The Big Cookie

You'll love this cookie, it's so easy!  Only 4 ingredients, and it's perfect for a crowd.  It's both sweet from the orange marmalade and piquant/tart from the apricot preserves...perfect for after dinner with espresso, for breakfast or an afternoon snack with iced coffee, or as I like it best--with a cordial of amaretto. 

You can certainly make individual cookies, but I like to serve it family style...one big cookie...and everyone breaks off a piece of their own.  My good friend Christine Green loves it, it's my son's favorite, and I hope it will be yours.  Change the nuts or drizzle melted chocolate over the top, it's up to you.  If you expand on this recipe let me know what delicious concoction you've come up with...I'm always interested in new and better things :)

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YOU WILL NEED TO BUY:
1 roll sugar cookie dough
1 jar sweet orange marmalade
1 jar apricot preserves
1  2.5 oz bag sliced almonds

Place nuts in sautee pan, and toast over med heat--shaking pan--until the nuts are golden brown. You'll be able to smell their toasty goodness--that's when they are almost done.  Don't take your eyes off them, they go QUICK and will burn if you're not careful.  When they are ready, remove from heat and place in bowl to cool. Set aside until needed. 

toasted nuts

Unwrap cookie dough and with your hands, make into free-form circle/rectangle on your cookie sheet.  Sorry to say, I have no measurement for you--not too thick or it will be raw, not too thin or it will be burnt.  You'll know...
Cook according to package directions.

free-formed cookie dough

When cookie is done, take put of oven and cool slightly.  Remove to platter that you will serve it on.

baked cookie, out of the oven

Spread approx. 3-4 tablespoons of orange marmalade on cookie.

Then, spread approx. 3-4 tablespoons of apricot preserves on top of that.

both orange marmalade and apricot preserves

When nuts are cool and you can handle them easily, sprinkle all over cookie.  Bring to table whole on the platter, and invite your guests to break off their own piece(s).

This can be made a few hours ahead, covered, and served after dinner when ready.  However, keep in mind that the longer it sits covered, the softer it will be.  If it sits too long (2 days maybe), it will still be delicious, but almost soggy and hard to pick up.  Your call.

mmmmmmmm...

Happy Halloween

Halloween 1974

HAPPY HALLOWEEN !!
I've had a lot of favorite costumes over the years...this isn't one of them... lol.  It was back in the day of homemade costumes (1974) AND my mom put clown makeup all over my face that I was allergic to.  Itchy and with hives on my face, and only one Benadryl away from the emergency room, my friends! Thanks, Gigga...good times!!

BUT...

Here ARE My Top 5 Favorite Halloween Costumes: (drum roll please...)

5. Sexy Witch 2008
4. Maryanne from Gilligan's Island 1992
3. French Maid (no surprise, also my boyfriend's favorite) 1993
2. Dallas Cowboy's Cheerleader 1980
1. PINKY TUSCADERO 1979

 

Wishing you a safe and happy (antihistamine-free) Halloween,

XOXOXO

 

Christine

 

 

Meatloaf

On the first Monday of every month, my third grade teacher would pass out the Scholastic Book order form.    I LOVED IT!  I would wait until I got home, lay it out on my bed, and pour over it—every book and every word—4 pages, and when I was finished I’d do it again, saying to myself I want this and I want that…but we didn’t have a lot of money and I hardly ever ordered.    BUT, one Monday, there was a cookbook in there and I decided then and there I HAD to have it.  So I asked my mom for $1.96, she gave it with weirdly no questions asked, I filled out the order form, and turned it in on Wednesday morning.  Two weeks later it arrived! It was like Christmas!!  I put it in my bookbag and as soon as I got home I opened it up, started at page 1, and read it like a novel.  I was hooked.

My Scholastic Book

The next day I told my mom I wanted to make dinner.  She was all like “whaaaaaaaaaat?”, but readily agreed since both she and my dad worked 10 hour days and it was less work for her.  I gave her a list, she bought the ingredients, and the game was afoot!  I could see the trepidation in their eyes, forks raised to their mouths but hesitation looming, looking at each other like “you go first”, and finally my dad took the first bite. So good!! And I’ve been making it ever since.

