Just a Little Aside From the Norm

We are in New Orleans tonight.  I decided I really wanted to come see NOLA and thought it would be a lot of fun so I pestered Mel to come here. This trip and the day leading up to it has been a comedy of errors.  At first we were ticked off and stressed out, but as one problem ran into another, we halfway decided we might as well laugh about it because it's all so bizarre.  We're wishing maybe we had stayed in Dallas, but we are here - for 8 more days - and we have to make the best of it, all the while wondering where the next hit will come from.

Here's a rundown of our hilarious trip so far:
Last night, we are at Mel's sisters house for Christmas dinner and Mel's mom threw a fit and left the house before we sit down to eat.  The whole family is confused as to what just happened.  After dinner and back home, Mel gets a migraine, takes every drug we have at home and goes to sleep.  We have to get up at 4:30 AM to be at the airport by 6 and there are no drivers at the airport parking lot - making us late to the airport - and there we are, screeching into the terminal at 7:15.  For some reason I still don't understand, I have decided that we needed to take the 8:30 AM flight, knowing full well the French Quarter apartment we rented will not be available until 3, thereby leaving us no option but to wander Bourbon street for 4 hours. Now, normally this wouldn't be an issue, but we have luggage and.....it's raining.  Yes, I am a stellar trip planner indeed, pat myself on the back. There's thick cloud covering and rain in Dallas and as the flight takes off, we start shaking like a mad cat in a cardboard box from the turbulence,  I happen to glance at Mel and she's just about the color of weak split pea soup and she's reaching for the barf bag.  During the 1 hour flight she fills up all the bags from our row and the lady next to me sees what's happening and starts grabbing the bags from the row behind us. We have a regular barf bag brigade going on.  Mercifully we land, alive and mostly well.  "Now" I'm thinking, "time for some fun!!". We grab a taxi and off we go to the French Quarter. Yes, we are going to have to wander the Red Light District on foot, for hours in the rain, but for the moment I'm way excited about sightseeing the famously bawdy, raucous city. Now, back in October, I found this apartment rental website and thought an apartment in the French Quarter would be tres cool to stay in, you know, it's historical, purportedly possibly haunted and has a kitchen so we don't have to eat out all the time.  Great idea huh? Yeah, no.  We arrive at 910 Rue Dauphine.  It's an old building, exactly like what you expect to see in New Orleans.  We have been instructed to go next door and see Charlie.  See Charlie is exactly what we did, way too much of Charlie in fact.  Charlie turned out to be an massively-sized older man sporting some toddler-sized shorts.  Yes indeed.  As we went inside our apartment, I am hit full in the face with the undeniable smell of 18th century house and rotting onions filling the air.  Upon investigation, I find a fridge full of rotten food and a carton of eggs that expired in October.

  On the bright side, someone did leave us a welcome note on the immaculately clean Vent a Hood:

When we called naked Charlie to mention this, he came over, blamed the maid and then was nice enough to show me where the cleaning products were kept so I could further clean the apartment we are paying $125 a night for.  I thought that was nice of him.  It was especially nice of him to point out that if we needed more supplies to finish cleaning, we could purchase them at the market on the corner.  Naked Charlie's a gem.  Man, all this housecleaning is making me thirsty.  I need some ice water....

Uhhh, no.  I'll pass on the onion flavored ice cubes for now.  We called the rental company and got nowhere with Jason, he argued with us about the state of the apartment and Charlie just told me to beat the maid and clean it myself.  I think we're stuck here with no recourse. 

So, we'll just go have ourselves a $26.50 liver-flavored Filet Mignon at the world famous Sammy's Lobster & Steaks.  That'll show 'em.

You Don't Need To Be An Astronaut For This!

I can remember when I was little and Tang was all the rage.  It was a wildly futuristic drink that astronauts drank in space and it was so exotic that everyday people were actually drinking it instead of real orange juice.  It was selected in 1962, when manned space flights began, to flavor the foul tasting water the crew had to drink.  That was when we, as Americans, were all enamored with our country and thought anyone who represented it was a hero so it was almost patriotic to consume anything the astronauts did, it was our way of showing support.  Sales for the orange beverage skyrocketed and hugely surpassed orange juice sales.  Naturally in the course of American ingenuity, people began finding new uses for Tang other than the drink.  There was everything from Chinese Chicken with Tang Glaze to Tang Icebox Pie to a holiday Spiced Tea.  The latter is by far a better use of the product!  In fact, the man who invented it also invented Pop Rocks, Cool Whip and Jello!!

My mother and other church ladies passed that Spiced Tea recipe around like the offering plate and soon not a house existed that didn't have the tea for the holidays.  Whenever my parents had a winter get together at our house, Christmas or not, there was Spiced Tea served. She's heat water up in the kettle and line up those cups on the counter, spoon the tea mix into them and pour the water.  It smelled so good, so warm and homey.  I can still see her in that patchwork Maxi dress that was so popular back then, with her big Texas hair and those funky white sandals she loved.  It's funny how a smell takes you right back isn't it?  We lived in an great big, old white house that was built in the 1870's and that house, my mother and the spiced tea just all swirl in my head to create a lovely memory for me.

