Winter Cocktail

I know, I know...I haven't been here for almost a year!  It is just amazing how quickly time flies!

When I logged in I noticed I have a draft sitting here for some web-popular sugar cookies. A draft that I started 10 months ago! I'll revisit that later and post it.

My Ingredient Challenge group is going to be doing a Finger Food & Cocktails night later this month so for our Cocktail Experiment for the weekend I tried Drunk Jack Frosties. I'd just seen this on Facebook and followed this link to the Delish website for the full recipe.  I didn't want to be eyeballing ingredients from the quick video for my friends.  Maybe I should have.  I followed the recipe and got a nearly undrinkable beverage. Probably would have been undrinkable for the masses, but my hubs and I are no quitters!

DRUNK JACK FROSTIES

1 C vodka
1 C Champagne
1/2 C Blue Curacao
1/2 C lemonade
3 C ice
Lemon wedge
White sanding sugar

In a blender, combine vodka, champagne, blue curacao, lemonade and ice.  Blend until combined.

Run a lemon wedge around the rim of each glass, then dip in sanding sugar.

Pour frosties into rimmed glasses and serve immediately.

Here's their photo:


Isn't it beautiful?!

I neglected to get a picture of mine.  Probably because I switched gears immediately and made myself an amaretto sour instead.  But mine did NOT look like this.  It was much, much bluer.  Like a melted blue snow cone (or sno-cone,  Merriam-Webster will accept either). Which leads me to my hints/tips.

When I made this I followed the instructions with two small changes, neither of which should have changed the taste or color. I put the ice and vodka in the blender and ran it on "ice breaker" for a bit before I added the other ingredients. And I didn't add the champagne until I had everything else fully blended.  I added it at the very end and gave the blender a couple of quick whirls.  I didn't want to "crush" the bubbles.

If I were to make it again I would start with 1/2 the Blue Curacao.  And I'd probably make my own lemonade and make it much sweeter than the store-bought stuff I used.  And then I'd probably set it all aside and make myself a cocktail that I like.  But don't take my word for it!  Everyone has their own preferences and you might love this stuff!  Let me know!

Like mother, like daughter

It is well-established that I am a recipe junkie and that I get that from my mother.  She loved trying recipes from magazines, cookbooks, friends, and labels from cans and boxes.  I was just looking through my small, blue recipe box for a specific recipe of hers. I noticed her small, beige recipe card box on the shelf above mine and thought I'd check in there.  Still haven't found the recipe I'm looking for (guess I've got to dig into the big boxes!) but I did find nearly identical copies of  B.T.S. Cake.  B.T.S. stands for Better Than Sex and I remember how scandalized my mother was when her co-worker told her that!  I'm not sure if my mom or her friend typed up copies, but Mom sent me one to me.  Pretty fun to see how similar our recipe hoarding styles are!

The funny thing is - neither of us ever actually made this recipe.  Mom's friend had taken it to a potluck and mom thought it was delicious so she shared the recipe with me right away.  I'll make it soon and let you know if it lives up to the name!

I also came across this recipe for a family staple.  Good ol' Macaroni-Beef Casserole.

I can't count the number of times my family shared this around the dinner table.  I've only made this once in the past 30 years but I'll have to give it another go.  Here's what I love about this copy.  1) So many of the recipes that I have from my mom are folded because she mailed them to me after I left home.  2) Mom started writing it down for me.  3)  She must have gotten busy and asked my younger brother Jeff to take over. 4)  Jeff seems to have gotten distracted and my older brother Nick took over.  Three of my loved ones were thinking of me and sharing time and love and food with me from 350 miles away at a time when you didn't just snap a photo and send it in seconds.  No wonder I'm hooked.

As always - I'd love to see or hear about your favorite family recipes!

HRR update 2/9/17

HOME

I'm off to a great real estate start in 2017 - making the top 5 in my office for the month of January. I have several other deals pending and plan to make the list repeatedly this year!

RUN

Today is day 1187 of the running streak though I have not yet run.  My treadmill isn't working properly and we are having a windstorm here today.  I'm dressed to head out as soon as I see a few moments of calm.  If you've ever blown in a babie's face you have some idea how well I handle running in the wind!

RECIPES

My Ingredient Challenge Group meets this weekend for an Italian feast!  I'm still undecided about what to take.  Meat-filled cannoli?  Dessert cannoli? An Italian cocktail to serve double-duty as my Ingredient Challenge AND my cocktail challenge?  I'll run it by Todd and get back to you with a recipe and photos!

Whipped Cream Biscuits

Way back when I started this blog I shared a recipe for 2 Ingredient Scones.  I had seen the recipe and had to try it.  They turned out surprisingly well and I loved how simple it was to make them.

I have a great recipe for biscuits that I got from my mother.  LOVE them!  But I'm a recipe junkie and whenever I tell my husband I've found another biscuit recipe that I want to try he says, "Why mess with perfection?".  So I've held off. Until now.

