The Paloma Cocktail Recipe

The drink of the summer in our neighborhood has been announced! It's the Paloma! It's easy to make and easy to drink. Two of my favorite things that make up a cocktail. There are various versions of the Paloma, below is our version that we perfected for our taste buds. Give it a try and then give some feedback on how you liked it.

Serving size: 2 glasses

1/3 cup of sugar
Few sprinkles of lime zest
Dab of honey or wedge of lime
1 cup of yellow or pink grapefruit soda (pink is much sweeter, we like the yellow)
1/2 cup of brown or gold tequila

1. On a salad plate spread out the sugar and sprinkle the lime zest on top. With the back of a spoon or a mortar grind the zest into the sugar a little so the sugar tastes like flavored lime sugar.
2. Rim two cocktail glasses with either the honey that has been watered down or a lime wedge. Rimming with a lime wedge is easier but you will get a thicker sugar rim with the honey. Put a dab of honey on a small piece of paper towel and run it under some water very quickly. Then with your finger tips, under the paper towel, rim the glasses with the honey mixture.
3. Fill glasses with ice.
4. Combine in a large glass measuring cup or a shaker the grapefruit soda and the tequila stir lightly to combine and pour into glasses. Don't forget to "cheers" and Enjoy!

On the Border of a "To-Do" Hoarder

It's official, I'm calling mercy on myself. As a waiter would say, "I'm in the weeds". Two and a half years ago we bought our house and since then my collection of to-do's and creative projects has become long enough to give the length of War and Peace a run for it's money. I consider myself pretty creative, competent in all things technology and an inspiring DIY'er. For those of you who share these traits you know that it's a disease that progresses until you write self gratifying articles such as these. 

Outsiders looking in may suggest "just make a list and start doing every thing you want to do".  What?!? Who are these people that suggest such things and why are we friends I ask?  It's not that easy my homie. For instance let's say you simply need to get something framed.  Sounds simple enough, right?  Nope. As a DIY'er there is NO WAY I am going to bring it to a professional framer.  Doing that would be accepting defeat and admitting that I am not as good as a DIY'er as I claim to be.  So I get my butt in the car and I go to a craft store that has a large framing department. As soon as my first foot steps over the entrance is where is begins to go down hill, FAST. The colors, the plethora of options and the isle's of overwhelming sense of all things artistic make my head spin into a inspiration-trip. An hour later I find myself at the register with a jar of lime green Folk Art paint and a box of plastic chandelier crystals, NO frame. Turns out my brain chatter took over and decided to use a frame I had at home, but it needed to be a different color so I needed to buy paint in the color it had to be and since I was hanging it under a light in the hallway that I found boring that light needed chandelier crystals hanging from it.  One idea always turns in to two or three ideas as soon as you make a move to try to take on the first idea. It's a festering disease that cannot be stopped.

As I am sure you have guessed, the lime green paint and the chandelier crystals are still laying around and haven't been touched. They wound up on the pile of to-do's which includes, staining our entrance stairs, painting the front door, painting the man-cave, doing something with the hundreds of wine bottle corks, doing a blog-post on cool service I found, buying our son new water shoes, adding more to my blog in general and writing thank you's for all my 40th Birthday gifts. So the plan is prioritize and do the most important thing first, thank you cards. Then I am swearing off purchasing anything else for any additional project ideas that may swing my way. Hopefully in 6 months this post will be behind many posts about my items on my to-do list. Stay tuned...

Michelle's Corn Pudding Recipe

My cousin Nicole got married to the love of her life in Virginia. At their wedding one of the side dishes was Corn Pudding and it was fabulous! After watching my husband devour two helpings and then hearing him talk about it the day after, I decided we needed to make it at home. All the recipes I found had different varying degrees of the same ingredients. Some with eggs, some without, a few with tons of butter and others with lots of sugar added. After weighing my options I put together the recipe that suites our taste buds the most. Then I tried it out on our friends & family. When the requests for the recipe began I knew we had a winner! Annnd it's ridiculously easy!  Here it is...my corn pudding recipe...

