Christmas 2009 Last blog of the year

Gosh I can’t believe the year is over and this will be my last 2009 blog post! I have to admit, I am ready for a New Year. This year has not been my best ever but somehow I have hung in there and kept a good attitude. I had an unexpected change in my holiday plans due to a family emergency. Instead of making Peach French Toast for my mother and her friends, I found myself in Dallas having a Christmas eve dinner and a New Mexican Christmas breakfast then heading home.

So Christmas had its share of joy and sorrows this year. I was happy to be there for my family member and they are doing better. I was also able to spend time with some special people while I was in Dallas and as life has it, one of those people I will never see again, so I am glad I had that experience while I could.

I must admit, given the rush job and having to grocery shop on Christmas Eve, I managed to make some pretty tasty meals. For Christmas dinner I made a lightened up version of Coconut Shrimp with Pineapple Salsa http://www.foodreference.com/html/coco-sh-ov-72406.html and an Orange Raspberry Sauce (my Florida roots showing through during a snowstorm!), Brussel Sprouts with Lemon Butter and toasted almonds,a roasted sweet potato and sparkling cider. No dessert this time. I think I have had enough sweets for a lifetime already.

If you make the shrimp, I would recommend you don’t put too much flour on the shrimp as it will get gummy. Also, make sure you have a hot oven. Ours was under temperature and we had to adjust it to get the best browning. The amount of flour stated in the recipe is too much. I probably threw more than half of it away unused, so start with less and add more if you need it.

The pineapple salsa was incredible, but I was lucky enough to find a really good fresh pineapple at Whole Foods Market. I had to shop around to find the Pineapple Preserves, but that added a nice sweet contrast to the tangy salsa. The Orange Raspberry sauce was also really good. Most of the time when you order Coconut Shrimp you get an orange sauce. The raspberry was a nice addition.

Here is the sauce recipe. The original called for a lot more hot sauce, I think 2 tablespoons but that is way too much so I just used a few drops to taste:

Zesty Raspberry Marmalade
2 tablespoons orange marmalade
1 tbl seedless raspberry preserves
1 tbl Dijon mustard
Few drops of hot sauce

Combine ingredients and serve with hot coconut shrimp.

I made my absolute favorite breakfast, Pasquales Huevos Motulenos. When I first looked at the recipe, the combination of ingredients sounded pretty funky, but trust me, it is delicious. I made a smaller version and instead of the corn tortillas, I used blue corn taco shells broken in half so they were flat. I made the black beans from a can of Whole Foods brand Spicy Black Beans then added some jalapenos, chopped cilantro, a bit of cumin and a good squeeze of lime juice. For the green chile sauce, I bought a can of Hatch Green Chile sauce at Wholefoods and used it as is. The best. If you ever have a chance to visit Santa Fe, go to Pasquales for Breakfast or Dinner. You will have a memorable meal, guaranteed. Here is a link to the recipe: http://www.recipelink.com/msgbrd/board_14/2005/MAR/16478.html

I promised you the Sangria Flora recipe in a previous blog, so here is a link to that recipe as well. http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/sangria-flora St.Germain Elderflower liqueur is a bit pricy but it adds a wonderful floral aroma to the Sangria. I didn’t use Cointreau as the recipe called for. I substituted Grand Marnier because that is what I had on hand. I didn’t hear anyone complaining about it..HA!

I wish you all a very Happy New Year and an incredible, healthy, happy and prosperous 2010 full of love, friends, family, laughter, great food and……don’t forget to exercise!!

Charity

Anyone that has read my blogs for awhile will know that I promote/support charitable organizations. I had  recently posted a link on this site about a film documentary on Doctors Without Borders. It played on the 14th and I went to see it.

I wish I could urge you to see the film in your area, but I think that was the only day it was shown. It was a great show and the Doctors and Personel that volunteer for this organization are really incredible people.  I could tell you more about them and the movie but I would rather you see for yourself, so here is a You Tube link about Doctors without Borders/MSF (Médecins Sans Frontières. They are a based in France). http://www.youtube.com/msf

The day before I saw this film, I had my annual tree trimming party. I looked at my table when all the food was put out and had to admit, it was a lot of food. Seeing the documentary made apparent the contrast in others needs and my own.