My sister, Sheila, the same one that shared Diana's delicious casserole with us recently, told me she'd tried a new recipe that were on a par with Mom's.  She does not lie. And these actually require less work because the shortening, eggs and milk are replaced with plain old whipping cream which reminds me of the simplicity of the scones.

Sheila found this in the recipes section of www.familyfun.com.

Ethereal Whipped-cream Biscuits

1 cup flour
1 cup cake flour*
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cups cold heavy cream

Step 1
Heat the oven to 400 and get out a large, light-colored baking sheet.  Test Kitchen Tip:  Don't use a dark or nonstick sheet, or the biscuit bottoms will burn.
Step 2
Sift the flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt into a large mixing bowl. Set aside.  Using an electric mixer, beat the heavy cream in a medium-size bowl until it thickens, but not enough to hold soft peaks.  Make a well in the dry ingredients, then pour in the cream.  With a wooden spoon, stir briskly just until the dough coheres.

Step 3
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface.  With floured hands, knead the dough 3 or 4  times, then pat 3/4 to 1 inch thick.
Step 4
Using a 2-inch biscuit cutter, cut the dough into rounds and transfer them to the baking sheet, leaving room between them.  Gather the dough scraps and cut them into rounds as well.

Step 5
Bake the biscuits until light golden brown, about 15-17 minutes. Transfer the biscuits to a  cloth-lined basket and serve as soon as possible.  Makes about 12-14 biscuits.

* To make your own cake flour remove 2 tablespoons of flour from a measured cup of flour, replace with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch.

Instead of making 12-14 small biscuits, I made 6 large ones.  So instead of a baking sheet, I used a small casserole dish with sides to help contain the biscuity goodness.  Because of their size I also let them cook about 5 minutes longer.

These are so good Coco was willing to trade her Tiny Frog for an opportunity to lick the plate!

If you've got a favorite biscuit recipe - please share it in the comments!

The Cocktail Experiment

As I mentioned previously, my husband and I are trying new (and revisiting old) cocktails.  We call this the Saturday Night Cocktail Experiment.  Turns out we sometimes do it on Friday in case it is really delicious and then we can have it on Saturday too!  When I was battling the flu I skipped it for several weeks.  It all balances out.

The way we usually pick a new recipe is to evaluate what we have behind the bar and plug an ingredient into my Mixology app.  This time, however, I saw a Facebook post by Tipsy Bartender with a recipe that looked refreshing.  I had everything but Strawberry Vodka. So a couple of weeks ago I went out and bought some.  Voila!  The Vanity Cocktail!

The Vanity Cocktail

1 oz. Strawberry Vodka

1 1/2 oz. Peach Schnapps

Splash of Cranberry Juice

Dash of Sweet & Sour

Top with Sprite or 7Up

Garnish with strawberries

That's it!  Very simple and pretty good.  I'd give it a 6 out of 10.

But now I have Strawberry Vodka on hand.  So this past weekend I hit up Mixology and found this:

Creme Rosa

1 oz. Bailey's Irish Cream (I used Saint Brendan's because it is what I had)

1 oz. Strawberry Vodka

1/2 oz. Bacardi Rum

5 dashes Grenadine

Strawberry garnish

Shake all ingredient vigorously, then pour into a cocktail glass.  Garnish with a strawberry.

Also pretty good.  Another 6/10.

But this got me thinking!  Todd had just purchased some lemonade.  I had the strawberry vodka and grenadine sitting right there.  So I threw an ounce of strawberry vodka, a splash of grenadine and 3/4 filled with lemonade, and 1/4 filled with Sprite in a cooler glass over ice.  Pretty tasty if I do say so myself!  I forgot to get a picture, but I'll give this one a 7.5/10.

Let me know if you've got a favorite strawberry vodka cocktail recipe and I'll try it, share it here and give you credit!

This is how you do it!

Today was a particularly good day!  I closed on the sale of a house I had listed for some of the sweetest sellers a realtor could hope for.  I went for a run in 19 degrees on a snowy path to maintain my streak.  And I took leftovers for lunch that smelled so good to my coworkers came out of their offices and asked me what it was.

HOME

First week of the year and I closed a sale!  Not a bad way to start things off!  Not to overstate it - it was the third escrow on the same house.  But a lovely family just purchased themselves a really lovely home and my terrific sellers get to move on to their newly built home to start a new job.  Very exciting!  It is really the a perfect example of why I got into real estate - dreams coming true left and right!

RUN

Day 1153 of my running streak.  Yesterday I did my run at the Sparks Marina Park because they are super-diligent about keeping the walkways clear and we got 3-5 inches of snow )depending on the location).  Today I worked until after 4 and then planned to help a dear friend move sandbags to his house because of the flooding that is expected in the next few days.  That left a small window of time to go for a run.  So I squeezed in my 1.1 mile route around my neighborhood.  Cold and crisp but oh so beautiful.  The snow on the path was like running in loose sand except where it was a sheet of ice.  A treadmill would have been easier - but THIS is how you keep a streak going when your treadmill dies!

