Addiction is a serious subject, and I am not here to make fun of it. That said, the reason there was no post yesterday is two-fold. The first reason has to do with Christmas. It is Christmas’ fault, or the fault of my family’s expectations of what Christmas looks like, that I didn’t have time to post yesterday. It takes FOREVER to decorate this house! And I’m not even half done yet.

The other reason has nothing to do with the “most wonderful time of the year” and everything to do with my newest addiction… My Vineyard, on Facebook. I am here to confess… “My name is Linda, and I am a My Vineyard junkie.”  Your response should be, “Hi, Linda. Do you want me to “friend you” on My Vineyard so that we can play together?”  Then I say, “Oh yes, please do and in return, I promise to send you gifts, and travel to your vineyard every single day where I shall help build your houses, fertilize your vines, and taste your wine!”

OK, now that the business portion of the post is out of the way, on to the recipe of the day. These are a lovely little appetizer to serve to your friends (Facebook, or not!) and family this holiday season. And that is exactly what I shall be doing at tonight’s final cooking class of my fall series at Les Gourmettes, and then again to my lovely neighbors at our Holiday Progressive Dinner on Friday night when appetizers begin at our house. (The main reason I HAVE to finish decorating this house and stop playing that cursed game!)

For convenience, I call for purchased fully cooked short ribs, which I found at Costco and have seen at Trader Joe’s. Feel free to make the short ribs from scratch if you have the time.

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Everyone should set goals for themselves. Most people do so at the beginning of a new year. Today I am setting a goal for my blog. It is a short-term goal that is to be accomplished by the end of this year, and I need YOUR help to achieve it!

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Here is the second recipe promised from the Black Friday Cocktail Party. It would make a great addition to any Christmas buffet too, just play up the red and green a little more, and it’ll fit right in. Enjoy!

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There were about 25 lovely ladies at my BFCP last night, none of whom actually went shopping earlier in the day. A few did admit to cyber-shopping, but no one went near the malls… smart friends, have I!  

Below is the light menu I served and while typing it up I realized that it is basically a vegetarian menu, even though none of the attendees are vegetarians. You can get away with this when it’s an all-girls group, but don’t try it when men are involved!

I say “basically vegetarian” because my shooters used chicken stock, but one can easily substitute vegetable broth. And luckily, everyone loves cheese, because just about every recipe has it!

The first three dishes have already been posted here and you can access them by just clicking on the desired recipe name. The final two are from a wonderful cookbook called The Big Book of Appetizers by  Meredith Deeds and Carla Snyder. Meredith taught classes last week at Les Gourmettes Cooking School and these were two of the delicious recipes she demonstrated. Not only was the food great, but Meredith was a wonderful and entertaining teacher. I highly recommend the book, check it out on Amazon by clicking on the title above. With Meredith’s permission, I am posting the recipe for the tart today and the dip will be up tomorrow. Bonus: There is a special “Black” playlist to go along with the menu at the bottom of this post.

Black Friday Cocktail Party Menu

FOOD
Hot Feta and Tomato Spread with Pita Chips
Edamame Hummus with Crudités
Potato, Parsnip, Pear, and Parmesan Shooters
Blue Cheese Marinated Mushrooms
Rustic Goat Cheese Tart with Caramelized Balsamic Onions
Feta Cheese, Roasted Red Pepper, and Pine Nut Dip

BEVERAGES
Splits of Freixenet
Red and White Wine
Martinelli’s Sparkling Cider

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Who in the world would have a party the day after Thanksgiving, coming off of a cooking marathon? Me! Crazy, I know, but I am still really looking forward to seeing my friends at an impromptu get-together before the holiday rush. In fact, it’s sort of a kick-off to the madness of the Holiday Season, called a Black Friday Cocktail Party.

I’m making about half dozen appetizers and serving darling little splits of Freixenet Cordon Negro; the brut champagne in the little black bottles. Here is one of the dishes we’ll be slurping on, I’ll post more recipes and pictures tomorrow and for a few days to come. All will be more than appropriate for your own holiday party or to bring along to the ones you’ll be attending.

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Turkey-Day is only 2 days away!!! Complete Thanksgiving Planning Guide and Timeline. Better get there now!

I’ve known this fact for about a year now, bloggers are very nice and supportive people! Look at this sweet post from a fellow blogger and often, nice comment sender, Audrey Larsen, of The Audrey Files. She is my new BFF – so sorry Jen and Peggy and Anne!

Wanna know something that makes my day (in addition to having a new BFF)? Finding a cool new item at Trader Joe’s, that’s what! While standing in the dried fruit/nut aisle I was scanning for dried cranberries. Not that I really need another bag, I’m guessing that I have at least a half dozen partial bags of dried cranberries tucked behind various other partial bags of nuts and fruits and chocolates in one of my two extra freezers, but I am too busy/lazy to dig for one. That is really a whole other story and could be a post on its own! Anyhow, as I stood there scanning, I saw, the new item – dried pomegranate seeds.

Awesome! I was so excited to try them, I had to control the urge to open the package right there and then. The very second I was in the car, I ripped into it. They are tasty, and according to the package they are a “good source of fiber” too. There you go, run out and snag a couple of bags so that it becomes such a popular item, there is no way TJ’s would even consider discontinuing them. Even though I am enjoying eating them straight from the bag, I decided to create a Thanksgiving recipe using them and share it with you… hey, it’s just how I roll.

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I was treated to a fabulous lunch at T. Cooks at the Royal Palms yesterday by my two “cooking cohorts” Barb Fenzl and Kim Howard. Kim told us about a delicious martini she’d had over the weekend at Modern Steak, called Retail Therapy.  It sounded so good and I knew I’d want to re-create here, but hadn’t thought I’d be doing it so soon.

I brought home an unwanted souvenir from my recent travels – a furious head cold! I’ve been downing the Sudefed and Nyquil like candy, but last night didn’t think I could stand even one more dose. So instead, I opted for my own remedy, which I shall rename Head Cold Therapy! It worked like a charm – I slept like a baby. This may not be the perfect remedy for everyone, but it is one great martini!

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This recipe comes from my friend, boss, and mentor, Barbara Pool Fenzl, owner of Les Gourmettes Cooking School in Phoenix.  Barb and I have worked together for 22  wonderful years. She made these bars for the classes she taught at the school this year and agreed to allow me to share them with you.

These beautiful and delicious bars are the perfect autumn and holiday treat. They are a gorgeous rich dark and light layered caramel-colored indulgence.

Dulce de leche is a rich caramel sauce that can be found in 13.4-ounce cans in the Hispanic section of most grocery stores.  You will divide and use the entire can for this recipe.

The picture just below and before the recipe is from when the Superbowl was in Arizona for the first time in 1996 at ASU Sun Devil Stadium. Barb was asked to come and cook on the Today Show and she took me along to assist, the picture is with Bryant Gumble, who was the host at that time. In front of the photograph is one of my favorite things in Barb’s kitchen – a little clock made from an empty thyme tin can. I am going to dig through my old spice cans and make one for myself… someday!

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My gorgeous friend forever, Laura, and me – Happy birthday to YOU!

Before I get to the details of the surprise party mentioned in yesterday’s post; I want to send birthday wishes to my dearest friend, Laura Heffron. Laura and I (pictured above) have been friends since high school, when we discovered our birthdays were only one day apart, added together, we have been alive for 100 years!  Laura was my maid-of-honor 25 years ago and is Marissa’s godmother. I was a bridesmaid at her wedding and am godmother to 2 of her 3 sons. Happy Birthday, Laura! I love you!

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