Two years ago, a friend and I volunteered to work for Meals on Wheels Christmas day. It was really a memorable experience. Seeing the cars lined up to pick up and deliver food early on Christmas day was really touching. The volunteers were young and old, singles and whole families all there to help make a Christmas for those less fortunate.

I had volunteered many years earlier for this program and I will always remember delivering meals to an elderly couple in North Dallas. They were only a half a mile from the most affluent part of Dallas, but they had no heat, no electricity and were eating food out of cans. Hunger does exist in America and with the economic situation, it is more critical that we help our neighbors to survive.

There are many of our organizations focused on helping people in other countries. Of course, I dont want to minimize what they are doing, but sometimes I want to focus on our people, our country as there are people who need us here too.

In Dallas I volunteered for the North Texas Food Bank which partners with Share our Strength, a national organization. There are food banks all over the country that are in need of food this year. Here in Florida, I had heard on the news back in February that 40% of the children in West Palm Beach were on the free lunch program. A teacher I know that works in one of the low income schools told me for some of his students that meal is the only meal they will get all day.

So here are some programs you might want to help out:

Meals on Wheels:MOWAA Member programs throughout the country provide nutritious meals and other nutrition services to men and women who are elderly, homebound, disabled, frail, or at risk. These services significantly improve the quality of life and health of the individuals they serve and postpone early institutionalization.
 http://www.mowaa.org/Page.aspx?pid=480

Share our Strength: Share Our Strength® is a national organization that works hard to make sure no kid in America grows up hungry. http://strength.org/

America's Food Partnership: AFP has provided over 2 million servings of food to over 200 different organizations in 42 different States.
http://www.theafpdifference.org/about_us.htm

Feeding America, formerly Americas Second Harvest: Feeding America is the nation's leading domestic hunger-relief charity. For every $1 you donate, Feeding America helps provide 7 meals to men, women and children facing hunger in our country.
http://feedingamerica.org/

Holiday Party Food and Fun

As mentioned in an earlier post, my annual Tree Trimming Party was this past Sunday. I must admit although it was a blast, I am happy to get back to some semblance of a normal life. I am never one for asking people to bring food. You always end up with too many chips and dip. I am not a big chip lover so that wouldn’t work for me.


I plan the party on a theme, although I don’t stay rigid to it. This year the theme was Italian. Now, for those of you “true” Italians, this is not the Christmas eve feast party. One of the guys I have been dating is Italian and he had all kinds of great ideas for me to make Baccala (salt cod…yuk), Fish salad and who knows what else.

Well fish smells up the house and I wanted it to smell like the holidays, cinnamon and ginger and nutmeg, cookie dough, those kinds of smells. So it wasn’t traditional Italian. It was Sheila’s idea of Italian. By the way, my Charlie Brown tree looks very pretty after my friends trimmed the tree for me!

Here is a rundown of the food and drink:

Sangria de Flora: White Sangria with Grand Marnier and Elderflower Liqueur (My mother said it was pretty potent!)

Mulled Cider: Non Alcoholic but with Rum for those that wanted to partake

Beer, Vernon’s Ginger Ale (love the vanilla in it), Diet Coke and Water

Italian Liqueurs included Limón cello, Amaretto and Sambuca Café

Food: Rosemary Walnuts

Candied Pistachios

For the Vegetarians I included Spinach Mozzarella Ravioli and Spinach Artichoke Hummus with Pita Chips (these were store bought, not homemade. I bought the Ravioli at Costco and the Hummus is Cedars brand from Wholefoods)

Antipasto platter with an assortment of Italian cheeses (Provolone, Fontina, Parmesan and a wine soaked cheese)and meats (Genoa salami, Sopresetta, Capicolla), Marinated Artichokes, Raw veggies, Roasted Red Pepper, Pepperoncini which was “HOT”, and an assortment of Green and Black Italian Olives

Italian style Deviled Eggs

Kebabs with Mozzarella balls, sun dried tomato and basil

Florentine Meatballs and Hot Italian Sausage with Marinara Sauce

Tiramisu dip with fresh strawberries

Shortbread Cookies, Anise Cookies, Chocolate Shortbread Cookies dipped in Chocolate and topped with Peppermint stick, Molasses Cookies, Pannetone (Italian fruit bread) and Amaretti (yes, I made all but the last two!)

