NaNo? No Problem!

Okay, this novel writing stuff? Yeah, It’s ridiculously easy. 50k in 30 days? No problem. Go ahead, make it a 100k, I triple dog dare ya!

It’s only the 25th of the month and I am INCHES away from winning. Like 500 words away. Woo hoo! Eat my dust, NaNo! Next stop, the winner’s circle.

Of course, I’ve sacrificed every weekend afternoon and all my favorite TV shows in the evening to get this far. I ate Zatarain’s Jambalaya mix for dinner. Quite a few delicious Lean Cusisines as well. And, I have to be honest and admit that the entire thing a huge, gigantic pile of crap, that no will ever get to read, but hey, I’ve managed to crank out 49,000 words plus in just 25 days. That’s gotta count for something.

Why am I not getting paid for this?

Anyway, I’m pretty psyched I’ve been able to stay ahead of the game with NaNo and update my blog as well. Last year, I couldn’t do it. I could not multitask and write a novel and blog at the same time. This year, I’m more comfortable, cruising at a comfortable speed of anywhere between 2,000 and 3,000 words a day. It must get easier the longer you do it.

Again, why I am not getting paid for this?? LOL.

I think the reason I’ve done so well with this is because I thought I was going to fail miserably. See, I woke up on November 1 sick. Sick, sick, sick. And remained so for the next three days. You might think, oh, it’d be easy to get a head start when you’re home sick, all you have to do is lay there with a laptop and type. Well, yes, in theory it should work that way, but in reality, my brain was so fogged and medicated I was having trouble concentrating. My word counts the first three days were dismal. I was off to such a rough start, I thought there’s no way I can do this. The minute I felt better I started working extra hard to make up for my loss. Which I did, and then some. Go me!

On one of those sick days, after deciding that the blinking cursor on my screen was making me dizzy, I tossed my novel to the side and turned on the TV instead. To Rachael Ray’s talk show. I’ve said it before, I like her talk show. (This is so embarrassing.) I can take or leave 30 Minute Meals but if I have the chance to catch her talk show on a weekday afternoon, I always do. Come on, Michael Buble was on. And he sang his new song ‘Haven’t Met You Yet’ to an audience member’s pregnant belly. I coughed. I sneezed. I swooned!  He’s adorable.

And she made a delightful fall twist on lasagna that I knew I just had to try! Roasted butternut squash, layered with sweet Italian sausage and a creamy sage béchamel sauce. Sign me up, please!

Well. Making this was quite the ordeal. And all the while, I’ve got my novel breathing down the back of my neck. “Work on me!” It whispered in my ear. “You should not be cooking, you should be working on me! Order pizza!”

I had a few…issues. This recipe and I had a bit of communication problem. You will notice the recipe calls for TWO boxes of no boil lasagna sheets. You will then notice it says that it serves six. Say WHAT? Two entire boxes of noodles for 6 servings. No freakin’ way.

On the show she layered all the ingredients into one casserole dish. Okay, that must have been one HUGE honkin’ dish because there’s no way in h-e-double hockey sticks anything I owned was going to accommodate two entire boxes of noodles. Of course, I didn’t realize this until I was well into the assembly process.

So let me tell you how this ended up working out for me. In the end, it was edible. Not just edible, quite delightful actually. I really like the combo of sweet butternut squash and flavorful sausage. But it was touch and go there for a while.

I made a couple changes to lighten it up a bit, subbing 2% milk for whole and using my standard turkey sausage instead of pork. My package of sausage was 20 ounces, so not quite two pounds. I meant to pick up a second package when I shopped for groceries earlier that day, but for some reason they didn’t have any. Sigh…typical. I figured, okay I’ll just lighten it up even further by decreasing the amount of meat. I kept the quantities of squash puree and béchamel sauce the same.

So I start assembling. In a 13×9 inch pan. I realize when I’m half way through that I should have laid the noodles in the pan horizontally, thus allowing for four sheets per layer. No. I did them vertically and only got three. That was mistake number one. Mistake number two- I really poured on the puree and the sauce. I mean, practically drowned the thing. It was then I realized, I’m not fitting all these noodles in this pan. Meanwhile, it’s swimming in sauce.

Hm. Due to my error in laying my noodles, I actually didn’t even get ONE whole box in my pan. And even though I doused the thing in puree and sauce I still had quite a bit left. Scared and with the phone in my hand ready to call up for that pizza after all, I tossed that thing in the oven and said a little prayer.

When I removed the foil cover from the pan after 30 minutes, as per the recipes instructions, all I saw was a white, runny, bubbling mess. Eek. I left in uncovered for another 15, as the recipe says to do. Still didn’t like what it looked like after that, so gave it five minutes more. Finally, I decided to take it out and hope for the best.

I let it rest before taking a knife to it. I let it rest a good 20 minutes actually. And when I cut it into it and lifted the first piece out, I was pleasantly surprised at how well it held together. Yes, it was soft, but overall, not too bad. Plus, it tasted good! Really good actually! I’ve only recently started purchasing whole squash and this was a GREAT way to use one. Roasting it in the oven makes it easy to work with.

So, if you decide to take on this recipe, here are my suggestions. 1. If you make the entire recipe, be ready with a giant casserole or two 13×9 inch pans. Then be prepared to be able to feed at least a dozen people. Otherwise, I would plan to use one box of noodles, half the puree and the sauce, and use about a pound and half of sausage. That would probably fit nicely into one 13×9 inch pan and give you 6 extremely generous servings – Actually, more like 8 if you want to be realistic. I will be making this again for sure…with a few adjustments, of course.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND SAUSAGE LASAGNA (Recipe adapted from: Rachael Ray)

Note: The recipe below is adjusted to make one 13×9 inch pan, serving 6 to 8. For the entire recipe, click the link above. If you know six people who can eat all that then…wow, you have some very hungry friends!