Michelle's Corn Pudding Recipe

Makes 6-8 side dish servings

2 - Eggs (you can use Egg Beaters)
1 - 14.75oz Can of Creamed Corn
1 - 14.75oz Can of Corn
1 - Cup of Sour Cream (you can use Light Sour Cream)
1/2 - Stick of Butter (do not use a butter substitute)
1 - Box of Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix

Directions:
1. Preheat your oven to Bake at 350 degrees.

2. Lightly grease the inside of a casserole dish with spray-oil or butter.

3. Beat the eggs in a small bowl and set aside.

4. In a mixing bowl add all the remaining ingredients and pour eggs on top before mixing. After adding the eggs, mix until blended well. Pour in to a casserole dish and bake uncovered for 40 minutes.

PLEASE NOTE: If you are doubling the recipe you will  have to bake it longer depending on the depth of the casserole dish. To test if it is cooked, slide a knife in the middle of the Corn Pudding. If the knife comes out mostly clean then it is done.  It doesn't have to come out completely clean.  This is a yummy moist dish so you do not want it to be dry.

Bacon Jam

Our friends Jo and Mark were throwing a BBQ.  They love to get dirty in the kitchen like I do and are part of the crew that made homemade sausage at my house.  Knowing their appreciation for food I wanted to bring something special to their cookout and knew they would enjoy some bacon jam.  One of the basic & best recipes out there is from Martha Stewart.  I've made this jam a long time ago so I already knew what kind of taste I was looking for.  Sweet and savory.  Along the way while making the Jam, I tweaked it to my liking and adjusted what I think the recipe should actually be for a successful batch.  Please note that you WILL need a crock pot and a blender/food processor.  You must also prepare this the day before you plan to serve it, so it congeals in the fridge overnight to an awesome yumminess.

By popular demand, here it is...  The Bacon Jam Recipe

1 1/2 or 2 pounds sliced bacon, cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces(I used Maple Flavored Bacon)

1 large diced sweet onion

4 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled

1/2 cup cider vinegar

1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar

1/4 cup pure maple syrup

3/4 cup brewed coffee (I just brewed a small cup on the Keurig of strong coffee)

1. In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium-high, stirring occasionally, until fat is rendered and bacon is lightly browned, about 20 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels to drain. Pour off all but 3 tablespoons fat from skillet (reserve for another use); add onions and garlic, and cook until onions are translucent, about 6 minutes. Add vinegar, brown sugar, maple syrup, and coffee and bring to a boil, stirring and scraping up browned bits from skillet with a wooden spoon, about 2 minutes. Add bacon and stir to combine.Step 2
2. Transfer mixture to a  slow cooker and cook on high, uncovered, until liquid is syrupy, 3 1/2 to 4 hours. Transfer to a food processor; pulse until coarsely chopped. Let cool, then refrigerate in airtight containers, up to 4 weeks.

Serve on something tasty like Rosemary Crackers or Garlic Rubbed French Bread Toasts.  Enjoy!!

Michelle's New England Bean Salad

I LOVE Texas Caviar.  It's got everything I like in it...jalapenos, peppers, beans, garlic, etc.  However, there are a ton of ingredients that are not really needed to suite my families taste.  So I have tweaked the recipe and actually made it easier and cheaper while doing so.  Enjoy!

1 can of black beans
1 can of either cannellini beans or pinto beans
1 can of sweet yellow or white corn
1 diced red bell pepper
1/2 diced red onion
1/3 of a bunch of fresh cilantro chopped
1/3 cup of apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsps. of sugar
1 Tsp. of garlic powder

1. Pour the cans of beans in a colander and run cold water over it to rinse off the beans. 
2. Add the corn to the colander to drain the liquid from the can. 
3. Transfer the beans and the corn to a medium sized mixing bowl. 
4. Add the red bell pepper, red onion and cilantro to the bowl as well. 
5. In a small sauce pan combine the apple cider vinegar, sugar and garlic powder.  Heat the mixture up until the sugar looks dissolved(about 2-3 minutes) and let cool. 
6. Pour the mixture over the rest of the ingredients in the bowl and toss.  Sprinkle some salt for your liking if you would like.  That's it! 

