A FRIDGE FULL OF FOOD...

Copycat: Better than Fig Newtons Fig Cookie Bars

 

We were craving something sweet this weekend, so rummaging through the pantry I found a jar of no-sugar-added fig jam from The Amish Country Store in Branson and said to myself "Self?  If I baked this wonderful jam over a shortbread crust, wouldn't that make for great home-made Fig Newtons?" 

It did!

The shortbread crust is a mix of cream cheese and butter, along with a mix of all-purpose flour and long cooking oatmeal.  The cream cheese and oatmeal make for a chewier crust, while the crumbled topping give a little extra crunch. Once the cream cheese and butter have softened, it's also a quick prep using only two bowls, one spatula, a mixer and a baking dish.

We tried to wait until they'd completely cooled but it was a lost cause. I can officially attest that they're yummy both still warm and cool and will store up to several days in covered container...if they last that long! 

Mark's Holiday Bacon Leg

One of my friends put this photo up on Facebook on 4th of July and I don't remember the rest of what he said about his family (sorry, Mark!) because I was too busy worshipping the divine bacon.  I confess I don't eat a lot of meat but I could also never be a vegetarian simply because of the divine-ness of bacon.  A few years ago, I said that to a friend and he said "Let me let you in on a little secret: even vegetarians eat bacon."  It was a joke, so no outraged letters from vegetarians, please, but I completely understood what he was saying.  There is something about bacon that no matter how bad it is for me...I really really want it.  Maybe that's the reason why.  Nah, it's really the salty, savory goodness that makes my heart go pitter-pat (or stop so I don't eat it often)..  I really do try to eat good-for-me stuff most of the time but, then again, we're talking about bacon and bacon breaks all the rules.

Then Mark posted another pic of what was inside the basketweave bacon leg and if I had not been sold before, I certainly was then.  Tater tots.  And cheese.  'nuff said.

Well, one more thing to say:  Recipe, please!   Mark obliged.  Gene looked at the pictures, made sure he gave me the recipe, and said "Thank you, Mark!" 

Pretty Olive & Cream Cheese Penguins All in a Row

 

Doesn't fun food make holidays and parties feel more celebratory? I think so too. Auntie Miranda made these for a family party and the little guys were the hit of the evening.  They're almost too cute to eat.  Almost.  Delicious!

The best part?  They'd be great for ANY holiday or party so we can make them all the time without having to wait for just one season or holiday!

So without a lot of chitchat, here's how to make the little fellas:

Magic Hot Dog Spaghetti!

One of the many fun recipes I've seen on Pinterest; this one I quickly passed on to my sister, Suzanne who has a daycare business.  Thought it would be something fun for the kids....and us adults to, to be honest.  It such a cute thing, who wouldn't love this?  So easy, it's sure to be repeeated.

She posted these pics on Facebook and said it was a huge hit with the kids.  They ate their Magic Hot Dogs with tater tots and ketchup and/or with Ranch dressing. 

The kids loved them as is but I think other ideas might be to go ahead and sauce them with spaghetti sauce, or cheese sauce (like from Mac & Cheese), or with a little butter and parmesan cheese.  But hey, maybe I'm overthinking it-- plain, with tater tots, ketchup, and ranch dressing works great too.

So glad the kids loved it as much as we hoped they would. I heard the teenagers in the house even got a kick out of it!

There is no recipe, exactly, it's as easy as it looks and even the kids can make it themselves: simply push as many dry spaghetti (long or short) strands through the chunked hot dogs (or whole dogs) as you'd like and then boil in plenty of water until the pasta is al dente. Drain, sauce or not, and serve.

"Dexter" Apple Cake with Caramel Apple Filling

 

Love fall and all the desserts that go with it, including this apple cake with fresh caramel apple filling!  Not to mention the Dexter aspect...hehehe!

Dexter Dinner: Timpano, Dexter Cake, & Death in the Afternoon Cocktails

 

Dexter premiered season six last night and we were there! Last year, my cousin, James, came over to the house on Sunday nights so we could all watch Dexter together since we were all huge fans.  We adopted Auntie Miranda into the cult and have been a Dexter Dinner foursome ever since. We always meet at Gene's and my house and I make dinner, usually using them as guinea pigs to test new recipes.  It's a win-win for me and for them and the safety net is that if it's ever is a win-lose, there's always pizza that can be delivered.

 

Literally, for years I've been wanting to make Timpano, the classic "mythic dome pasta" (Mario Batali) dish made famous by the movie Big Night from 1996 where Stanley Tucci, as one of two restanteur brothers (Tony Shalhoub is the other) makes this dish for their "big night" make it or break it extravaganza.  My understanding is that Tucci himself came up with the idea to use this recipe in the movie since it's one that his family actually makes for special occasions in real life. In 1999, following the popularity of the food from the movie Tucci's mother and the chef who consulted on the film authored a cookbook "Cucina & Famiglia: Two Italian Families Share Their Stories, Recipes, and Traditions" by Joan Tropiano Tucci and Chef Gianni Scappin.