RECIPES

My sister shared this recipe for Mexican Lasagna with me recently. "You probably already have all the ingredients!"  She was almost right - I did have to buy a green pepper.  Sheila got this from her sister-in-law Diana so we have renamed it Diana's Mexican Casserole because Todd objected to the use of "lasagna" when it doesn't call for lasagna noodles.  It is so easy and delicious and is one of those meals that actually tastes better as leftovers!

Diana's Mexican Casserole

½ to 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

1 green bell pepper, chopped coarsely (we’ve used red and yellow)

1 tsp ground cumin

1 Tbsp chili powder (or to taste)

Dash cayenne pepper (optional)

1 c. whole kernel corn

One 16 oz. can pinto or kidney beans, drained (we’ve used black and it turns out great)

1 c. tomato sauce

Six 7 inch corn tortillas

1 c. low-fat cottage cheese

½ to 1 c. cheddar cheese (we use the shredded Mexican)

Saute bell pepper, onion, garlic until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the spices and saute 1 minute more.

Remove from heat. Mix in corn, beans and up to 1 cup tomato sauce.

Place tortillas in a 2 quart casserole dish, arranging to cover the bottom of dish. Spoon ½ the 

corn/bean mixture and spread ½ c. cottage cheese on top. Sprinkle with ½ the shredded

cheese. Repeat layers. Microwave uncovered on high until heated through, 10 – 15 min. (I microwave for half the time and then bake/crisp the cheese.)

My notes:  This is so easily adapted to what you like or what you have on hand.  We added olives and diced tomatoes because we had them in the fridge. We used more corn and beans than the recipe called for and cut 4 additional tortillas into strips and added them in between the other layers and sprinkled about a tablespoon of dried cilantro on top of the second layer of cottage cheese.

Try it and let me know what you think!

Starting my year with VODKA!

Another year has passed and I failed miserably to maintain a regular blogging schedule.  But a new day means a new chance at achieving my goals so here I go!

HOME. RUN. RECIPES. recap:

HOME

Real estate was back-burnered through my mother's illness and passing and I am excited to be making strides again.  I'm working with two wonderful sellers (closing on one tomorrow) and am thrilled to help them make their financial dreams come true.  I became a realtor because I love houses and I really love people but I had no idea that I would make such dear friends with the people I work with.  Looking forward to new friendships and successes in the new year!  And let me know if you know anyone who is looking for a fantastic Sparks, Nevada home - single story, well-maintained, great location, 3bed/2bath, sunroom!

RUN

We started the year off strong with our midnight resolution run and I'm still on my running streak.  My cold, wet 1.1 miles today marked day 1151!  My darling husband (and inspiration for the streak - and everything else I do!) had to stop at day 1000 due to significant and increasing knee pain.  He is still very much the reason I get myself out the door each day.  A lot of my motivation comes from those that would love to run but can't.  Glen with his neuroma, Francine with her struggles with Lyme disease, Todd and his bone-on-bone knees. My mother and my aunt who were avid runners before they passed.  Whenever I think about quitting I think about them.  Amazing what I will do for others that I sometimes won't do for myself!

RECIPES

This is the funnest part of my post for me today!  I've already kicked off the year with some great new cooking experiences. Todd and I are trying a new (or revisiting old ones we haven't had in some time - hello Tequila Sunrise!) cocktail each week.  I'll start sharing those as well as food recipes.

I'll start with the recipe I used for dinner last night.  Todd said he's been wanting penne with vodka sauce.  I haven't made that from scratch before. Oh my gosh!  How easy and delicious it is!  I found two recipes that I liked the look of and merged them to create what I call Vodka-Pancetta Penne Pasta!  Kicking myself for not getting photos for you - but they wouldn't have done it justice anyhow.

Vodka-Pancetta Penne Pasta

16 oz penne pasta
2 Tbsp butter
4 oz thinly sliced pancetta, chopped
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 C. vodka
3/4 C. heavy cream
7 oz  diced tomatoes, drained a bit (approximately half of a 15 oz can)
15 oz can tomato sauce
3 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped
Parmesan cheese

Prepare pasta per package instructions.

While pasta water comes to boil and pasta cooks - saute pancetta in butter until lightly browned.  Add onion and cook until soft.  Add vodka and simmer, stirring often, until reduced by half, about 5 minutes.  Stir in tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and cream. Add chopped basil when other ingredients are fully combined. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until pasta is done.

Serve sauce over pasta, top with Parmesan cheese to taste. 4 generous servings.

Note:  I will try this sauce with Italian sauce and red pepper flakes in the future.  Will also try substituting lobster ravioli for the penne and leaving out the pancetta.

Coming soon:  Pho, Mexican Lasagna, Georgia Punch and a popular web recipe for sugar cookies.

Look forward to sharing with you in 2017!!