Dark Chocolate and Grand Marnier Truffles

White chocolate and Ginger Truffles with Toasted Coconut

White Chocolate Truffles with Cranberries and Cointreau

Dark chocolate bark with ginger, dried cherries and walnuts

One of my guests brought some wonderful Gingerbread men also.

That’s a lot of food but everyone ate well and hopefully went home having enjoyed themselves.

I hear the meatballs were pretty good so I thought I would share the recipe and a secret with you. The secret is that I tasted them before serving them, so I can attest to them being good!

I was able to make a double recipe pretty easily by using an ice cream scoop

(http://shopping.yahoo.com/p:OXO%2021291%20Good%20Grips%20Trigger%20Scoop:2001865730;_ylt=AhuRyjA354nea5pOd3QhoAf_nbsF). I bought mine at a Pampered Chef party I think but they are very handy to have around. Anyway, the good thing about the ice cream scoop is that you can make meatballs of consistent size but also it doesn’t compact the meatballs which make them lighter and tastier.

I don’t recall where I found this recipe, but it was online. The original recipe called for a beef sauce which I didn’t make. For the sauce, I took some good store bought spaghetti sauce and added the sautéed Italian Sausage, some Italian spices, Bay leaf and sautéed onion to it.

Here is the meatball recipe:

Florentine meatballs

Ingredients:

• 1 (10 ounces) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and moisture squeezed out

• 3 eggs

• 2 slices bread, crumbled ( I used Italian breadcrumbs for flavor and because I was taking shortcuts. If you do, just use enough to bind the mixture)

• 1 tbl chopped fresh parsley

• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

• salt and pepper to taste

• 1 clove garlic, minced

• 1 1/2 pounds ground chuck

• 1 small onion, finely minced

• flour

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Beat eggs and mix with bread, parsley, cheese, salt, pepper, and garlic. Add meat, spinach and onion, mixing well. Shape int 1-inch meatballs, roll in flour and brown in skillet in hot olive oil. Remove meatballs.

Heat sauce then add meatballs and cook until warm. Serve as an appetizer or over some whole grain pasta.

I hope you enjoy these. Have a great week!

Traditions

It’s warm here in Florida. There is only one day of the year I wish for cool weather and that is the day of my Annual Holiday Tree Trimming party. I have been having the party each year since 1992. The original party was inspired by a Christmas I spent in London with my ex-husband and his parents.

At the time his parents had a “flat” in London overlooking the Thames River. We had a great time, visited Harrod’s for some holiday shopping, ferried to France and spent a couple of days in Paris. I will always remember the holiday lights on the Champs d’Elysse.

I brought home two of the English traditions. We had dinner one night at Leed’s Castle. The castle, as expected, is surrounded by a moat. There is a restaurant inside that is a lively place during the holidays. Leed’s Castle dates back to 1119. Some of the more famous residents of the Castle were Richard II and his wife Anne of Bohemia, Henry VIII and his wife Catherine of Aragon along with King Edward I.

The English traditionally enjoy popping Christmas Crackers and wearing the Hats that are inside. During dinner at Leed’s we watched the festivities and all the people in hats. This tradition has been carried on at my parties, to the enjoyment of some and the dismay of others.

I still laugh at one of my neighbors, Jerry who was hair challenged. He just loved his hat to the point he wore it on his walk home! I will also remember my step father with his shock of white hair and a yellow hat that he wore during our Christmas dinner. He looked like Mr. Chicken…but of course I didn’t say that to his face!

The second tradition was inspired by Kevin’s parent’s English neighbors. They had invited us over for Christmas Eve and the husband served us Mulled Wine. It was a blustery day in London and the hot spiced wine really hit the spot. I asked him for the recipe and as family recipes normally go, he suggested I use a bit of this and some of that and any liquor I had on hand added to it! I still have the original recipe he wrote for me and have continued the tradition at my holiday parties.