What follows is a variation on that recipe—it’s come so far since 1979.  I’ve made it for every boyfriend I’ve ever had, won 2 awards with it, and it’s the treasured dinner of my children’s Godfather.  And I’m happy to share it with you here.  So many memories are made in the kitchen…get your kids in there with you :)

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3/4 cup dry breadcrumbs
3/4 cup milk or tomato juice
1 egg, beaten
1 small, chopped onion
1 1/2 lbs ground beef (if available, buy meatloaf mixture in your local grocery store--usually a combination of beef/pork/veal)
1 packet meatloaf seasoning packet (I use McCormick's for simplicity sake, as it contains all the spices you will need)
ketchup
yellow mustard
light brown sugar


Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Long ago I did away with the meatloaf pan because it was a nightmare to clean.  Simply grease a 9x11 pan and set aside so you can free-form the meatloaf later.

Put breadcrumbs, milk, egg, and onion in bowl.  Mix until breadcrumbs are soaked.  Add seasoning packet and mix.

Add meat.  With clean hands, work all ingredients together until well mixed.  Shape into a ball.

Place in greased pan and shape into a rectangle, smoothing top.

Mix together:  1/4 cup ketchup, 2 teaspoons mustard, 3 tablespoons brown sugar.  Make this sauce mixture twice.  Spread one on top of the meatloaf and let drip down sides.  Place the other batch in the refrigerator until ready to use.

ready for oven

Bake meatloaf at 350 for 1 hour.  Approx 10 minutes before meatloaf is ready, heat 2nd batch of sauce slowly on stove until warm.

out of the oven

Serve with mashed potatoes and peas.  Pass heated sauce on the side.

(Note:  See picture below:  one of the early recipe variations in my 9 year old handwriting.  I see I used to use bouillon and only salt/pepper,  and check out the fancy name "Meatloaf with Tangy Sauce"...what a pain in the ass I was!! LOL)



Week 1 - post surgery

Week 1

We are almost one week into surgery and I’m already out of Percoset.  I truly don’t see this as my fault, however, as they don’t work and I can’t be held responsible for the fact that I had to double up.  They should have taken my high narcotic tolerance into account--I filled out a questionnaire in Pre-Op about alcohol usage…isn’t that what it was for??  Anyone who readily admits 5 drinks a night to their medical practitioner should get extra meds!  Anyway, I've been getting by with a sweet little mixture of Crown Royal and Tylenol PM's.  I will be calling the doctor’s office tomorrow, though, at which time they will either be prescribing more Percoset or calling the DEA on me…either will be entertaining and I’ll let you know.

I won’t be up and in the kitchen for at least another week, but I haven’t forgotten you.  We’ll be doing some fun posts about cocktails, special ingredients, ‘80’s songs, and I’ll be sharing other people’s recipes, too, so keep checking back.

Thanks to all of you for the gifts, the funny cards, the Starbucks’s Mocha Frappacino’s, the chocolate beer, and the beautiful flowers.  And to Christina Jones—a gigantic hug for the pound of peel and eat shrimp all the way from the Lazy Flamingo on Sanibel last night.  So sweet of you to remember that it’s a favorite of mine!

Now for the rest of my friends, you’re slacking, so step it up! (just kidding…maybe I should lay off the Crown…lol)

As thanks, I was gonna offer up the big whammy—a video of Dionne Warwick and friends all 1985, singing “That’s What Friends are For”…Stevie on the harmonica …and it was good.  But you know me—if I’m gonna do it…I’m gonna do it BIG!  So here’s something a little bit better.  THAT’S RIGHT…THANK YOU FOR BEIN’ A FRIEND, my friends.  Hit it, Blanche…
 