This week I'll be blogging my version of the Timpano recipe starting with a 15 hour slow cooker meat sauce for pasta, Auntie's fruited salad and vinaigrette, the apple cake with caramel apple filling, and Death in the Afternoon cocktail created by Ernest Hemingway using Absinthe which is now legal in the U.S. again.

Let's begin with the meat sauce...

Life on the Pop Culture Edge: Snack Cake Birthday Cake

For as long as we can all remember Gene and I have hosted a couple of summer family parties as birthday parties for the nieces and nephews.  At the end of May we celebrate Jordan and Isaac's May birthdays. In August we celebrate Sydney's July and Kaylee's September birthdays. 

I try to do something different and fun for cakes each time. One year it was a sculpted cake big rig, one year rice krispie treats molded into a car cake pan, one time a Twilight themed cake, and this year it was their favorite snack cakes built into a tower.



Even though Isaac will turn 11 this week and Jordan is 18 today, they (we all) still l love indulging our inner kid at birthday parties so the theme of decorations this year was both G.I. Joe Camo and Sponge Bob.  Hey, you're never too old for a little Sponge Bob.  As I often say: why did my siblings have children? To give me someone my own age to play with.

David Leong & Springfield Cashew Chicken VOA Story

 

The rough cut of the Cashew Chicken report Suli Yi of Voice of America made is up on You Tube.

To view, click here:  Springfield-Style Cashew Chicken

(Thank you Suli!)

For more info on the interview itself and recipes, click here:  Voice of America Embraces Cashew Chicken

Peggy Hill's Apple Brown Betty

Ever since Kyleen, the Texan New Yorker, pointed out that to me that if you Google "Peggy Hill's Apple Brown Betty" a link to a post on my blog from almost a year ago shows up as the number 1 link, I've been feeling a little guilty.  The post that got me up there on Google was a post for Frito Chili Pie and only mentioned Peggy Hill and Apple Brown Betty.  I feel like a bad girlfriend who's led all those people on without putting out.  But today is the day we remedy that. 

By the way, that happened a couple of months ago.  Since then I've dropped to number 3.  Which is a little strange considering that ever since that post, I've been getting fairly regular traffic from people looking for Peggy's Apple Brown Betty, but recently I've gotten a half dozen or more google searches for that every single day!  It makes me wonder if one of the episodes that features the Brown Betty has aired ln syndication lately. 

Happily on my part, for all of you "Peggy Hill's Apple Brown Betty" searchers on Google and Yahoo, here's your recipe.

I'll be honest.  I had never made or eaten it before. I looked at several recipes, all with variations on a theme but in general the dish seemed to be a cross between a crisp and and bread pudding.  I chose a recipe from Epicurious because I wanted to get something representative but also something from a site I felt pretty comfortable trusting.  I like all the recipe sites where anyone can upload recipes but a couple of times I've been disappointed in the past.  Not this time.  This Brown Betty turned out to be a simple, straight-forward, fresh-apple tasting dessert with a crunchy topping like crisp, but with a soft, comfort-carby mouth feel like a bread pudding. It wasn't nearly has heavy as I thought it would be which was a plus for these hot summer days.

Do you ever stop and think about how much our food is influenced by pop culture?  When I say Apple Brown Betty, everyone who watches King of the Hill immediately knows what I'm talking about.  Does the beverage Romulan Ale conjure up a memory?   How about Carmela's ricotta pie that bribed the reference letter for Meadow's college application or the baked ziti we drooled over for six seasons?  In Las Vegas, several of the 7-Elevens have been temporarily changed into Kwik-E-marts for the summer, selling "good Squishee", Krusty the Clown cereal, and Homer's pink donuts.  If you had the opportunity, would you go in?  I would. 

Food is so much a part of our culture in every facet: celebrations, family time, snacks, and even driven by our pop culture or there would be no market for the Star Trek Cookbook and Entertaining with the Sopranos and Artie Bucco's Sopranos family Cookbook. I suppose one could look down from one's nose and call it a travesty.  I call it fun.

Excuse me. I'm off in search for a recipe for Vulcan Plommuck soup.  Since Vulcans are vegetarians, it will probably be good for the diet...

Fairly heavy on the cardamom and nutmeg, Peggy's Brown Betty is my contribution to Weekend Herb Blogging this week. Created by Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen, WHB is hosted this week by Susan of Food Blogga.  Sunday evening, Susan will have a list of all the herby spicy dishes cooked this week.