Last year the wine wasn’t as popular as it was during winter in Texas since the weather was warm. This year, I am going to retire the Mulled Wine and make a special White Sangria with Elderflower Liqueur. I would love to make Glogg. One of my good friends is Swedish and when I lived in Texas she used to invite me over for Glogg. Wow, that’s even better than Mulled Wine and we had some deep conversations after sipping it (so deep, I can’t quite remember them!). Still, it will be too warm for Glogg, so I am committed to Sangria. I will share the recipe next week.

Since the rest of the nation appears to be in a deep freeze, some of you might enjoy a bit of Mulled Wine. Here is the recipe. I will give you the original, and then attempt to translate it into something you can understand. I am also including Mulled Cider for the Non drinkers.

Mulled Wine:
Spices-Cinnamon, cloves, allspice, ginger. Take the spices and boil in water then sieve into main drink. Add brown sugar. Add this as desired.
2x Red Wine
1x White Wine ½ Sparkling Wine (or Cider)
A good slug of Brandy or anything else going spare.

That’s the original. What I normally do is make simple syrup using the brown sugar, water (1part to 1 part) and the spices tied in cheesecloth or in my case in a tea ball. I heat the wines, add the sugar mixture to taste then when it gets closer to serving I add the Brandy. I don’t normally use the Sparkling Wine but sometime put a little of the Mulled Cider in. (I make the Cider for non drinkers. Drinkers can add rum if desired) Finally, I float slices of orange on top.

As mentioned, for teetotalers I make Mulled Cider. I used to go all out adding spices individually. One year I bought Knudson’s Cider and Spice and it is so good, I use that now and people love it. I may add some regular cider to it and always throw in some cinnamon sticks.

Stay warm, enjoy your friends and family and have a great week!

Update on the kitties and Cranberry Compote

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The holidays are around the corner. I have had mixed feelings this year about them. I am sorry not to be seeing my Texas friends and also missing the trip to Costa Rica with my sister! Still I am happy both my children (ok they are cats) are managing well and are still healthy.


For those of you that know us, Rusty is hanging in there. He has put on weight and gets his medications and fluids daily now. Zia is also getting fluids but not as often. She has been a bit more of a challenge since she was never much of a lap cat. We have worked things out though.

Once she figured out the reward would be food or catnip, she has resigned herself to it. Rusty’s reward is going out on the patio and sniffing the fresh catnip I am growing. They both have a new addiction beyond the catnip. It is the heating pad. It has become a bit of a competition but Rusty seems to be the winner most days.

Although I will miss my Texas friends, it is nice to know I have some very good friends in Florida now. I hope to build on those friendships and our history together as I did when I moved to Texas. Since I am a pescatarian, I am not looking forward to Turkey dinner but the trimmings are the best part anyway.

I thought today I would share with you an easy recipe that is wonderful to have on hand for the holidays but also could make a great hostess or holiday gift. Back in the days when I was the special diets cook for a health food café, I often had to come up with ideas to use any excess fruits or vegetables we had on hand. I came up with a fresh fruit compote that I served with blue corn flakes on top.

I must admit I was amazed how many people ordered it regularly for breakfast. Honestly, I don’t really remember how I made it since I used whatever we had on hand. A few years later I was given a handout of holiday recipes from The Container Store. One was for a Cranberry Compote to be spooned into a clear jar as a gift or to be served with a holiday meal.

I was a bit averse to the amount of sugar in the recipe and the amount of ingredients so I came up with my own variation, which I must admit I really like. It’s a cinch to make, tasty and very pretty.

I haven’t used it as a side for a holiday meal but I have used it in other ways. I have put some on top of lowfat cream cheese and served it with crackers. I bet it would also be good with Brie Cheese. It is also great heated as a topping for some high quality vanilla bean ice cream. You could add a touch of Grand Marnier to make it even more special. This also would taste good with pancakes, waffles or crepes.Of course, I still top it with Blue Cornflakes when I have them and eat them for breakfast. 

I am going to give you both recipes, mine and the original.

Sheila’s Healthy Holiday Cranberry Compote

1 Medium Orange

12 oz package of fresh cranberries

1 ¼ cups all fruit orange marmalade

1 cup of golden raisins

1/2 tsp salt (or just a pinch if you are worried about sodium!)