Grilled Lambchops with a Balsamic Glaze

I know what you're thinking:  I can't possibly have a story about lambchops.  They're not as popular as ham or porkchops...how can I have a whole story about something not alot of people even like? Well, I do.  In fact, I have several:  there's a funny one about my Aunt Annie and a rack of lamb, a sweet and sentimental one about the lollipop lambchops on the bar menu at Capital Grille, and there's this one about my mother and some missing lambchops that I'm about to share with you now:

A few years ago, I went over to my moms (who we call Gigga) on a Friday after work, and got there just as she was unloading her groceries.  She was INCENSED, and very vocal about it, that Publix had forgotten to put her lambchops in the bag.  Now what to have for dinner?... Goddammit it, how could they forget the lambchops?.... Grrrrrrrrrrr Publix and the goddamn lambchops... how hard is it to put lambchops in a bag?....now there's mashed potatoes and nothing to have with them,...blah blah blah and on it went until it was time to leave for my daughters soccer game, to which Gigga rode in my car.

The next day, I picked her up for the next soccer game and still...goddamn the missing lambchops...I'm getting my money back...

Sunday night, we're going to the third game of  the tournament and she says she'll drive because....yep, she wants to go by Publix and give 'em what for!  We open the car doors and .....WHAAAAAAAAT the hell died in the car?!? Some kind of animal has crawled in her car and died a horrible death...we think.  We start gagging, shirts over our noses, and then we find it:  the lambchops slid out of the bag on the floor of her backseat and had gotten stuck underneath the driver-side seat.  FOR 3 DAYS, they'd been festering in the high heat of August (112 degrees) inside her locked car, in the sun.  It was HORRIBLE!   We couldn't get near the car for a week and my dad called it "the mutton-mobile" forever after.  I think about it and I can STILL smell it...LOL!

Fast forward to yesterday, my friend Steve is curious about the beautiful lamb he keeps seeing at the store, and I agree to make it.  Word spread, and I had a house full of people last night, plus 5 ravenous soccer players who'd just returned from the movies, feasting on some mighty good looking loin lamb chops, my friends.  As for preparation, they're just like steak and no more difficult:  season, grill, and enjoy.  My menu looked like this, but if you want to make your own favorite side dishes, please do:

Loin lamb chops with garlic and fresh rosemary and a balsamic reduction
mashed potatoes
Sautéed zucchini and tomatoes finished under the broiler with a parmesan crust

(and ps:  once again I have to apologize for the picture above.  Steve is fired from his duties as picture taker, because by the time it gets to the plate, he's 2 martinis and a bottle of merlot into it, and his photos leave a little to be desired...LOL)

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2-3 loin lambchops per person
fresh rosemary, off the stalk and chopped
garlic powder
kosher salt / pepper
olive oil
Balsamic Glaze (found near the balsamic vinegar in your grocery store)


First, pat chops dry and place in pan.



ready to season

Season with rosemary, garlic powder, salt and pepper on both sides. 



Seasoned, and ready to grill

Drizzle olive oil over and grill. 



On the grill--see how they change color?

When finished, take off grill and drizzle immediately with balsamic glaze.  Let rest, covered 10  min, and serve. (Thank you, Charlie, for gauging them perfectly!!)

I like mine to be medium--pink and warm throughout.  Americanlamb.com  says loin chops 1 - 1 .5" thick should be cooked to 145 * F for medium-rare (7-12 minutes on grill or under broiler).  Adjust as necessary.




3 gluttonous, drunk, happy carnivores :)

The Creamsicle Dreamsicle

 

 

It happened quite by accident.  My neighbor, Ruth, gave me a bottle of Pinnacle Whipped Cream vodka and the rest is history.

Now normally, I'm a purist by nature.  I like coffee flavored coffee, regular iced tea, white paper towels, clear fingernail polish...and vodka flavored vodka. BUT...and we've all been here...it was the only alcohol I had.

My friend Steve came over and wanted a drink, so I made him a screwdriver with this stuff thinking he'd never know the difference and if he did, I'd play it off like it was his tastebuds playing tricks (sorry, Steve).  So I make the drink in the kitchen and taste it before I give it to him, wondering how much I'm gonna have to play it up...but it was GOOOOOOOD!!!!  It tasted like the dreamsicles my mom used to buy when I was little.  Of course, I wasn't allowed to have any of those--they were name brand and were for her, and she used to hide them in the back of the freezer.  My friends and I got the no-name box of 108 popsicles that had hardly any syrup in them and would turn to white ice after like 6 licks!  Goddammit, mom!! 

