Groovy Flowers + Lemons = Stupendous Centerpieces!

My Bestie, Amy, who you already know from Amy’s Famous Taco Soup – is always in charge of making cute name tags for our neighborhood soirées  – love those blinged out peace signs, Amy!

More peace signs along with smiley faces, a flower power table runner, and 70’s album covers were the decor at Rainy and Trent’s ultra cool and “Mod Squad-esque” home.

[Read more →]

Today I’m going to focus on the appetizer portion of our annual Progressive Dinner… which so happened to be held at my house. There will be some of the decor (yes, we had a Disco Mirror Ball!) and a couple classic 1970’s recipes.

Then on Tuesday, I’ll share with you a few more recipes and the super creative decor and tablescapes from two of our dinner host homes – Let me tell you – the two featured couples know how to set a theme table!

When you imagine decorating for the ’70’s, you have a bunch of choices to throw into the mix; Peace signs, the iconic Smiley Face, Flower Power, Hippy, and Disco. So much color and a little too much fun!

I’d recently purchased a case of vintage Pop Shoppe bottles online and had planned on serving a couple of “signature” cocktails in them… but the bottle openings were too small to get the ice cubes into. So instead, they served as a centerpiece.

For the cocktails, I pulled out my crate of antique individual milk bottles – not all that easy to get ice into either, but they worked. (Note: the photo was taken prior to filling the bottles with ice or beverage.)

Here are the recipes for a pitcher of each:

Tom Collins
2 cups Tanqueray gin
1 1/2 cups lemon or lime juice
1/3 cup sweet and sour mix
1/4 cup club soda

Harvey Wallbanger
2 1/4 cups Smirnoff vodka
3 cups orange juice
1/2 cup Galliano

Both cocktails are classically served with an orange slice. Speaking of orange…

[Read more →]

Yesterday I told you that I found the recipe I posted on Pinterest and that it was pinned by my friend, Gwen. Coincidentally, while I was whipping up that batch of Lemon Rolls, Gwen emailed me.  When I responded, I let her know I was making the rolls she had pinned and that she NEEDED – NO, not just needed, but actually owed it to me, to come by and take some of them off my hands.  She refused! Imagine that! Refusing free Meyer Lemon Rolls…OK, she had a good excuse as to why she could not, but still…

So today, in retaliation, I’ve decided to make one of Gwen’s most famous recipes… a version of her granola. Yes, Gwen is famous for her granola, you can check out her blog post HERE to find out why and see Gwen’s recipe.  But the real honest-to-goodness reason Gwen is famous for her granola is that it is so darn good.

Below is my version of Gwen’s Granola with a few tweaks of my own.  I’ve taken the name the of the Good Witch of the North, from Broadway’s Wicked, which also happens to be a combination of our two names – Gwen and Linda… and named it…

[Read more →]

I found this recipe on my friend, Gwen Walter’s, Pinterest page. I immediately repinned it and knew I’d be making them someday – today is that day! I have revised the recipe a bit, re-writing the confusing parts and eliminating 1/4 cup of butter… now they are so much healthier … NOT!

No, these are a once-a-year (at the most) treat… super high in fat and calories, but over-the-top delish!!! As in, “OMG – those are flipping amazing!” They would be perfect for an Easter brunch. They are made like a cinnamon roll but without a drop of cinnamon.

You will only use 3/4 cup of the nearly 2 cups of Meyer lemon curd you make. (Don’t have Meyer lemons? Just use regular lemons, it will still be fab!) Cover and refrigerate the rest of the curd and use on your morning toast and try to keep yourself and family members from sneaking in and devouring it with a spoon. To eliminate this serious threat, I used what was left to make a half batch of THESE lemon bars and have frozen them for when Connor comes home in a couple of weeks.  To do the same – just make half the amount of crust the recipe calls for and use an 8×8-inch baking dish. Then substitute this leftover lemon curd for the filling in the original recipe… yum!

[Read more →]

Our sweet little cold spell has come to a screeching halt… it’s going to get up into the low 80’s today and up to 85 throughout the weekend. Darn, I was soaking up as much of the cold as I could. Yesterday’s hot soup may have been the last for quite a while. OK, enough lamenting, back to “Kim Week”.

Kim’s friend with the urban farm, Chris, sent over eggs from her chickens and duck. Or maybe it’s ducks, as in more than one. I haven’t visited the garden yet, so I’m not sure. But look at those gorgeous eggs! Kim said that the two white eggs on top were the duck eggs, they look a bit small for duck eggs to me, but maybe they are small ducks! Hopefully, I will learn more soon, after a tour.

Doesn’t that basket look sweet in my fridge? Makes me wish I still had my chickens and a cool chicken coop.  There are so many pretty coops on Pinterest, it has me dreaming of one of my own.  Speaking of Pinterest, I’ve added a “Pin It!” button at the bottom of each post, so if you see something you’d like to share, feel free to pin away!

