, sprinkle with salt and pepper, then stuffing, then cranberry sauce.  Top with 2nd piece of toast, mayonnaise side down.

Heat up your other side dishes to go with it, like this:

with sweet potatoes

Open-Face Wedge Salad

Wedge salad.  Classic and timeless, and always spot-on.

It’s the steakhouse equivalent of a Brooks Brothers blue blazer, white on white Tretorns, and tortoise shell frames.  Except instead of serving it as a triangle of lettuce, I’ve fanned out the wedge for more surface area, so that all the goodness gets in between the leaves.  NOW, it’s a timeless classic with a  twist.  It just keeps getting better :)

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(WHAT YOU'LL NEED)

Depending on how big your head of lettuce is:  this serves 2, or 4 as a small salad

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved lengthwise

1 head iceberg lettuce, washed and outer leaves/core removed -- chilled until ready to use

balsamic glaze

1 pound bacon, cooked and chopped into bite-sized pieces

blue cheese crumbles

blue cheese dressing (I use Marie's)

cracked pepper (optional)

NOTE: In the picture above, this is served alongside slices from a bone-in ribeye, but any grilled meat would be delicious

Cut lettuce into 2 or 4 portions.  Open and fan leaves a bit so that when you add the toppings, they fall in between.  Spoon blue cheese dressing over lettuce.  Then sprinkle with blue cheese crumbles, then tomatoes, then bacon.  Drizzle balsamic glaze lightly over all. Finish with cracked pepper.

Serve--

Ice Cream Sundaes

When I was little and my aunt Alida would babysit me, we would stay up late on summer nights and watch tv in our pajamas.  Shortly before 11:00, we would make our snack—a big bowl of vanilla ice cream  with scoops of creamy peanut butter, slices of banana, and chocolate sauce—and we’d get ready to watch reruns of “Soap”.

These were the best of times…sitting on the couch in the den late at night, freshly showered with wet hair that smelled like strawberry Suave, eating my sundae and laughing at the Tate’s and the Campbell’s and the ridiculous twists and turns of their lives in 1970’s Connecticut.

I’ve made that sundae here for you (I now add dry roasted peanuts), as well as 2 others that are favorites of mine.  On National Sundae Day tomorrow, make one—or all—of them, as well as some fun and long lasting memories of your own.  

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(WHAT YOU WILL NEED)

In all of these sundaes, I use Breyers French Vanilla


sundae #1:
vanilla ice cream, creamy peanut butter, dry roasted peanuts, sliced banana, drizzled with chocolate fudge sauce

sundae #2:
vanilla ice cream with a pinch of course-ground black pepper sprinkled on top, and drizzled with your favorite Scotch (I used 10-year Glenmorangie, but I've also used Dewars...still good!)

sundae #3: (shown at top)
vanilla ice cream, assorted berries (I used blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries), drizzled with Crown Royal

#NationalSundaeDay
#FunMemories