It’s citrus season here in AZ and I thought this punch seemed appropos! I really enjoy cranberry based cocktails – not too tart, not too sweet. Kind of like me ~ yea, right!! Happy Weekend:)
Serves 20
Combine all ingredients except ginger ale, chill. Add ginger ale into bowl to serve.
You can find more great cocktail recipes like this one at www.suite101.com
I created this salad when I worked as a chef on Charter Yachts in the Caribbean. This is high in fiber, over the top in taste and very easy to make. Would sometimes serve it alongside a gazpacho or all on it’s own with a nice baguette. Enjoy!!
Strain the beans and thoroughly rinse them. In a large non-metallic bowl, mix all of the ingredients except for the cheese. Stir gently, cover tightly and put in frig for at least an hour.
Add the cheese to the top of each serving.
If you‘re using this as a main dish, serve over fresh greens and put some good crusty bread on the table.
I found a frozen piece of meat in my freezer last Saturday and since Sunday was all about football, I set it aside to thaw for a big pot of stew. Keeping some basic staples around the house, i.e. celery, carrots, onions, tomato paste and potatoes, saves you from a trip to the grocery store on game day ~ UGH! Oh, wait…do we have enough beer???? Honey!!!
2 pounds chuck – cut into 2 inch pieces
2 T. Vegetable Oil
2 each, celery stocks and carrots – medium dice
1 medium onion, diced
2 gloves garlic, minced
2 T. Tomato Paste
2 T. Flour
1 Can Budweiser (Hey, it’s AMERICAN football!)
4 Cups Beef Stock
2 Cups Water
8-10 small red potatoes, cut into 1 inch pieces
S&P to Taste
Salt and Pepper the beef. In a large stock pot or dutch oven, heat the oil to medium high. Working in batches so as not to crowd the pan and ‘boil’ your meat, brown on all sides and remove with a slotted spoon into a bowl. Finish cooking the meat and drain off all fat, leaving behind about 1 T.
Reduce heat to medium and add the celery, onion, garlic and carrots. Saute until well coated, then mix the tomato paste with a little bit of the water and pour over the vegetables and stir to incorporate. Sprinkle the flour over the top and mix well.
Increase the heat to medium high and add the beef and all the juices back to the pot. Add the stock, water and beer and bring to a slight boil. Reduce heat to simmer and let cook for about 90 minutes. Add the potatoes after 1 hour of cooking – this should thicken your stew sufficiently. Adjust for seasoning and PLAY BALL!!!!
Yes, there may be some confusion as to the differences between a Classic Chelada and a Michelada, but who really cares? These Mexican drinks became popular back in the 1940’s and 1950’s and the people from the country of origin swear by their curative hangover powers. Hey, Bartender! I’ll take tres, por favor. Happy Weekend!!!
1.) Moisten the rim of your glass with a lime
2.) Pour coarse salt onto a plate, and turn the moistened rim of the glass in the salt to coat
3.) Squeeze fresh lime juice into the glass, and add all ingredients except the beer
4.) Slowly pour the beer into the glass, and lightly stir the cocktail
5.) Continue to top off the cocktail with any remaining beer
6.) Salud!
I’m one of those people who plan my daily errand run according to right turns and trip time. Yes, it is rather frightening. While keeping that in mind and the fact that I basically cook for a living, one would assume that prepping and packing up the ingredients for a Minestrone soup to take and make for a friend would be a breeze. Well, we all know what happens we assume. This is a good one!
So, this friend of mine had been sick for quite some time and I got the brilliant idea of making him a little homemade soup. Since I hadn’t seen him in quite some time I thought it would be a hoot to bring the goodies with me and make it in the comfort of his kitchen. Ah, the best laid plans.
Anyhoo, I can make a pretty mean Minestrone with my eyes closed, but I wanted to try something a bit different and found a new recipe online:
Bacon: Check
Ground Beef: Check
Tomato Puree: Check
Mire Poix: Check
Diced Tomatoes: Check
Garbanzo Beans: Check
Spinach: Check
Zucchini: Check
Stock, Garlic, Herbs, Spices, Wine: Check, Check, Check, Check and Check
Sounds like we’re off to a great start, right? Wrong. OK, so I cook off the bacon and drain the fat; add the mire poix and sauté. The 1/3 pound bag of ground beef I snagged from my freezer starts to really, really smell like lamb. Yipes! OK, I can deal with this, we’ll just add a few more spices and a teensy bit more wine.
Follow this up with a blind grab from my pantry of tomato paste instead of tomato puree. Um, more wine…more stock. Shit! It’s getting a little too red and a little too thick for my taste, but I forge ahead. I begin to think aloud, “Oh, God, this is going to suck! All I wanted to do was make some really good soup for my friend.”
My friend is all like, “Relax, it’s going to be fine. Here, let me pour you a glass of wine.” So, I add a little more wine (to the pot), turn up the heat, and we retire to the patio…..Chat! Chat! Glug! Glug!
Upon return, this mean ass Minestrone of mine is still quite red AND very bland. Think, think, think. I know, just a touch of red chili flakes. Crossing my fingers I add that, and the final ingredients; garbanzo beans, chopped zucchini and 3 Cups of fresh spinach. A dash of salt and pepper, do a little Tebow, grab a tasting spoon and my friend says, “Mmmm, can I have a bowl right now?” “Sure,” says I, as the corners of my lips slowly curve into a smile. He brings his heaping, steaming bowl of soup onto the patio and I watch in wonder and joy as he devours every last drop and then starts to sweat. When he gets up and heads to the kitchen for a second helping, I hear that his cough is sounding better.
While he digs in we dig back into each other’s lives. We laugh, and talk and then we talk and laugh some more. On my way out the door, he tells me that was the best soup he’s had yet! He’s kidding, right? That was either some serious luck, or the soup Gods were looking over my shoulder. Let’s go with Gods, shall we? While that Minestrone certainly wasn’t a classic, he is most definitely one classy guy. Thanks, Matthew ~ I hope you’re feeling better…I am!!!
OK kids, here’s another one I’m making up on the fly. Well, I’ve actually made this before, but I didn’t write it down. The technique is standard – it’s basically a ganache with a little oomph! Enjoy this with a nice cup of Village Coffee Roastery Blend and a Thin Mint Girlscout Cookie!!!
Break the chocolate apart and put into a glass or stainless steel bowl.
In a medium sauce pan, scald the heavy cream. Remove from heat and gently stir in the espresso. Slowly pour the heavy cream mixture over the chocolate and whisk until fully incorporated. Let cool. The longer it cools, the thicker it will be ~ so choose your texture to suit your palate.
Dollop some of this scrumptiousness over your favorite ice cream and listen for the doorbell! The Girl Scouts will be knocking very soon. Oh, you might want to make yourself a nice cup of Espresso Blend from our good friends at the Coffe Shop!!
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