¼ teaspoon ground allspice

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

16 oz can of pineapple chunks in juice (drained) or an equal amount of fresh pineapple chunks which I prefer

Grate one teaspoon of orange peel and squeeze ¼ cup of fresh orange juice.

In a 3qt saucepan over high heat, heat the orange juice, orange peel, cranberries and the next 5 ingredients (marmalade through cinnamon)

Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until cranberries pop and mixture thickens slightly. Add pineapple and heat through. Prepare at least an hour before serving to allow flavors to meld.

May be served warm or cold.



Cranberry Compote from Container Store

1 medium orange

12oz package cranberries

1 ¼ cup sugar

1 cup golden raisins

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon ground allspice

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

16 oz can sliced cling peaches, drained

16 oz can sliced pears, drained

16 oz can sliced apricot halves,drained

Grate 1 teaspoon of orange peel and squeeze ¼ cup fresh juice. In 3-qt saucepan over high heat, heat orange juice, orange peel, cranberries and next five ingredients (sugar through cinnamon). Boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 10 minutes or until cranberries pop and the mixture thickens slightly.

Add peaches, pears and apricot halves. Heat thoroughly. Compote mixture may be served warm or cold. Should be prepared at least an hour before serving and may be made days in advance.

Makes about 4 cups

May be stored in the refrigerator up to 4 weeks

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When things don’t go as planned, charity and a healthy fast food alternative

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Have you ever had a day where you thought you must have gotten up on the wrong side of the bed? Well today was that day for me. I was up late last night but in spite of that I woke up early this morning. I was actually quite pleased about it because I had a lot to do before I headed over to West Palm Beach this afternoon. I had offered to volunteer for the United Cerebral Palsy, 21st Annual Great Chefs Tasting Party charity event.

I thought I was one step ahead of things but that wasn’t the way it worked out. The dress for the event was Palm Beach Business Casual so I pulled out a pair of slacks and went about finding a top to go with it. The first top I found was perfect. Well it would have been until I noticed it had some spots on it. After a futile attempt to take them out, I went hunting for another choice. Ah, the silk sweater set. That was always a great choice. I pulled that out ….spots again. What’s with these spots? Where are they coming from anyway? I haven’t worn either of these tops since they were at the cleaners. Did they do that or just fail to clean them properly? Top number 3 was ready to go, ironed and I put it together with a linen blouse. I was ready.

Off to the gym, now a little late. I figured I could still get a good ½ hour of spin in and an arms workout. I arrived at the gym and found a class in process in the spin room. No problem. I could do arms first then spin. I headed for the locker room and before I could make my way out, the electricity went off. Have you ever been in a locker room with no lights? It’s “very” dark. I managed to find my way out and did most of my arm workout in the semi-dark (they turned some lights on with a generator).

Actually it was kind of nice for a change to work out in a silent gym with soft lighting. People usually talk more to each other when there has been an event, so I tried to strike up a conversation with the guy working out next to me. That was probably a bad idea. He spoke very broken English and although he tried 3 times, I didn’t have a clue what his response was. Finally I just smiled, shook my head and made a bee line for the spin bikes. The electricity went on and off about 5 times during my workout. Of course along with the lights, the air also is off. I lost a pound or two of water weight on the spin bike!

I arrived home, showered, grabbed a quick lunch then dressed for the event only to realize top number 3 had a spot on it too and in a very prominent place, ahhhh! Luckily I was able to fix it and running late now, headed to West Palm Beach. When I was about a quarter of the way there, my gas light came on. I was now running out of gas. No problem I had just passed a station less than a mile behind me. I wouldn’t be that much later. I made an illegal U-turn (don’t tell anyone) and headed to it. Go figure. It was closed, under some kind of construction. I did manage to find a station a half mile of so after that.

The UCP event was very nice. I and another girl sold the raffle tickets and did pretty well raising money for them. I bought some tickets myself, hoping to win the Premier Wine tasting for ten in your home, but someone trumped me on that one!