Cooking Light Club

Once upon a time, my Sister-in-law(Rachel) asked me if I wanted to be in a Cooking Light Club that she is starting.  She was previously in a Cooking Light Club already but wanted to break out and start her own.  I asked, "What's this club thing you are talking about?"  She explained that once per month a group of girls will get together at someones house and bring a dish already made from that months Cooking Light subscription issue.  Since I love to cook and meet new people I immediately responded with "I'm in!"  On July 25th, 2009 we had our first gathering at Rachel's and have met every month since.  There is never a loss for conversation since our lives are always changing.  We have had multiple weddings, children born, pregnancies, engagements, a few new member inductees and job changes.  (see below for instructions on starting your own Cooking Light club)

CLC, newly-engaged-member Kim, hosted at her place for our August 2011 gathering.  Every months dishes are fantastic, but this months dishes were especially good.  A few people veered away from August's recipes and made dishes from past subscriptions/months and they were great choices.  Above you can see Jenni's dish that she made from a CL Recipe from August 2011(Shredded Chicken Tacos with Tomatoes and Grilled Corn) and added a Cabbage Slaw from a July 2006 issue.  Way to bring it together Jenni!

Instructions on starting your own CLC:

1. Gather a group of friends/relatives that are interested.
2. Choose who's going to host at their home and alternate every month. (FYI this person is responsible for coordinating a date/time for the gathering and also for sending out the Evite)
3. Choose a date that is good for everyone. We use www.doodle.com so everyone can vote on possible dates. (We have done CLC for Brunch, Weekend nights and Weekday nights)
4. Send out an Evite to everyone with the chosen date 
5. Instruct everyone on the Evite to announce on the Evite the dish they are making so their are no duplicates.
6. Everyone should choose a dish either from that months subscription or by going to the CL website.  CL posts that months recipes online every month so you do not have to purchase the subscription if you don't want to.  Most of us do because we like the pretty pictures :)
7. Bring your pre-made dish to the hosts home and be sure to bring a serving utensil to serve it with.  (Members that want to drink alcohol should bring that too and be prepared to share.  It's not the hosts responsibility to supply alcohol.)
8. Lastly, enjoy!!!

One of the many best things about CLC is that it's great for combined groups that consist of vegetarians, people with allergies, people wanting to try new flavors and even picky eaters. 

Concert Ticket Display

 

I've heard men complain that women live in the past, and yes we do.    However, men are kind of the same but in a more ridiculous-I miss High school-love all things Star Wars-Goofy-save every memento of fun-Nerdy kind of way.  If it were my husband and he had his way, I would let him speak to me like Yoda 24/7, put queen size Storm Trooper Sheets on our bed and let him display his beer glass collection from when he lived in Europe with the thousands of pennies in them.   

After deciding to merge and get an apartment together 4 years ago, I began to realize all the little things that he was holding on to.  Most of them are the same things that every dude has.  His were collections of small things that he felt needed to be displayed at all times.  A bundle of concert tickets, stack of season ski passes, a scary 3 inch tall voo-doo doll, a creepy Rastafarian ski sculpture, tee-shirts from high school, a plastic mug he still uses from freshman year in college and a few other odd things that he would hate for me to mention probably.

He's a pretty nostalgic man and I couldn't think of ever throwing some of these things out on him slowly over the years like most wives do(did I just give away a secret here?).  So I put a different plan in place, I decided to make them art.  I purchased 4 clear document frames from Crate & Barrel (you can actually get these anywhere they sell frames, Michael's, or JoAnne's) and arranged all the tickets between the glass.

My hubby is much more proud of them now instead of when they were stacked with a binder clip for many years.  Now when people come over they stand in the corner where they hang, just observing and asking him questions about them.  "You saw The Who in London?" followed by a gleaming smile from him before he answers with a cool "yes" as if didn't we all see them in London?  Together we have started a frame from all the concerts him and I have gone to and we plan to keep this going forever.

Now what is my plan for that god awful Voo-Doo doll?  Perhaps I can use it on my husband to rid himself of all the other collectibles?