But anyway...

I've been making this drink ever since...on purpose now...with great results.  I've made it for people across the country, have had bartenders make it for me for dessert, and I admit (shhhhhhhh...) that I've even had it for breakfast (don't judge).   One summer I had it made for me, got way drunk, made it about 200 yards away from the bar and passed out in the street before my friend had to carry me the rest of the way up to my hotel room.  To this day we joke that I got roofied.   Ahhhhhhhh, good times with the Creamsicle Dreamsicle!! LOL

It's only two ingredients and so easy; perfect for these last few days of summer.  Share it with someone you love and make some memories of your own.  Have fun!

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icy vodka, right out of the freezer
 

1 bottle Pinnacle Whipped Cream Vodka
1 container orange juice (not from concentrate)
ice, of course

Place ice in glass.  Add as much vodka as you'd like and fill the rest of the glass with orange juice.  Stir and enjoy.

Chicken Parmesan

You can't do it every night.  You simply cannot make a sauce from scratch every night! That's ok--it doesn't make it any less delicious or appreciated, and tonight is one of those nights.

My daughter (14) plays traveling, competitive soccer.  She just came home from a tournament in Sarasota--3 games in a day and a 1/2...she's sunburned and exhausted, plus she has a wicked head cold.  It was 105 every day, and she plays outside-mid...which means she's only one of two players who continuously run the length of the field.  Consequently, she's always hungry (and cranky...lol), and I like to have something hot and comforting for her when she comes home, so she can eat, take a warm shower, do her homework, fall asleep, and do it all again tomorrow.  She's come home soaking wet from the steamy rains of summer and from the frigid windy rainy nights of winter.  I'm amazed at her energy and her gracious attitude.  She hurt her foot last summer and played for 2 weeks before we found out the top of it was cracked; she cut off the end of her big toe 2 years ago and played with a bandage (and some serious pain meds) the very next week; and she carried on thru a tournament last May, so tired, in the middle of what we later discovered was Mono.  Ok, so I'm not winning any mother of the year awards...but even in  light of ME...she carries on...lol.  She's for sure my hero, and I'm her biggest fan.

Why am I her biggest fan?? She's not even left footed...

She's always happy when she comes home from practice and sees (smells!) Chicken Parmesan.  It has no breading, so it's light enough to serve year round.  It's so good  and filling on it's own, I serve it only with linguini on the side. Make someone happy tonight...their smiles are worth a thousand words and they'll thank you again and again...



Reason #2, her specialty...the corner kick



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4 chicken breasts
1 bottle marinara sauce ( I use Rao's)



browned, and simmering with tomatoes

1 can fire-roasted, diced tomatoes
1 ball fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced
parmesan cheese
olive oil
1 lb linguine
kosher salt/fresh ground black pepper/garlic powder
dry, red wine (I use merlot)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Drizzle oil in oven-proof skillet over med-high heat.  Place chicken breasts in pan, sprinkle liberally with salt/pepper/garlic powder and brown.  Turn over, sprinkle other side with spices and brown.
When browned on both sides, turn heat to med low.  Add tomatoes (do not drain), and scrape up brown bits in pan.  Add a splash of red wine.  Add sauce and mix all.  Place some sauce over chicken.  Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.  Place in oven.





ready to come out of the oven

Cook for 30 min uncovered.  Then covered for 20 min.  Place mozzarella cheese on top of each chicken breast and sprinkle with more parmesan, and bake 10 more min, cooking 1 hour total.  Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
NOTE:  approx. 15 min before chicken is done, cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain in colander, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle salt on top.  Mix together. 

When chicken is ready, take out of oven, add additional seasonings if necessary, and serve immediately with a spicy merlot along side.

(serves 4)