Oh, and in the interest of full discretion, the photo below was actually taken the following day, after the lasagna had a chance to set in the fridge overnight. The actual first pieces out of the pan after it was made were a bit oozier, so heads up there.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pound butternut squash or pumpkin, halved and seeded
• Extra virgin olive oil, for liberal drizzling
• Salt and pepper
• Freshy grated nutmeg
• 1.5 cups chicken stock
• 1 tablespoons honey
• 1.5 pounds sweet Italian turkey sausage
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 2 cups 2% milk
• 6-8 leaves fresh sage, very thinly sliced
• 1 box no boil, flat-edged lasagna sheets
• 2 cups grated Parmigiano Reggiano
• 1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

DIRECTIONS:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 400ºF.
2. Drizzle the squash with olive oil and season with salt, pepper and a little freshly grated nutmeg. Roast cut-side down until tender, about 40 minutes. Let cool until it’s cool enough to handle, then scoop the flesh out of the skin and add to a food processor. Puree the squash with the stock and honey and set aside.
3. Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and brown the sausage, crumbling it into very small bits as it cooks, about 7-8 minutes.
4. While the sausage cooks, heat a pot over medium heat. Add the butter and melt, then whisk in the flour, cook for 1 minute and then whisk in the milk. Season with salt, pepper, a little freshly grated nutmeg and sage. Cook until thickened, about 7-8 minutes, whisking occasionally.
5. Dot some squash puree in the bottom of a 13×9 inch dish, then add a layer of pasta. Top with a third of the cooked sausage and cover lightly with squash puree. Cover with another layer of pasta, a third of the béchamel sauce and 1/2 cup Parmigiano Reggiano. Repeat with two more layers, ending each with béchamel sauce and using all of the remaining cheese for the top layer. Sprinkle parsley across the top, cover and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and cook 15 minutes more to brown the top. Let set a few minutes before serving.

ENJOY!

Decisions, Decisions

People are always asking me to make decisions. Not big, life altering, finger-on-the-button, pull-the-plug type decisions, of course. I have no say in what happens in the White House, for example. Just little annoying, everyday things.

What movie should we watch?
All heads turn in my direction.

Where should we go to eat?
Erin will chose for us.

Heads or tails?
Erin, you call it.

These types of decisions prove to be too much for me. Yep. I can’t handle it. These are the things that leave me baffled, have me throwing my hands up in despair and declaring WHY DO I ALWAYS HAVE TO PICK? I’m not hard to please – I have strong opinions on almost nothing – but yet for some reason everyone feels like I have to have the final say.

I guess what I’m saying is I am incredibly indecisive. It’s almost a problem it’s so bad. I simply cannot decide. Not only that, I don’t really want to decide. What if I say I want to go out for pizza and everyone else agrees even though they’d really rather have burgers? I’d feel bad. Plus, I’m not married to pizza. Burgers would be fine too. I just want everyone else to be happy, that’s all.

So, family, if you are reading this and we come to another crossroads here in the near future where we are trying to decide something, anything at all, the reason I don’t want to pick the final outcome is simply because in my daily life, I like to put others happiness and preferences before mine. There. That’s it. No arguments. I’ve decided I don’t like to be the one who decides. Glad we could come to an agreement.

Now that we are well into November here, a mere week and half from Thanksgiving, you are probably trying to decide what to put on your Turkey Day menus. Well, if you are anything like me,this task is probably killing you. Don’t panic! Here’s a recipe to make things a bit easier – at least as far as dessert goes.

With this moist, delicious, fall inspired cake you don’t have to choose between two fall favorites – apple and pumpkin – you can have both in one fabulous package. This Pumpkin-Apple Streusel Cake is like a cross between pumpkin pie and apple crisp. A moist and spicy pumpkin cake is topped with a delicious layer of cinnamon-spiked caramelized apples, then smothered in a crispy, crunchy streusel topping. Mmmm. Serve with cinnamon ice cream alongside and you’ve got the perfect fall dessert. These are simple, familiar flavors presented in an unexpected way. It’s really very delicious.

I didn’t deviate from the recipe too much here, but I did make a couple changes. I didn’t have pumpkin pie spice so I used my own combo of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and allspice. I had a small pouch of pecan pieces left over from another recipe so I tossed those to the topping for some added texture and crunch – that’s a personal preference. It would be delicious without the nuts as well.

PUMPKIN-APPLE STREUSEL CAKE (Recipe Adapted from: Epicurious.com, Originally from Bon Appetit, October 2001)

INGREDIENTS:

Topping:

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 4 cups diced peeled cored Granny Smith apples (about 4 large)
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2/3 cup reserved cake mixture
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Cake:

• 11/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup (firmly packed) golden brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup canned pure pumpkin
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (or any combination of your favorite ‘warm’ spices)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 large eggs

DIRECTIONS:

For the Apple Topping:

1. Melt butter in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add apples; cook until apples begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Add sugar and cinnamon and cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes longer. Set aside to cool.

For the cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 9-inch-diameter springform pan. Combine flour, brown sugar, butter, and salt in the bowl of of an electric mixer. Beat until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside 2/3 cup of mixture for topping. Beat pumpkin, sour cream, 2 tablespoons sugar, spices, and baking soda into remaining flour mixture, beating just until smooth. Beat in eggs. Spread batter in pan. Scatter apples evenly over top. Add pecans to reserved topping (if using) and mix to combine. Sprinkle topping over apples.
2. Bake cake until topping is golden brown and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Cool cake in pan on rack 20 minutes. Run knife around pan sides to loosen cake. Release pan sides from cake. Transfer cake to platter. (Can be made 6 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.) Serve warm or at room temperature with ice cream.

ENJOY!

Willpower. I Don’t Gots It.

Hi. Remember a week ago? When I said I was saying goodbye to blogging for the entire month of November to write a the World’s Worst Novel for NaNoWriMo?

Well. About that. Apparently, I’m a big fat liar. I apologize. If it helps, it’s a definite possibility that my pants are in fact on fire.

See, here’s the thing. I’ve had a really great first week of NaNo-ing. Really great! I’m currently a mere seven days into this journey and I am sitting at a comfortable 18,000 words. Only 32,000 to go! It’s been a ride so far, I tell you what! I really didn’t think it was possible for a pile of words to be as crappy as last year’s NaNo, but I’m really out doing myself this year. I’m telling you, this novel is ripe with suckdom. But, I shall press on. Because that’s what NaNo is all about. It doesn’t have to be good…it just has to fill up 50k. And I’m well on my way to reaching that goal for the second year running!

So. Since I am sitting at a comfy, cozy, cushy almost-20k, I decided to take a little break and treat myself to a little blogging. And a couple cookies! See, no willpower. Cannot.Stay.Away.From.Blog. And I can’t really stay away from these cookies either, so I guess it’s just one of those days. One of those Give in to All Your Cravings kind of days.

Man, I love those days!

Now, let’s talk about these cookies. Or as I like to call them – Cinnamon-kissed Crescents of Pure Christmas Perfection.

Oops! I said Christmas. Oh man, it’s only November and I let the C-word slip. I’m sorry. That was wrong. I hope my punishment is a few more 70 degree days like we had today and not an early blizzard. I promise I won’t say Christmas for at least another three weeks if we can squeeze out a few more nice days, k? Awesome.