It was a long day and although there was some great food at the event, when you are working you don’t eat much. I was hungry when I headed home. Most people I know wouldn’t have thought twice about stopping at a fast food joint, but I am not a fast food joint girl. Since I don’t eat meat, it further limits my choices. I decided to come up with something at home (yes, you can exist on this planet without ever eating at a fast food restaurant! It’s a choice.)

I fell back on one of my favorite home “fast food” dinner. I filled a saucepan with 2 cups of water and brought that to a boil. Then I threw in some vegetables. This time I chose some carrots that I grated and fresh baby spinach. I will give you the recipe sometime later, but I had previously made a bunch of vegetarian pot stickers with tofu and had frozen them. I took a few out of the freezer and threw them in the water (you could used store bought dumplings. I know you can get them at Whole Foods, Central Market or Trader Joes) and let them cook a bit. I had gotten some Kikkoman Instant Miso Soup with Tofu at World Market (http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=kikkoman+miso+soup&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=1104165341&ref=pd_sl_18k8zzw9ru_b), so I took 2 packets out, turned down the heat (Miso shouldn’t be boiled) and added the contents to the pan. After heating a few minutes and opening up a package of Nut Thins…Voila, dinner!!!

Ok maybe that doesn’t seem like enough food for you. Steam up some edamame. Munch on them while you heat up the soup. That should do it.

So that’s my recipe for the day…Sheila’s easy Instant Tofu Mushroom Soup with Vegetables ( a long story for a short recipe!). I have also tried the Red Miso instant soup. It is good, but I prefer the White Miso and Tofu. I have also used Chinese cabbage in place of the Spinach and I prefer it. It is more authentic and has some crunch to it. In a pinch, I have also used Romaine strips.

I like the Pot stickers because I get a little bit of protein from the Tofu in them. With the ginger in the dumplings you add additional flavor to the soup. Alternately you could use Soba (Buckwheat) noodles. I have also thrown in some chunks of fresh salmon and cooked till done, then added the soup mix. That is very good and you get those important Omega 3's.

There are many variations, so use your imagination but don’t make it too complicated or you won’t be able to compete with the fast food joints!

One last thing, and I know I have said this before, but it is especially important now. The non-profits have been hit pretty hard by the down turn in the economy. If you can help out, please do, whether in donations or volunteering your time. Either way, it is very rewarding to know that you may have helped some people that may not be as healthy or well off as you are. It may also help you appreciate your health and the things you have you may take for granted.

Have a healthy, happy and joyous week and be grateful for the gifts you have been given.

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Fru Fru Drinks

I was never much of a hard liquor drinker. The taste is too strong for me and I am a lightweight when it comes to alcohol in general. Still I do like to have a drink sometimes. My interest in alcohol is similar to my interest in food. I like to try different flavors.

When I was a teenager one of my favorite uses for alcohol was putting Green Crème De Menthe over Lemon Ice Cream that had lemon candies in it (They don’t make ice cream like that anymore!). Being ultra mature for my age, I was able to impress people with my green tongue!

While in college in Florida and then when we lived at the beach, I switched to Pina Coladas, the tropical drink! I often wonder how many calories I took in drinking those Pina Coladas.

You might get the idea that I like sweet drinks. I do. Back when I travelled more, I collected liqueurs from the different places I visited. I bought Pear William in Switzerland and Calvados in France Jamaica makes a number of good liquors. I bought Rumona Rum liqueur in Jamaica, Tia Maria which was originally made with Blue Mountain Coffee beans and another liqueur, Pimento. Pimento was actually an Allspice liqueur and fun to add to eggnog during the holidays. ( Note:Pimento is not available in the States. I read a note from a NY Bartender about a substitute he came up with. If you take white rum and steep allspice berries in it, then add simple syrup and strain when the flavor is strong enough, you will approximate the product).

In the Virgin Islands I bought a locally made liqueur. The label says it is “The Best Christmas” GuavaBerry Liqueur around the world. It also says, “Taste it. You’ll love it. It makes you frisky,happy and loving”. Needless to say, I save it for special occasions!! It does make me happy, frisky and loving !

