Category — Recipes

Happy April Fool’s Day.
No tricks today.
Not when a cocktail is always much more fun!

For our Easter cocktails, I offered mango, orange, and cran-apple juices for a make-your-own Mimosa bar.

And since it’s always more festive to buy a larger size bottle of wine or champagne, I did just that. There were only five of us, so I opted for a magnum. How big is a magnum? It is a double bottle or 1.5 liters.

How big can you go? Here are the sizes for champagne:

Split: holds 187 ml – individual size
Half-Bottle: 375 ml – a half bottle
Bottle: 750 ml – standard size
Magnum: 1.5 liters – equivalent of 2 bottles
Double-Magnum: 3.0 liters – equivalent of 4 bottles
Rehoboam: 4.5 liters – equivalent of 6 bottles
Methuselah: 6 liters – equivalent to 8 bottles
Salmanazar: 9.0 liters – equivalent to 12 bottles or 1 case
Balthazar: 12.0 liters – equivalent to 16 bottles
Nebuchadnezzar: 15.0 liters – equivalent to 20 bottles

I’ve seen a Balthazar before, but I’ve never seen a Nebuchadnezzar. Now that would be one great party!

Along with the juices, I offered St. Germain. A flute of St. Germain & Champagne is so refreshing and tastes like spring!

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Happy Easter from our home to yours.

I’m writing this post on Saturday afternoon as I bake, cook, and set up for our Easter brunch on Sunday. I love Easter, not only for the important purpose of the day and joyous celebration – allowing us to focus again on the foundations of our faith. But also for the relaxed family-oriented holiday that it is.

Sunday promises to be a beautiful day! It is expected to be in the mid to high 70’s while we are enjoying our outdoor meal.

Today I give you the recipe for our dessert and one of my impromptu decorating ideas. I’ll share the rest of the decor, tablescape, and recipes in the week to follow. Until then, I wish you all a Blessed and Happy Easter.

First the decorating…  I mentioned, in yesterday’s post, that Amy gave me a hostess gift of a mini succulent greenhouse. It was almost too cute to open but open it, but I did.

I transplanted all six of the succulents into vintage silver egg cups.

In the morning, I’ll incorporate them into the tablescape, until then they are hanging out on the vintage green scale in the kitchen along with the cute wooden bunny that Amy attached to the packaging. Pretty cute, right?

Now for the dessert –

First, a couple of quick notes: It is important to plan ahead for this bread pudding. Instead of the usual bread, I’m using angel food cake. The cake takes longer to dry out than bread would. So give it a good 48 to 60 hours to dry before you put the dessert together.

Secondly, I was too lazy to go to the liquor store to buy the amount of banana rum or banana liqueur I needed. I thought I had enough but it turns out the little “airline” bottles only hold 3 tablespoons liquid – I needed 4 tablespoons – so I used 1 tablespoon of mango rum to make up the difference.

Tasted Great!

Point is, to use what you want or what you have on hand. Spiced rum, regular rum, hazelnut liqueur, Galliano, whatever.

P.S. I found the double package of 6 mini angel food cakes at Costco.

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I love everything about ahi tuna. It is delicious. It is so easy to make. It is quick. It is perfect in every way… well except the price, it is kinda pricey… but it’s worth it!

Oh yeah, and it’s healthy too. Ahi or yellowfin tuna is low in saturated fat and sodium. It is a very good source of protein, thiamin, niacin, and vitamin B6. It is also a good source of magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium.

If only it was less expensive, I’d most likely eat it at least once a week. I looked back through the “Complete Recipe Index” over there on the left, and I already have seven recipes for ahi tuna … this makes number eight, and I’m certain it won’t be the last. Of the previous seven, there have been ahi sliders, appetizer bites, salad, tacos, and more.

This time around I’m marinating the tuna in a mixture of pineapple juice, garlic, and soy sauce. Don’t marinate for much more than three hours or the pineapple juice will begin to break down the tuna.

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It’s easy and healthy to make your own sausage at home. Begin with lean ground turkey and you’re halfway there. You’ll yield about a dozen sausage patties with this recipe, and you only need 4 for the salad. Save the rest for another couple of meals… maybe to accompany your eggs the next morning.

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These chicken thighs may be “skinny” but they are juicy and packed with flavor. The thanks go to a slow cooker and a few sugar-free Walden Farms products.

Of course, if you don’t have the sugar-free stuff; regular ketchup, barbecue sauce, and syrup or honey may be used instead, although your thighs will be “fatter” than these “skinny” ones.

I buy the boneless skinless chicken thighs at Costco. They come in a 6-pack, each pack contains five thighs. I used three packs, 15 thighs, for this recipe and put the remaining three packs in the freezer.

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I had planned to tell you about my weekend but I haven’t had time to get the photos put together. Instead, how about another recipe for our new “skinny” category today?