The reason Christmas came to my kitchen a bit early this year is not because I’m just really excited about hearing Willie Nelson’s version of that Pretty Paper, Pretty Ribbons song I hate so much or because I’m anxious for a repeat of last year’s Looking All Over Town and Can’t Find Season 1 of The Office on DVD gift shopping fiasco. Although both those sound tempting…

No. The real reason is my local paper is having a holiday cookie recipe contest. And I wanted to enter. Specifically, I wanted to enter these. Seeing as I have never actually made them myself, I decided a trial run before entering the recipe was probably a good idea. Plus, I needed to take a drool-worthy photo to submit along with it. Oh, and I was quickly running out of time, as the deadline to enter is Tuesday.

So yeah, Welcome, Christmas! (Don’t all the Whos in Whoville welcome Christmas even though the Grinch stole all their decorations and trees and things? They totally do – take a lesson from Cindy Lou Who…you don’t need Christmas “things” for it to be Christmas! So if I want it to be Christmas on the 7th of November, then so be it!)

It just wouldn’t be Christmas at our house without Stellas. They have been gracing (the same) cookie tins in my family for as long as I can remember – one of my mom’s gold standards. Right there along side her insanely tender and delicious butter spritz cookies and her knock-your-socks off, to-die-for kolache. (Except for the prune ones. She can keep the prune for herself. Ha. ) As I kid, I’d watch my mom roll, cut and shape dozens and dozens of Stellas, just waiting for the chance to grab one, warm from the oven, to pop into my mouth.

They bake up so flaky, so light, buttery and golden brown, you’d swear you were sinking your teeth into a delicious pastry. Pair that with warm cinnamon-sugar and delicious, crunchy pecans and you’ve got yourself one amazing cookie that has the holidays written all over it.

These are a true labor of love, as they are a bit time consuming to make. Not only do you need to chill the dough overnight before working with it, the cutting and rolling of each individual cookie does take some time. It is well worth it though, just trust me. They are addicting. And, take it from someone who knows, they are phenomenal first thing in the morning. For real. All too often growing up, I’d get up after sleeping in over Christmas break and help myself to a couple of these for breakfast. And a couple more after lunch. And after dinner, of course…

Ohhh. See. Willpower. I Don’t Gots it. You won’t either after you try these! Consider them for your holiday treat trays this year. (You’re planning already, aren’t you? Yeah…that’s what I thought. )

STELLA COOKIES (Recipe Source: My mom, Nadine M.)

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 cups finely chopped pecans
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 3 egg whites, lightly beaten
• Powdered sugar (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Sift flour into a large bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or fingers until crumbly. Stir in sour cream, working the dough with a spoon until it just holds together. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least six hours or overnight.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
3. Combine pecans, sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside.
4. Divide dough into four equal parts. Working with one part at a time, shape the dough into a ball. Dough will be quite soft and sticky. Leave the remainder of the dough refrigerator until ready to use.
5. Sprinkle work surface with flour, then heavily with granulated sugar. Roll out the dough into a round slightly larger than 8 inches across (dough should be quite thin).  Using an inverted salad plate as a guide, cut an 8 inch circle out of the dough. Refrigerate the scraps for later use. Cut the circle into 8 equal wedges.
6. Brush the entire circle with the beaten egg whites. Sprinkle about 1/3 of the pecan mixture over the circle. Starting with the wide edge, roll up each wedge and shape into a crescent. Place one inch apart on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Repeat with remaining dough quarters. Form leftover scraps into a ball and repeat as above.
7. Brush the tops of the cookies with remaining egg whites and sprinkle with remaining pecan mixture. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until lightly browned. (Check them after 15 and keep a close eye on them. They seem to go from looking not quite done to overdone in just a minute or two. I should know. I burned my first batch. HA!) Remove to wire racks to cool completely.  Store in an air-tight container for up to two weeks. Sprinkle with powdered sugar just before serving, if desired.

Yield: About 5 and half dozen

A few words of wisdom about this recipe:

• Resit the urge to sub reduced fat or fat free sour cream in this recipe. Really, just don’t do it. You’ve already committed to three sticks of butter, might as well just keep the Full-Fat Train a-movin’ and go with the real stuff. I think you really need the thick, hearty texture of full fat sour cream to give your dough the right consistency and keep it together. The other varieties are going to change the texture way too much.
• Do not be shy with the flour and sugar for rolling! The dough may seem hard, cold, and almost crumbly  when you first start out rolling but it will get soft and sticky REALLY quick at room temp. Make sure your surface and rolling pin are well floured and sugared so the dough doesn’t stick.
• Try using a metal pizza cutter to cut your circle and wedges. It won’t stick to the dough or pull it out of shape like a knife will. Perfect circles and wedges, every time, guaranteed!
• When shaping the cookies, make sure the pointed edge of the wedge is on the bottom. They will keep their shape better while baking. I found that when the pointed was on the top of the cookie, they tended to open up in the oven and not look as pretty.
• The cookies will probably grow “feet” of egg white and melted sugar in the oven while they bake. If that happens, as soon as they come out of the oven, grab a knife and start pulling the sugar puddles away from the edge of the cookies – it will be soft and pull away easily. Work quickly, as the sugar puddles will harden fast, even on a warm cookie sheet. You’ll end up with cleaner edges this way, instead of having to break off the hardened sugar after the cookies cool.

ENJOY!

Pssst. Merry Christmas. Pass it on!

So Long, Farewell…

Friends. It is time. I must bid you adieu.

It is that time of year again. November. I can’t believe how fast it’s come around again but yet here we are, staring down the barrel of the end of the year. And so I must say goodbye to blogging for 30 days.

I have decided once again to put blogging on hold in the month of November while I tackle the NaNoWriMo 50k novel in 30 days challenge. Last year I did it and I won. That’s right. I WON! All I won was the satisfaction of a job well done, but apparently that was enough for me to get the urge to try this crazy little thing called writing all over again.

As much as I love blogging and sharing my recipes and stories with you, I must spend November completely and totally focused on this project. I just can’t put my creativity, words or spare time into anything else. NaNo WILL consume me for the next 30 days. It WILL torture and torment me. Each keystroke more painful than the last. Hamburger Helper may or may not be consumed as I rush to put something, anything in my stomach so I can write in the evening when I get home from work. Ideas and characters and plots will tumble out onto the page at lightning speed and when it’s all said and done – I’ll be blurry-eyed, exhausted and five pounds heavier. But I’ll have a novel. A craptastic novel, no doubt. But a novel nonetheless.