I still make it as gifts for Christmas because it's super easy and inexpensive and people love it.  For gifts I make the sugared version, but for me personally, I make the sugar free version. I like it better because the flavors are much more concentrated and it is 0 calories. I'm going to give both recipes below so you can make the version you prefer, but I will add, the sugar free version is significantly more expensive, but you use a fraction of the amount. I'm also including a link to Martha Stewart's website where you can download templates for jar labels to label your jars and write instructions for preparation when you gift these: http://images.marthastewart.com/images/content/web/pdfs/pdf1/0603_jamlabels.pdf
 Make it however you choose, just make it and create some memories for your family too.  Enjoy!

Spiced Tea
2 c Tang (or other orange drink mix)
1 1/2 c sugar
2 c instant tea
1/2 t cloves
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t allspice
1 pkg lemonade mix (Kool Aid is what I use)
Mix all ingredients together and store in airtight containers.  Use 2 - 3 teaspoons per 8 oz water.

Sugar Free Spiced Tea
2 tubs Crystal Light orange drink mix
1 tub Crystal Light Lemonade drink mix
2 tubs Crystal Light Tea (not the fruit flavored kind)
1/2 t cloves
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t allspice
Mix all ingredients together and store in airtight container. Use 1/2 - 3/4 teaspoon per 8 ox water.

Christmas Rum Cake For All!

What's more representative of the holidays than the luxury of eggnog and rum cake?  Well, maybe fruitcake but I don't have a family recipe for that.  Rum cake is thought to have its origins in the 17th century, likely this cake was a luxury during the long ocean voyages because of the preserving properties of the rum.  It's most certainly been improved over the years and now rum cake is purely made to be enjoyed as dessert and not staple.  It's an extremely easy and versatile recipe, lending itself to many different flavors and forms, but always has the same trait...delicious, delicious rum. While you can use any rum you like depending on the flavor of cake you're going for, I really like just the basic butter bundt cake soaked in sweet rum sauce.  It's a lovely blank canvas that can be painted upon with many different toppings.

I didn't used to like rum, it was much too sweet for my drinking tastes.  Kind of reminds me of Southern Comfort and that takes me back to 1979 driving down backroads in east Texas with Harold McElhannon and SoCom and it not ending well for Harold and his shirt.  Needless to say sweet alcohol was not my friend for many, many years until I went to Belize two years ago and I was reacquainted with some in the form of One Barrel rum.  It smells like rich maple-y goodness mingling with butter and vanilla and surrounded by the guarantee of a grown up beverage bonus in the background.  Many a night on a tiny island off the coast of Belize was spent lying in the hammock, listening to the ocean lapping on the beach and the sound of breezes rustling the palms, with a glass of One Barrel and Coke in my hand.  It was there under the Belizean moonlight that I began my love affair with spiced rum, but it's only been fairly recently that I started making rum cakes.  An easier, more foolproof cannot be found.  No mater what you do to it - overbake it, overmix it, bake it in funny shapes - it will be perfect.  It's like after a plain-looking model is photographed and the artist airbrushes all her flaws away and adds some extra goodies.  The rum is the airbrush and goodies for the plain model cake. 

While I was growing up, I'd get a snippet of a conversation between my father and another adult and I'd hear him gush about how he used to love to drink rum when he was young and in the Navy, especially if it came in the form of a Mai Tai.  I only saw him drink once when we were in Hawaii, but he was in heaven when that single, glorious Mai Tai was placed in his hand.  He even let me order one as we lay out by the pool.  I still remember the warm smell and flavor and the beautiful orange and pink colors in my glass.  I don't smell spiced rum in a bottle that I don't, first, go right back to my beach in Belize and, second, feel the sun and smell the suntan lotion in Hawaii, both as I sipped my drinks.  I only drink it when I'm in a tropical locale because it just doesn't taste as good in Rowlett, Texas as it does several thousand miles away.  But...I do like to make a rum cake or two.

There are as many flavors of rum cake as there are flavors in the world, i.e., butter, chocolate, coconut, mango, cinnamon, sweet potato, lemon, key lime, banana, etc...it goes on forever.  You can add some fresh fruit, caramel sauce, flavored whipped cream or a nice anglaise sauce and it's a dessert fit to be served in the world's finest restaurant.  If you want to flavor it, just add the fruit or flavor to the cake and use the same flavor rum and you've got a whole 'nother animal.  Below is my Banana"No Baking Experience Required Rum Cake" recipe.  Bake it now and by the time you're ready to have it, it will be the wicked little highlight to your Christmas dinner.