Even though the basket of pretty brown and colorful Araucana eggs in my fridge makes me feel quite wealthy, I had better use them up. And there is almost no better way to use up eggs than to bake up a quiche or two… or a half-dozen individual quiches.

[Read more →]

For day two of “Kim Week,” I am going to go where I have never gone before.  I am going to make and then eat cabbage soup.

Yesterday I said that I trusted Kim’s taste 100%. That was put to the test when I discovered that not only did Kim’s cabbage soup contain, well – you know – cabbage, but also sauerkraut! I despise sauerkraut!!! Even the smell of it makes me sick, bringing back horrible childhood food memories.

I was over at Kim’s house yesterday morning, picking up more bounty from Kim’s friend, Chris, who has an urban farm in her backyard. Kim is working on setting up a tour for me! Can not wait!

Anyhow, Chris gave Kim a big bunch of carrots, nearly 3 dozen freshly laid eggs, and a bag full of limequats to give to me… oh my, I am over the moon with these generous and fun gifts.

[Read more →]

The remaining days of this weeks posts may end up all mentioning my beautiful friend and co-worker, Kim. And that would be a good thing, indeed! Last night Kim and I went out for a glass of wine, to catch up. Before leaving the house, I received a call from her asking if I could use some dill. Turns out her friend and neighbor has a garden and her dill runneth over. Of course, I’d love to have dill, or anything else from someone’s garden.

When Kim arrives to pick me up, she not only has a bag of dill but a huge head of purple cabbage too – look at that monster! Now, cabbage isn’t my favorite vegetable, I’ll eat it and I find it tolerable, but not on the top of my list. Not to worry, Kim has a recipe for a fabulous cabbage soup. OK, I trust her taste 100%, so I tell her to send me that cabbage soup recipe.

In the meantime, I used the dill to make a dill pesto as a garnish for a carrot soup that Dave and I enjoyed for dinner last night. I was so distracted by that head of cabbage, that I neglected to take a photo of the lovely pile of dill, but you’ll at least see it in the final product below.  As for the cabbage… that story will be continued tomorrow.

[Read more →]

Although this cauliflower soup is not flashy… plain old white and boring looking… it is full of flavor. The flavors come from the roasted cauliflower, the caramelized onion, and toasted coriander, and then end with a dollop of horseradish or a splash of hot pepper sauce. If you’ve roasted garlic recently, throw some of the mellow roasted garlic in too.

[Read more →]

Today we are making cupcakes, but first, we need to start with a cocktail… Did you know that the Irish Car Bomb is one of the most popular drinks in the world? Do you know what is in an Irish Car Bomb?

Irish Car Bomb

1/2 shot Bailey’s Irish cream
1/2 shot premium Irish whiskey
3/4 pint Guinness stout

Layer the Bailey’s and then the Irish whiskey in a shot glass.  Pour the Guinness into a pint glass or beer mug 3/4 of the way full and let settle. Drop the shot glass into the Guinness and chug.     

Serves 1

Supposedly it is delicious- unless you don’t drink it quickly – then it will curdle and increasingly taste worse and worse.  I wouldn’t know, I do not care for stout beer. One thing I do know is that if you take those three liquors and turn them into cupcakes… WOW! The very best cupcakes I’ve had in a long long time. And positively PERFECT for St. Patrick’s Day!

[Read more →]

Boneless, skinless chicken breast is one of, if not the, most popular protein choices of Americans. Why? Because quick and easy meals begin with chicken, specifically breasts.

We love chicken for its taste, healthfulness, and low-fat content, along with how easy and versatile it is to cook. And there is no question that Americans overwhelmingly prefer white chicken meat to dark. According to data from 2007, on average, we eat chicken almost 10 times a month, but on less than two of those occasions do we choose chicken thighs or legs.

The average American was eating 36 pounds of chicken a year in 1970; by 1985 this had risen to 51 pounds; in 2010 it climbed to 60 pounds. Today, over 80% of that chicken consists of breast meat.  Americans prefer white meat because it has long been touted as “healthier” than dark meat.

But when it comes to fat and calories, there is very little difference between boneless, skinless chicken breast and boneless, skinless chicken thighs. According to the Department of Agriculture, 100 grams of white meat contains 0.56 grams of saturated fat and 114 calories, and dark meat – 1 gram of saturated fat and 119 calories. Dark chicken meat is also nutrient-rich, containing higher levels of iron, zinc, riboflavin, thiamine, and vitamins B6 and B12 than white meat.

You see, back in the late 60’s and early 70’s poultry producers realized that they could market and advertise the slight disparity in calories and fat content between dark and white chicken meat to perpetuate the “chicken over beef” craze.  And more importantly – they could retail a “premium” poultry product that could be sold at a higher price. The chicken was a healthy option, but chicken breast was the “healthiest”, and it turned out that we consumers were willing to shell out for it.

Since you probably have chicken breasts in your freezer, I’m going to give you an easy-breezy recipe using boneless, skinless breast; but boneless, skinless thighs could be easily substituted if you would like to save a little coin.

[Read more →]