Two words: Worth. It.

As I prepare to step away from the food blogging world for the next 30 days, I just want to encourage anyone who’s ever had a story floating around in their head to consider giving this challenge a try. Writing is extremely therapeutic and a lot of fun. You’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish. You’ll be amazed at how awesome you feel when what’s in your head is out of there on paper. It’s…life changing.

Inspiration is everywhere. Can’t help but smile when you think about that childhood friend who had a knack for getting the two of you in trouble? Write about their adventures. Still feel that little tug inside when you think about the one who broke your heart? Let it all out. Change the ending, if you want. Heck, plop your characters right smack dab in the middle of a restaurant kitchen, bakery, or culinary school and see what they cook up. Think about what inspires you, think about what you love, think about what you know. Think about what you wish you knew then. There are no rules. There is no right or wrong. There are just words. Your words.

Just start writing. That’s what I’m going to do. So what if you’re no Shakespeare? I’m not either. I’m just going to throw caution to the wind and have one crazy, rowdy, writing November. I hope you do the same!

So anyway, I hope you’ll all bear with me in my absence. I will return in full force on December 1 armed with a mixer and bowl to take on the upcoming holiday baking season. I hope to check in at least once or twice throughout this process.

Oh, treats for a sugar pick-me-up are welcome! Please send care packages and good thoughts to:

Disgruntled Wannabe Novelist
c/o: A dark corner in the public library
Iowa, USA.

See you in 50,000 words!

F for Effort

I took one photo of this recipe. One. This pretty much unheard of. Even on my laziest of lazy nights, even when I’m so hungry I’m about ready to chew off my own arm, I usually take at least a half or dozen or so.

But this. This I could not wait to eat. This smelled so freakin’ amazing coming out of the oven, I contemplated taking the entire dish into a dark closet and having my way with it. Instead, I managed to control myself just long enough to plunk my Pyrex down on the counter, grab the camera, and take one crappy shot before digging in. In the battle of my stomach vs. my blog, my stomach ALWAYS wins. A true F for Effort.

Ah! I may get an F, but this recipe is gets an A+ for AMAZING. Not only does it taste great, it’s really easy to make. That’s an A+ in my grade book for sure!

I’ve had my eye on Ina’s Baked Shrimp Scampi ever since I got my hands on her Back to Basics cookbook. I kept making a mental note to add it my menu, but the mental note kept getting lost in the shuffle. Now I’m wondering what in the world took me so long! Buttery, crunchy and knock your socks off delicious. The fresh herbs are a must – I wouldn’t sub dry here. The garlic and shallots add amazing flavor – and with the brightness from the herbs you really just can’t beat it. It’s a little decadent (note the copious amounts of butter) but you can certainly make some adjustments. I halved the recipe for the two of us (the entire recipe appears below) and used about four tablespoons of butter instead of six. Worked out great. This would be great with pretty much any starch – rice, pasta or even mashed potatoes. I had some couscous on hand so I made that. Added a salad and called it a meal. It’s a must try!

And with out further ado, on to the recipe and my one lonely photograph. It just doesn’t do it justice!

BAKED SHRIMP SCAMPI (Recipe Source: Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics)

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 pounds (12 to 15 per pound) shrimp in the shell (I used frozen raw shrimp, already peeled and deveined. I always do. You probably would to if you lived in a state as landlocked as Iowa. I just a teeny bit wary of buying fresh seafood around here. So I don’t.)
• 3 tablespoons good olive oil
• 2 tablespoons dry white wine
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 4 teaspoons minced garlic (4 cloves)
• 1/4 cup minced shallots
• 3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary leaves
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 extra-large egg yolk
• 2/3 cup panko (Japanese dried bread flakes)
• Lemon wedges, for serving

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Peel, devein, and butterfly the shrimp, leaving the tails on. Place the shrimp in a mixing bowl and toss gently with the olive oil, wine, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Allow to sit at room temperature while you make the butter and garlic mixture.
3. In a small bowl, mash the softened butter with the garlic, shallots, parsley, rosemary, red pepper flakes, lemon zest, lemon juice, egg yolk, panko, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper until combined.
4. Starting from the outer edge of a 14-inch oval gratin dish, arrange the shrimp in a single layer cut side down with the tails curling up and towards the center of the dish. (Since I halved the recipe, I used a 11×7 glass baking pan) Pour the remaining marinade over the shrimp. Spread the butter mixture evenly over the shrimp. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until hot and bubbly. If you like the top browned, place under a broiler for 1 minute. Serve with lemon wedges.

ENJOY!

“It’s a texture thing.”

Ever hear anyone say that about food? People seem to really get worked up over food and it’s various textural properties. Or something.

Oh, it’s too mushy, it’s too chalky, it’s too starchy, it’s too crunchy. Too soft, too hard, too chewy. The list goes on and on. And on. Really, I think everyone’s just grappling at adjectives trying to come up with and excuse not to eat something.

For me, personally, I wouldn’t say there is one particular food texture I’m adverse to – except maybe soggy. I have problem with anything I deem soggy. In fact, I don’t do soggy. At all. Ever. I have to literally inhale a bowl of cereal to save myself from the sogginess that lurks beneath the milk’s surface. Oh, and I kind of have this irrational fear of sandwiches made from store-bought sliced bread. Same deal – sogged. Ew.

Other than that I’m good. Totally normal. Yep, no texture issues over here.

Sogginess aside, I’m really not picky about textures. I am, however, drawn to some more than others. Specifically, I like a variety of textures in my food. I think that’s why I’m lukewarm on things like mashed potatoes and pudding. It’s just one big glob of…the same stuff. There’s nothing exciting there. Same with Jello. I can take it or leave it.

So what does all this have to do with…anything? Well, over the weekend I tried a new recipe to fool impress Eric. See, we never get Chinese take out at our house. Excuse me…I’m getting a little choked up.

*sob*

Eric doesn’t like it. I love it. For this reason, every so often, I’ll pull out my secret stash of soy sauce, sesame oil, and rice vinegar and make something readily available at any take out place at home so I can get my fix. Of course, I call it something different. Example: the cashew chicken I made over the weekend. Cashew chicken is not cashew chicken. It’s “chicken and brown sauce over  rice. With cashews in it.” He buys it. Every time!