From Hawaii, I brought back Keoki Kona Coffee liqueur. Eventually my friends jumped on the band wagon too. Mr. Capers brought me some Herradura Tequila from Mexico, Paula brought me some Rum Raisin and Curacao Liqueur from Curacao and an old boyfriend brought me some rum from South America that was so strong I couldn’t drink it. I gave it to a friend when I moved. Another liqueur I collected while here in the states was made by the makers of Grand Marnier. It is called La Grande Passion. It is no longer available. I bought the stores last 3 bottles before it was off the shelves. It is a nice, delicate liqueur, similar to Grand Marnier but better, I think.

It was years before I developed a taste for wine and many more before I could appreciate Red Wine. During my country dancing years in Texas my drink of choice was a tequila sunrise without the sunrise (no grenadine). That wasn’t quite as sweet as my earlier choices and I knew how much was too much and when to stop. I did drink Margaritas but the combination of sweet with the lime gave me a headache. The OJ worked better.

Today, outside of my enjoyment of Margaritas and Mojitos, I am generally a Fru Fru drink lover. I like the pretty drinks that they make, Chocolate Martinis with the glass decorated with Chocolate Sauce, Key Lime Martinis rimmed with Graham Cracker and Coconut Lime Martinis rimmed with Toasted Coconut As mentioned earlier, Roy’sTropical Martini was my summer drink this year.

I sound like a lush, but really I am not. Most of the liqueurs I collected 20 years ago are still on my shelf. I take them out during parties and on occasion. This weekend I tried a new drink recipe that I found in Health Magazine (I guess it has to be good for me, right?). The original drink is from the Tides Hotel on South Beach. If you ever get to South Beach, check out the Tides. It is a gorgeous, first class hotel and I hear they have a great Sunday Brunch.

The drink is called Tides Royale. Not only is it really good, but it is really pretty too. Amazingly, I had all the liquors that are called for in this drink and the pineapple juice too. I would like to share the recipe and some other warm and cold weather favorites with you.

One cautionary note, if you are out drinking, make sure you have a designated driver (that isnt drinking with you!!). If you don't have one, don't drink and drive. Also, if you are on the wagon....stay on it. Drinking isn't right for everyone and drinking should be done responsibly. If you are over the age of 65 be very careful with alcohol. In 2005 nearly 16,000 older adults died from falls.

Tides Royale

2 oz coconut rum
1 oz Midori
3 oz pineapple juice
1 tablespoon Chambord
Edible flower for garnish (optional)

Combine rum,Midori and pineapple juice in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into 2 chilled glasses. Add ½ tablespoon of Chambord to each glass. It will sink to the bottom. Garnish if desired.
2 servings

Hot Apple Pie
This reminds me of sitting by the fire on a winter day with someone very special.

• 2 oz Tuaca
• Hot apple cider
• whipped cream
• cinnamon stick for garnish

Preparation:
1. Pour the Tuaca in an Irish coffee glass
2. Fill with hot apple cider.
3. Top with whipped cream.
4. Garnish with a cinnamon stick.

Peppermint Patty

1 ½ oz Godiva Chocolate Liqueur
½ oz Peppermint Schnapps or Rumple Minz

Stir over ice in a rocks glass.
For a hot drink you can make a Hot Peppermint Patty by putting this in a Irish coffee glass without the ice then adding hot chocolate

Frankfurt Froth
This is a very strong, more manly drink!!
4 servings

At Restaurant Eugene, Greg Best makes a version of this drink with custard sauce and a small- batch bourbon he has infused with warm spices. Just before serving, he grates a roasted peanut over the top, which gives your nose a delightful surprise. Warmed ice cream makes a fine substitute.

1 pint Haagen-Dazs vanilla ice cream
6 ounces spice-infused bourbon
4 peanuts (optional)

Heat the ice cream in a small saucepan until very warm to the touch. Pour into a stainless steel bowl and whisk until it turns frothy.

Divide the bourbon among four warmed mugs. Top with frothed cream. Grate the peanuts over the top using a micro plane zester.

To infuse bourbon: Open a 750 milliliter bottle and add 3 whole cloves, 1 cinnamon stick and 1/2 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns. Close and wait 2 1/2 weeks for the flavors to infuse.

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