Banana Rum Cake

1 c pecans, finely chopped, toasted
1 (18 oz) package yellow cake mix
1 small package instant vanilla pudding mix
4 eggs
1 c mashed bananas
1/2 c milk
1/2 c banana rum (or 1/4 c banana liqueur + 1/4 c dark rum)

Rum Glaze

1/2 c butter
1/4 c water
1 c sugar
1/2 c rum (or 1/4 c banana liqueur + 1/4 c dark rum)

Cake instructions:
Oven to 350.  Grease and flour bundt cake pan, sprinkle toasted on bottom of cake pan. Set aside. Mix all ingredients on medium speed in mixer for 2 minutes, pour into prepared bundt pan and bake for 1 hour, use a toothpick to check for doneness.   Remove from oven when toothpick comes out clean, cool in pan. When cake is cool invert onto plate.  Make glaze:
Glaze instructions:
In small saucepan on medium heat, melt butter.  Stir in water and sugar.  Increase heat slightly and bring mixture to a boil, let boil for 5 mins, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat and add rum. Spoon glaze over cake, be sure to put drippings from glazing back on cake until all glaze is used.  Wrap in plastic and refrigerate till ready to serve. 

Drizzle caramel sauce and sprinkle with toasted pecans, a dollop of sweetened whipped cream and you're set to impress....Enjoy!!

Better Than An Alimony Check for Christmas...

You know how when you're in a bad marriage/relationship and you just want it to end and you think you wasted all those months and years?  How you're certain nothing good ever came out of that time then you realize there was one little jewel that you indeed did take from that hellacious jail sentence of a relationship.  In my case, it was a recipe that came out of the misery (aka marriage) with a pseudo-minion that I treasure most out of the entire 9 years.  My ex mother-in-law was a good cook, not the home cooking kind but the kind that used mixes and easy recipes, but they were good nonetheless.  I was always surprised that she could whip up such creative and tasty things from pre-packaged ingredients.  It was like having Sandra Lee from Semi Homemade in your family.  Instead of a traditionally lavish Christmas meal she believed in a massive spread of dozens of snacky treats that all added up to our entire Christmas Eve meal.  You know, those Eve dinners are some of my fondest and best memories.  We'd all gather at my in laws house at just about dusk and the grazing orgy began.  She'd have every inch of counter space in the kitchen laden with wonderful goodies like a cheese ball, several dips and crackers, meatballs, sandwiches, salads, cheeses, pies, candy, cookies and her heavenly, comforting Wassail.  She made this salad that I simply adored, Cornbread Salad, and it was so wonderful because it was so versatile, it was just as good as a dip or spread as it was a salad.  If you got tired of it as salad, you just grabbed some Fritos and had it as a dip then just move on to crackers and use it as spread.  I could eat that and that alone for dinner - never needed anything else!  I know Paula Deen has made it on her show, but I swear, it wasn't as good as Lavon's was.  The only thing I asked from my ex in the divorce was that he get me that recipe...so much better than any monetary parting gift from him could ever have been.  Enjoy!

Lavon's Cornbread Salad

2 packages (6oz) cornbread mix, prepared according to directions
1 can creamed corn
8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 bell pepper, chopped
4 hard boiled eggs, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 cup broccoli, chopped
1 cup cauliflower, chopped
Bake cornbread, let it cool then crumble.  Add bacon and all vegetables except tomatoes. Stir in mayonnaise. Stir in tomatoes right before serving.

Merry Christmas Ya'll!

An "Up & Coming" Christmas Tradition

Merry Christmas Ya'll!! 





It's my first blog of the holiday season and I want to share some of my family's favorite recipe with ya'll over the next several days before Christmas.  They'll be easy and quick - I promise - because I know how much I hate to spend long hours in the kitchen, especially during the holidays.  Really, I figure, why would I do that when I can get the same results in a fraction of the time?? 

We all have our tried and true, treasured family favorite recipes that we only use during the holidays and I have some too.  I did add a few new ones this year and I'm pretty sure they'll be family favorites for years to come.  My VERY favorite is the one I'm sharing today....I cannot express to you how crazy good this stuff is, especially if you make a batch and sip it as you decorate the tree with family. 

It was 1980, I was pregnant with my first son, Jeremy, and in the waiting room at my OB/GYN's office in Longview, Tx and read an article about 18th century holiday food and drinks and this one looked good so I tried it.  It's got a crazy name and it's kind of like eggnog except it doesn't have eggs (the thought of raw eggs makes me gag) and it's way easier to make.  When I first made it we were at my parents house for Christmas morning and when my daddy got a taste of that he was hooked.  He asked for it every year up until he died and I still make it because my youngest son, Josh, loves it more than life itself.  I make 4 batches every season for him.  I submitted it to Allrecipes and they posted it on their site http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Up-and-Coming/ there are some funny reviews on there about it, so read them.  Here ya'll go.......!



Up and Coming
1 quart heavy cream

1 cup apple cider

1 cup milk

1 cup superfine sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon freshly grated nutmeg (use a microplane)

Mix all ingredients, whisking well to dissolve sugar.  Chill well, whisk again before serving.

This mixes well with rum, brandy or whatever, but I like it best "virginized".  Yes, I know that's crazy cause I surely love me a cocktail! 

Enjoy and get to decorating!