I’m sneaky like that. And I totally just outed myself. (Hi, Eric! Maybe my dad will stop picking on you now. LOVE YOU! )

Anyway, I spotted this cashew chicken over at The Bitten Word. Couldn’t stop thinking about it. Couldn’t WAIT to make it! Just what I needed to satisfy my take out craving. Glad I didn’t wait!  We – yes, we…as in both of us – really enjoyed this meal. The thing that really made it for me, besides the awesome flavors, of course, was all the different textures. Crunchy cashews, fluffy rice, perfectly tender chicken. Yeah, that’s pretty much perfect. Not to mention, it’s really REALLY good. Plus, you can feel better about eating it because you know exactly what’s in it. That’s not always the case with takeout. And, if you’ve got a well-stocked pantry, you probably have everything you need to make this at home for dinner tomorrow. The only thing I needed to buy was the cashews. Since they are Eric’s favorite nut, I figured that if the meal flopped big time he could just gorge himself on nuts for dinner.

CASHEW CHICKEN (Recipe Source: Everyday Food, September 2009 as seen at The Bitten Word)

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons dry sherry (I used cooking wine. Shhh. Don’t tell!)
• 2 tsp. minced, peeled, fresh ginger (I used 1 teaspoon ginger powder)
• 3 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
• coarse salt
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2/3 cup unsalted cashews, toasted (I couldn’t find unsalted. I’ll admit I didn’t look very hard. Lightly salted worked just fine.)
• 2 green onions, white and green parts separated and thinly sliced

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a medium bowl, toss chicken with sherry, ginger, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch; season with salt. Refrigerate 30 minutes. In another bowl, combine broth, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, and 2 teaspoons cornstarch. Set sauce aside.
2. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat. Add half the chicken and cook until golden and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Transfer chicken to a covered plate. Add 1 teaspoon oil to skillet and cook remaining chicken (reduce heat if chicken is over-browning). Transfer to plate.
3. To same skillet, add 1 teaspoon oil, garlic, cashews, and green onion whites. Cook, stirring constantly, until garlic begins to soften, about 30 seconds. Whisk sauce and add to skillet along with chicken. Cook until sauce thickens, about 30 seconds. Top with green onion greens and serve with rice or noodles.

Serves 4.

ENJOY!

One Year Ago: I was celebrating a victory unrelated to my cooking. But it involved my writing, so we’ll call it relevant to the blog. Ha.

 

Beat Cancer!

As you all know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. All month long, people show support for family, friends and survivors by sporting all things PINK!

It seems just about everyone knows someone personally who has been affected by breast cancer. I know I do. From family to friends to co-workers I have seen people fight and BEAT this disease. There is a wonderful, amazing sisterhood amongst survivors and it’s important that we all do our part to make sure there is a cure for all that are affected. Encourage you family and friends to do their monthly self exams and get regular mammograms. As they say – SAVE SECOND BASE!

I decided to make a pink treat to show my support. I’ll be entering these in the Power of Pink challenge hosted by Jen over at Beantown Baker. Thanks for raising awareness of this important cause, Jen!

Sometimes on quiet evenings when there’s not much going on, I’ll drag out cookbooks I’ve looked at million times and flip through them, just to remind myself what’s in there. I was glancing through my Hershey’s cookbook the other day and came upon adorable, pink-frosted mini cupcakes. Perfect for the month of October!

What intrigued me about these cupcakes was the addition of a stiffly beaten egg white to the chocolate cake batter. Different, eh? I thought so too. The end result was a light and almost spongy cake. Not bad – just not what you would expect. The interesting cake texture, coupled with the smooth creamy (PINK) frosting and the richness and crunch of chopped Hershey’s chocolate bars with almonds almost made me forget that these were actually cupcakes. They were pushed into the realm of…something other than cake! I’m not sure how to explain it, other than to say they are very interesting and delicious!

CHOCOLATE PINKS (Recipe Source: Hershey’s 1934 Cookbook)

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 3 tablespoons Hershey’s cocoa
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 egg white, beaten to stiff peaks
• 2 Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bars with Almonds (1.05 ounces each), chopped into small chunks

DIRECTIONS

1. Cream butter and sugar together; add the egg yolk and vanilla, and beat well.
2. Sift together flour, baking soda and cocoa; add with milk to other ingredients.
3. Add stiffly beaten egg white.
4. Bake in a very small buttered tins (1 3/4 inch muffin pan) in a 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Ice with Pink Butter Icing (recipe follows). Scatter candy over the cakes while icing is still soft. Makes 24 cakes.

PINK BUTTER ICING

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 tablespoon of milk
• 4 drops red food coloring (I actually used pink gel food coloring. And too much of it at that. Pepto cakes, anyone?)

Beat butter and sugar; stir in vanilla and milk. Beat until icing is smooth and of spreading consistency. Makes about 1 cup.

A couple notes about the frosting:

• You can use any vanilla buttercream recipe you like here. I found this particular recipe to be quite sweet. But since the cakes aren’t that sweet and there’s some texture with the almonds in the candy, I think it works here. I probably wouldn’t use this particular recipe on it’s own.
• You may need to add a splash more milk. I found the frosting to be a bit stiff when I went to spread. I knew more milk would solve the problem, but I was already 4 or 5 in – wasn’t gonna turn back! I just kept on…silently cursing myself for not paying better attention the first place. Ha.
  

ENJOY!

One Year Ago:

A Yankee Girl Heads South

I’m the first to admit I haven’t spent much time “down south.” With the exception of a few trips to Florida, Eric’s hometown in southern Illinois was as far south as I’ve ever been.

Until now! Eric and I just got back from an AWESOME trip to Nashville, TN! We decided to road trip from Iowa and with a stop over at the in-laws in southern Illinois, it wasn’t a bad drive at all! Even if you don’t have a place to stop, this is a one day drive from the Midwest easily.

I loved everything about this city. Everything. I never thought I’d want to leave the Midwest but I’d make an exception for Nashville. Yes. I would live there. This is HUGE for me. Huge. I’m not even kidding. I fell head over heals IN LOVE with Nashville.

Let me tell you why I like it. Ready? Great! Take a trip with us to fabulous Nashville, TN!

1. It’s a big city without being too big. All the great things about a big city are there without all the hassles. Case in point – we were downtown early in the evening on Sunday night…there was a Titans game about to start, a pretty big name at the Ryman and the streets were packed with people. We still found a place to park without much searching AND got a table at a restaurant right there in the middle of the action without evening without waiting more than 5 minutes. Now THAT’S what I’m talking about! LOVE it.

2. I loved the mix of old and young. The city totally has a young, hip vibe with cool places to eat/hang out/shop with a nice splash of history and old-timeyness thrown in. I loved that we heard a young guy play Hank, Sr. in a honky-tonk. I loved that the people at the next table were our parents age. There is truly something for everyone there and it’s all mixed up together into a melting pot of wonderfulness!