Skinny Greek Salad

Roasted Grape Tomatoes
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
Pam non-stick cooking spray
1 teaspoon Greek seasoning, divided
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Oil-Free Greek Dressing
Juice from roasting tomatoes (from above)
Zest from 1 small lemon
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 small garlic clove, peeled and minced
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Chicken
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 tablespoon fresh chopped rosemary
1 tablespoon fresh chopped oregano
1 tablespoon fresh chopped thyme
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Salad
1 cup chopped cucumber
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/4 cup pitted and sliced Kalamata olives
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 tablespoons thinly sliced and chopped red onion
1 head Romaine lettuce; torn into bite-size pieces, washed and spun dry

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The one bummer about St. Patrick’s Day is that it always falls during Lent. I nearly always give up alcohol for Lent, so it’s a bit of a letdown. Maybe next year I’ll just give up green beer!

Here are three St. Patrick’s Day recipes that won’t let you down! Plus, you can find more by clicking on the “Complete Recipe Index” over there on the left and scrolling down to the “Holidays” heading, and then scrolling to “St. Patrick’s Day.”

Have a wonderful day and be sure to partake in “The Wearing of the Green!”

Irish Pizza

Stout and Irish Whiskey Cupcakes with Bailey’s Irish Cream Frosting (aka Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes)

Duffy’s Irish Soda Bread

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When I have the time, I like to salt my beef and let it sit at room temperature for 1 hour before cooking. If I have even more time (and remember – that’s really the hard part – remembering!) I prefer to salt it overnight.

You may have heard or been taught to not salt beef until just before cooking. That can be true too.  I know, it’s so contradictory and confusing. Instead of trying to explain it myself, I am going to direct you to THIS ARTICLE, which explains the science of it perfectly, and also tells you what NOT to do when salting beef.

This is good information, don’t be lazy, be sure to check it out!

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I’m using three different cooking methods to make a simple salad. This will infuse as much flavor as possible into each ingredient without adding fat. This is achieved by;

• Roasting cherry tomatoes
• Poaching chicken breast
• Blanching asparagus

As an added bonus, the poaching/blanching broth may be saved and added to soup on another day.

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mishmash: noun \’mish-mash, -mäsh\

1. A collection containing a variety of miscellaneous things.
2. hodgepodge, jumble
3. A popular Bulgarian summer dish made with tomatoes, peppers, onion, feta cheese, eggs, and fresh herbs.

That is what today’s post is; a mishmash of items. Plus a recipe for Mish Mash!

First and foremost I want to wish a Very Happy Birthday to my dear friend and former neighbor, Lori Vento.

Lori is pictured below, doing what she does best, looking beautiful and giving back to others! This is a photo from when she generously hosted one of many charity events at her home … while posing with two little angels.

Lori, her sweet husband Jonathan, and their gorgeous daughter Kylie moved to Chicago nearly 2 years ago. I miss them so much! Kylie is attending college in Michigan, while Lori and Jonathan are now doing business and living in Tokyo … temporarily. I hope Jonathan has some very special Japanese plans today for Lori’s big day! I wish I could be there to celebrate with her. But sending my love, admiration, and thoughts across the miles and through cyberspace will have to suffice. xoxo

Secondly, let’s talk about stress and old people!
Stress and Crazy Old People!

I’m quite certain I haven’t previously mentioned the fact that my mom has Alzheimer’s. Fact is, she does.

When I say Crazy Old People, from here on out referred to as CrOP, I’m not only referring to Alzheimer’s because, trust me, my mom has been crazy for my entire life! Ask anyone who has known me for more than a few years and who has met my mom, they will confirm that I’m not being mean when I say so, it just is!

Anyhow, my sister, Sloane, and I (more so Sloane, than I, until recently) have been dealing with trying to convince our mom and her husband, Bill (her 3rd husband, by the way) to move into assisted living. Mom turned 78 on March 8 and Bill turned 90 in February. We believe that Bill has Alzheimer’s as well, he is being tested for it next week. They need more help than we can provide!

Sloane and I found the place and had the lease papers drawn up yesterday. We then took the papers to their house to have them signed. We stayed and packed for several hours while the two CrOP, followed us around and repeated themselves and asked the same questions over and over and over for the ENTIRE time!

In the middle of that, while removing and packing up thousands of dusty framed photos from a dusty floral wallpapered hallway, I cut open my wrist on a nail that was invisibly protruding from said nasty floral wallpaper. It would not stop bleeding. It made me nauseous to look at. I finally got it under control and now it just aches. Anyhow, at one point in the middle of all that fun, Bill actually said to me, “You know that you and your sister will be going to heaven for this!” Amen to that!

OK, enough of that drama and downer news. Back to some more fun and uplifting mishmash!

The next fun thing – my horoscope for today – is spot on! I am working like a fiend on “the space around me,” so this horoscope must be correct. The final full sentence, which you can not see, is “Beautiful changes are coming.” I believe that indeed they are!

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