3. Live country music. Ice cold beer. And NO cover? Yes, please!

4. And, last but not least, there is a ton to do and see…and EAT! Here’s some highlights from our trip to Music City.

First, let me hype up this AWESOME deal from the Nashville CVB – The Total Access Pass. $45 gets you admission into four attractions of your choice. There are 16 to choose from including the Country Music Hall of Fame. This was a GREAT find. With two Total Access passes, it was like getting into all the attractions at two for one. This is a must. I mean, it’s 20 bucks to get into the CMHoF alone – this thing pays for itself in three attractions. Worth it. With our passes we went to the Hall of Fame, toured the Ryman Auditorium, went to the Hermitage and to the Belle Meade Plantation. The pass also included free admission to the Parthenon (yes, there’s a replica of the Greek Parthenon in Nashville! Who would have thunk it?!) but we ran out of time and didn’t get over there.

We loved the Hall of Fame – especially the exhibit about the Williams family. Fascinating!

The Hermitage (home of our 7th President, Andrew Jackson) was really interesting too. I learned a lot about him I didn’t know from high school history!

The Ryman was truly amazing. No wonder they call it the Mother Church of Country Music. We kind of went in there on whim and I’m so glad we did. I need-NEED- to see a show here someday. I bet it’s beyond amazing. I’m already on their mailing list. Next trip to Nashville WILL involve a show here.

Belle Meade (home of the bloodlines of such famous racehorses as Seabiscuit and Secretariat, among others) was great because they let you wander around the entire house and get up close to the items inside (most of which are original.) Very cool!

Other highlights – we drove down to Lynchberg to the Jack Daniel’s Distillery. This was probably the highlight of the trip for both of us. SO amazing – you can read about our trip down there here.

And we saw a show at the Grand Ole Opry. Wow, was that like stepping back in time or what?? The modern artists on the stage that night – Josh Turner and Montgomery Gentry. Both awesome. It was fun to see some old timers too. Eric is more familiar with those folks than I am, but I enjoyed it too. It’s a live radio broadcast (complete with sponsors and commercials!) so the announcer would prompt us to cheer and clap every now and then. So much fun! They actually let you come right up to the stage and take pictures if you want. I didn’t, but that’s pretty neat that you can get that close to the stars!

We also had our very first pro-hockey game experience with the Nashville Predators. We are hockey virgins no more! I’ve never been much of a hockey fan but it was actually a lot of fun – even though the Predators didn’t play that well this particular evening. Helpful tip – we waited until the day of the game to get tix and we got cheap seats for only 10 bucks each! Can’t beat that with a stick. Apparently they sell a hundred tickets at a reduced price the day of the game. Great deal! Sure, they were nosebleeds but they were far from bad seats. I liked being up high because we had a nice birdseye view of what was happening. It was easier for me to follow along that way. I learned all about penalty boxes and power plays. Hee. This game was a treat for sure! The zambonis are my favorite part. Of course.

And now the reason why you’re here – the FOOD!

Big, HUGE thank you shout out to Erin over at Erin’s Food Files. Erin’s blog is FAB! One of my favorites for sure. Her recipes are so creative-I love when she features the goodies she gets in her CSA baskets! Please be sure to check it out! She gave me the low down on all her favorite local eats and provided us with some GREAT recommendations. See, this is what’s so great about the food blogging world – although Erin and I have never met, we are acquainted through our mutual love of food – and blogging about it! We’ve connected through blogging! When she heard we were headed her way, she quickly came to the rescue with her recs as I was at a complete loss on where to eat! Thank you, Erin!!

Here’s just a sampling of where we chowed down. I could go on and on forever about every single place we ate but I’ll spare you and just mention the highlights.

Jack’s BBQ – 416 Broadway, Nashville

Okay. Jack’s ROCKS! It’s located right downtown in the heart of the action and has cute little flying piggies on the marquee. Hee. This a counter service type place, where you order at the counter and then take your food and go sit down. It was SO good. Now, I LOVE barbeque, but I really don’t know much about it. What I do know is that it’s serious business. Especially in the south. This was our first meal in Nashville and it was a great way to kick things off!

As I pondered my choices (had plenty of time do so, the line was pretty long!) I thought I’d probably end up with pork. I always get pork. But the smoked turkey was speaking to me. Calling to me. I went for it – in sandwich form. Mmmm. Like butter it was so tender. Perfect smokey flavor, lots of charred, crunchy edges to enjoy. Yum. I got baked beans on the side. They had a nice kick of spice to them – just how I like ‘em.

Eric got the pork. I didn’t even end up trying it, I was so enthralled in my turkey, but he really seemed to enjoy it. On the side, he got mac and cheese (homemade and very cheesy and delicious) and cinnamon apples (like pie-sans crust. YUM.)

We got little cups of all the sauces to try before deciding which one to pour on our sandwiches. Eric liked the mustard-based sauce the best. I liked the sweet/spicy/tangy vinegar sauce the best, with the mustard coming in a close second. The tomato based sauce was good too but there’s something about vinegar and mustard sauces that always outdo the tomato sauces for me – not sure why that is!

This was probably my favorite place that we ate. Also one of the cheapest! Ha. I’m a cheap date, I guess.

Cabana – 1910 Belcourt Ave., Nashville

Cabana is on Nashville’s west side near Vanderbilt University. The neighborhood over there is totally cool. Very hip and vibrant. Once I got over feeling like a country bumpkin trying to fit in with the rich kids, I really enjoyed myself. Ha ha…I *think* Vanderbilt is a little fancier than what we public state school grads are used to (Going out on a limb and guessing they probably don’t have classrooms with scary looking live wires hanging out spaces where the ceiling tiles have disintegrated like we did? Am I right? Ha ha.) The area around campus is really beautiful.

On to our dinner! Well. Let me just say, if we go back to Nashville, I would absolutely try Cabana again. The food was excellent and I LOVED the atmosphere. We liked how the menu was a bit more upscale but there was still a couple giant TVs on hand to watch some football and keep things casual. Very cool vibe.

However. Yeah, there’s a however here. Just hear me out though!

We debated back and forth about getting a couple smaller plates to share or getting entrees. In the end we each went with an entree. I kind of wished we went with the smaller plates so we could have had more variety. The entree I chose originally was a pasta special. They were out. I know that’s no one’s fault but….you know….when you have your heart set on one thing and then you have to choose something else it’s like a major bummer. I ended up getting the braised bison short ribs with gnocchi. I liked the flavors a lot and the meat was insanely tender and delicious – but there was like four gnocchi on my entire plate…and I gave one to Eric when he tried a bite! I wanted more soft, potato-y goodness. There wasn’t enough contrast of textures without more gnocchi. Eric got a tri-colored cheese tortellini with Italian sausage and a crushed tomato sauce. It was for sure delicious, but it wouldn’t have been my choice when there were so many other interesting things to choose from! He’s kind of scared of the unknown, so no surprises that he chose that. It’s okay – I still love him.

Also, our server told us it was happy hour and that draft beers were a dollar off – I had a draft and Eric didn’t so I don’t think he knew how much it was supposed to be when he got the check. I looked at our receipt after we left and we didn’t get the drink for a dollar off. In the grand scheme of things, does one dollar matter? No, of course not. But still…you know…yeah….

Again, I will absolutely give Cabana another shot. The menu is so eclectic and fun, I can’t wait to get back and try it a second time. Overall, we really enjoyed ourselves there.

Jackson’s – 1800 21st Ave. S, Nashville

Jackson’s is also on the west end near Vanderbilt. We stopped in here for brunch on Sunday afternoon. It was getting late – close to 2:00 and this place was still packed to the brim. This is actually the only place we went on our trip where we had to wait to be seated. I’m a big believer in following the crowd and the crowd for sure knew what they were talking about here. There were so many things on the menu that sounded good, we really had a hard time choosing! Eric got an omlette (I can’t remember what was is in it!) and cinnamon toast. He seemed to enjoy it. I tried a bit of the cinnamon toast and thought it was just so-so. Just a basic buttered toast with a bit of cinnamon sugar on top. I’m not sure what I was expecting but I don’t think it was that. Oh well. Everything else was good.

I just had to get the monte cristo – ham, cheese, sandwiched between what tastes a lot like french toast and deep fried. I got mine with a side of bypass surgery. LOL. Kidding, of course! I knew I was only going to be able to eat about a quarter of the sandwich because they are always so so SO rich but I couldn’t pass it up. My prediction came true…I couldn’t even finish half of it but it was decadent and delicious. I’m big on the sweet/salty combo so this was right up my alley. Dipped in maple syrup, this is treat is salty, crunchy, melty and delicious!

I had a side of french onion hash brown potatoes. Onions, potatoes and cheese? I’ll take two orders, please. These were good too – thick chunks of potatoes, fried up crispy and topped with lots of melted swiss. Loved the sweet background from the onions. Eric ate what I couldn’t finish of those.

Big River Grille and Brewery Works – 111 Broadway, Nashville

We came out of the Country Music Hall of Fame around noon absolutely famished. We wandered down Broadway and saw people pretty much streaming into this place. We need to follow that crowd, I told Eric. So we did. I was just expecting your basic bar food and sandwiches, which is all well and good, but I was actually pleasantly surprised and really enjoyed my meal here. First of all, they’ve got real, fresh-squeezed lemonade on the menu. Two big, enthusiastic thumbs up from me right there. I’m sold! You don’t see that nearly often enough. I ended up with the fish tacos. Grilled mahi-mahi kicked up with spicy cajun seasonings, lettuce, fresh pico de gallo, pepper jack cheese and an avocado sauce. All that yumminess came stuffed in a crunchy blue corn tortilla and then wrapped in a flour tortilla. Mmmmm. Very fresh and delicious. It came with a spicy rice and delightful black beans. And with ice cold lemonade to wash it all down, I left there a happy camper with a full tummy.

Oh, Eric had a bacon cheeseburger, I think. He enjoyed it.

So there you have it! Erin and Eric’s Excellent Adventure in Nashville. Let me just add here that everything expressed in this post is my personal opinion only. I received no compensation in any way shape or form, monetary or otherwise, from anyone mentioned above. We just had a really great time in Nashville! I hope anyone else planning a trip finds this post useful!

Bye y’all! (Does that sound authentic? Do I fit in yet?)

One Year Ago:

• Cinnamon Crispy Squares – A dorm dining hall fave at home!
• Easy Herb Focaccia - A simple but delicious bread with an oniony kick.

Welcome Back

I may or may not have dropped off the face of the earth there for a minute. Yeesh. Sorry!! I’m back now. I have booze. That’s a peace offering if there ever was one, don’t ya think? Yep. Me too. CHEERS!

Now, where I have been? Well, since my last post two friggin’ weeks ago already, I have gone through three distinct phases that have completely and totally removed me from all things blogging.

First, there was pre-vacation panic. This is where I run around like a chicken with it’s head cut off making sure everything is just so before we leave. I do this, of course, so I can relax. I make myself crazy so I can relax. Is that weird? That may be weird… The house must be spotless. There must be nothing left in the fridge that may rot. I have to lay out my entire wardrobe just so I can select 10 or so outfits to cover my bare bottom while we travel. I have to pack the snacks. And assemble the rockin’ road trip tunes. And make sure the mail is being held and the newspaper is canceled and that there are timers on all the lights. Getting ready to go on vacation is downright exhausting, I tell you what!

Second, well, we went on vacation! There’s no blogging on vacation. Only sightseeing and eating and spending time with the Hubs are allowed. Ahhhh. We spent five relaxing days in FABULOUS Nashville, TN. We had an AWESOME time. LOVED it. Like the “I would drop everything right now and move there” kind of love. I am ever so slowly working on a post about all the great things we saw and ate while we were there. It will be up soon…I promise! I’ve been working on it since last Wednesday…sometimes you just know when it’s time to take a step back and move on to something else for a while. This is one of those times. That’s why you’ll see an (unusual and fun) recipe in this post to pump you up for what’s coming. So stayed tuned!

And, third, there’s the Back from Vacation Blahs. You know how you get all tired and cranky that it’s back to reality? Laundry. Restocking that fridge you raked clean. Getting back into the swing of things at work. Add in the fact that two days after we returned it was back into the car for a weekend in the Chicago ‘burbs to see some of my wonderful, fabulous friends!

Whew! Needless to say, the blog has fallen by the wayside while I was off gallivanting around. Here is a really fun and easy recipe to get back into the swing of things….

Now, not to give too much away about our vacation, but one of the best things we did was drive down to Lynchburg to the Jack Daniel’s distillery. What fun! A of all…it’s gorgeous country down there. The town is nestled into wooded hills. It’s tiny, but absolutely beautiful. And with the leaves just beginning to turn, it kind of makes you forget that you are really not all that far from the big city. B of all…it’s Jack Daniel’s – what’s not to love about that?!

The whiskey making process is a long and labor intensive one – Our tour guide said that at any given time, there are upwards of 70 MILLION gallons of whiskey being aged in the barrel houses. 70 Million!! Now THAT’S a lot of booze. The county in which the distillery is located is actually dry. The only place you can buy liquor is on the property and they only started allowing that about 15 years ago! That’s just fascinating – the county’s economy revolves around the production of alcohol…and you can’t even buy it there!

Of course, we picked up our own bottle of Tennessee whiskey while we were there. That’s a given. After we finished our tour, we headed into town to poke around in the shops on Main St. Who can resist small town shops? I know I can’t. I promptly dropped 60 bucks there. Ha. One of the souvenirs I picked up was a cookbook – Jack Daniel’s Spirit of Tennessee Cookbook. Eric may talk a big game that he’s Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound (ha) but he will totally NOT drink all that anytime soon. Figured I’d help him along and use some of that amber-colored deliciousness in some recipes.

As I was leafing through it, I knew what I had to try first – as in pretty much the minute we returned….

SNOCKERDOODLES.

Um. Best.Cookie.Name.EVER. Right?? Totally.

What the heck is a Snockerdoodle? Well, it’s a delightful chocolate cookie that starts with boxed cake mix (I know, I know…but like I said, this is a ridiculously easy cookie) and gets a little flavor help from Uncle Jack (Daniel, that is.) Yup, this is a chocolate WHISKEY cookie. Get it? SNOCKERdoodles. LOVE it.

These are SO good. The end result is a chewy cookie with a rich, dark chocolate flavor and a warm, spicy background from the whiskey. The flavor is so unexpected but totally delicious. The whiskey is not overpowering at all. These would be an excellent addition to a holiday treat tray. You know…after you’ve spent days and days and countless hours kneading, rolling, cutting, and decorating Christmas cookies but you still need just ONE MORE thing to round out your baking? These. Seriously. They take minutes to throw together and they will totally impress your friends.

SNOCKERDOODLES (Recipe Source: Jack Daniel’s Spirit of Tennessee Cookbook)

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 eggs, well beaten
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 box devil’s food cake mix (two layer size)
• 5 tablespoons Jack Daniel’s Whiskey
• Powdered sugar, for rolling

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Blend eggs and oil. Add cake mix and whiskey. Mix well. (I used my hand mixer). Form into small balls and roll in powdered sugar before baking. Place cookie balls on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes (check ‘em after 10). Be careful not to overbake – cookies will soft when taken out of the oven. Makes 5 dozen.

ENJOY!

One Year Ago:

• Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies – My grandma’s recipe. A true family favorite of ours.
• Lemon Chicken with Croutons – This is a GREAT way to make a whole chicken. So delicious.

Where the boys are

I often find myself wondering what happens in other homes when husband’s friends come to stay for the weekend. I have a few guesses – 48 hours of video games, anyone? Maybe two full days full of nothing but beer and sports. Perhaps they get the old band back together and play music. Or maybe they don’t stay home at all and immediately jet off for a long motorcycle ride or hunting trip. Or head off to the nearest campsite, hiking trail or bike path. Seems pretty accurate. Manly. The things life long Bromances are made of.

But, how many  homes are filled with the smell of fresh paint and stain when husband’s friends visit? Or the sounds of a hammer on nails or a power saw whirring. How many wives overhear their husband’s tell their friends on the phone to bring “work clothes and boots” when discussing the weekend’s plans?

This is what happens at our house. I am seriously beginning to questions whether or not this is normal. Is this normal? Really, I want to know. When your husband’s friends come to stay for the weekend does he put them straight to work? Because my husband does. Weird, right? Yeah.

Oh, don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining. The fact that it was Eric’s two high school buddies painting doors and trim on Saturday and not me totally made me do a little dance of joy. I guess I just don’t know WHY anyone would want to drive 300 plus miles to do manual labor at someone else’s house. I mean, no one has any shortage of that kind of stuff around their own house, why in the world would they want to go to someone else’s and do it?

Oh well. They don’t seem to mind. And I certainly don’t mind. Everyone wins!

Eric had his buddies hard at work this weekend, so I figured I could do my part and make dinner. What to feed three growing boys that have been working hard all day. Hm. Can’t go wrong with chili! And my favorite beer bread.

I make this bread pretty frequently. Anytime there’s a chili or hearty soup to be had, I usually whip this up to go along side it because it literally takes minutes to throw together. It is insanely delicious. It’s one of those things that’s so common around here, I didn’t even think to ever put it in my blog. It’s like it’s not special enough – it’d be like blogging tacos made with a seasoning packet or a boxed pasta salad (both of which I do make and enjoy very much. Ha. Don’t you judge me!) But, really, it IS special – because it’s so very good! It does deserve a place in my blog after all. With a slight kick from sauteed onion and garlic and great cheesy surprise, it bakes up light and tender. Check out all those little pockets of cheesy deliciousness! (that’s a technical culinary term.) It’s so flavorful inside and crunchy and yummy outside.

Shout out to all my fellow edge piece fans out there in Blogland! Every piece has that satisfying crunch of “edge” to be enjoyed. Love me some edges. Holla!

BASIC BEER-CHEESE BREAD (Recipe Source: Cooking Light, November 2008)

INGREDIENTS:

• 1  tablespoon  olive oil
• 1/2  cup  finely chopped yellow onion
• 1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 1  garlic clove, minced
• 13.5  ounces  all-purpose flour (about 3 cups)
• 3  tablespoons  sugar
• 2  teaspoons  baking powder
• 1  teaspoon  salt
• 1  cup  (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 1  (12-ounce) bottle lager-style beer (such as Budweiser)
• Cooking spray
• 2  tablespoons  melted butter, divided

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375°.

2. Heat oil in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Add onion to pan; cook 10 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally. Stir in pepper and garlic; cook 1 minute.

3. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk; make a well in center of mixture. Add onion mixture, cheese, and beer to flour mixture, stirring just until moist.

4. Spoon batter into a 9 x 5–inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Drizzle 1 tablespoon butter over batter. Bake at 375° for 35 minutes. Drizzle remaining 1 tablespoon butter over batter. Bake an additional 25 minutes or until deep golden brown and a wooden pick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in pan 5 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

ENJOY!

One year ago:

• My Easy Buttermilk Chicken Parm
• Creamy Parmesan Penne with Broccoli and Bacon – ready in 15. Seriously.
• Pumpkin Bars – Husband tested and approved. The frosting is the best!