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Italian Cream Cake Bites

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God, family, friends and food……pretty well sums up happiness in my book. High on the list would be friends. Of course, Kathy has been my business partner and best friend for more than 30 years! Hard to believe isn’t it? Each and every day I am so thankful for her presence in my life. Another group of great friends have been my Culinary Cookbook Club.

My Culinary Cookbook Club has been meeting once a month for at least 16 years. We have experienced weddings, adoptions, divorce, cancer and sadly, death of a spouse. We have also laughed, cried, giggled, gossiped and even traveled to a chateau in France for a week. Those memories are priceless and will be ones I cherish always. It is a tremendous group of “Mid-western” women, originating from strong roots and Midwestern values.

This month we got together and had one of those, “never to be forgotten” experiences. Usually we select a book that is either a cookbook with a story or a novel with recipes. The theme for September was any Italian recipe from an Italian book. We changed it up a bit and decided to watch a movie. It seems the group couldn’t believe I hadn’t seen the movie, Moonstruck. I am so happy they decided to watch this movie and we even enjoyed the experience outside by the pool. If you haven’t seen this move, please try and rent it. The food and fun the movie provides promises to be one you will enjoy.

Our hostess was my dear friend, Elizabeth Benson. You haven’t lived until you’ve been invited to Elizabeth’s house for dinner. Elizabeth is one of those friends that you love dearly, for you will never meet a kinder spirit. When it comes to talent, she knocks the ball out of the park. She always has the perfect music, dishes, food, ambiance and setting for an unforgettable evening. It is like watching Next Food Network Star and HGTV’s Design Star all rolled into one.

The ladies have been more than supportive of our new cookbook, 175 Best Babycakes Cupcake Recipes and have tasted, tested and sampled their fair share of these two-bite morsels. My contribution to the evening was Italian Cream Cake Bites. These are moist, filled with coconut and pecan crunch and, thanks to their small size, you don’t need to feel that guilty for just eating one.

I hope you will try this recipe and let me know what you think.

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Peach Cobbler

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My grandmother made it. My Mom made it. In late summer, I just have to make it. It seems to be a part of my DNA. Peaches, golden and sweet, swimming in a sweet elixir of juices and topped with crust. What is so special about that? Yet, in my culinary journey, peach cobbler is the Holy Grail.

Mom was a great cook. Her Midwest farm roots flavored our meals. Yet, as a working mom, she was busy, but never too busy to make peach cobbler. When the peaches were ripe, dishes of peach cobbler emerged from the kitchen. Odd cobblers they were, too. Thick pie crust on the top and bottom, with sweetened peach slices nestled between. The most unique part was the boiling water—literally poured over the top crust just as it went into the oven. No food theory I know, nor any cookbook collection I have studied ever suggested boiling water. Yet, what I remember tasting was juicy with a crisp crust.

Today, I have her cookbook collection, her yellowed recipes clipped from the newspaper, and her precious hand-written 3 x 5 cards—yet there is no recipe for this culinary wonder. But like moths to a light, I have to make it. This peach cobbler is nothing like my mom’s. The crust is tender and biscuit-like. There is no boiling water. Yet, the flavor is sweet and simple and truly magical for me. Peeling and slicing the peaches with sticky fingers, then making a buttery crust, and breathing in the intoxicating aroma as it bakes are precious moments in the kitchen—time to reflect and be grateful for my food legacy and for the love of my family. [Read more…]

Green Bean Pork Stir Fry

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I had put it off all summer. Once school started, I knew it couldn’t be postponed any longer. It was time… you know what I mean, it was time for “the talk” with my 13 year old daughter. Heavy sigh. The best way to begin was to print pictures with diagrams of what I was trying to convey. So I went to www.ChooseMyPlate.gov and the talk began. You were thinking that this was the talk I was talking about, weren’t you?

We talked about how the vegetables took up the largest portion of the plate. We discussed the fact that we don’t need to consume large portions of protein. The talk went really well and my daughter and husband were both on board. Well, sort of.

Ok, now I had to decide what we would have for dinner. Since we had talked veggies, I decided to select my 13 year old’s favorites (green beans and carrots) and incorporate them into dinner. Any dinner with pasta or rice rates #1 in her book so that left nothing else to try but stir fry. I have shared a favorite Garlic Ginger Beef Stir Fry in a previous post. This recipe is a family fav, so I knew there was hope.

I reduced the amount of meat that I would usually use and I increased the vegetables. The result was a dish that received high marks at our dinner table. It tasted as if we had visited our favorite local Chinese restaurant and everyone was happy. Well, almost–my daughter and husband both said they loved the recipe, but requested that next time I prepare this for dinner that I increase the meat in the recipe. And it just wouldn’t be right if I didn’t confess when I cleared the dishes from the table, I noticed one had a neat pile of thin red pepper slices off to the side. Change is hard but baby steps are a great beginning.

It is my hope that you can try this recipe and begin those baby steps with your loved ones. [Read more…]

Frozen Strawberry Margarita Punch Recipe

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The relentless heat this summer made all of us edgy and longing for cooler days ahead. I love my patio and eat outside as often as possible—yet this summer, the table sits unused. Darn that heat. So, to cool off and ease my longing for al fresco dining, I whipped up a frozen drink. This time, it is pure heavenly strawberry refreshment. Oh my gosh, I loved it and I think you will too.

Frozen drinks are just plain fun. No, they will never compete with wine for complementing a meal, but on a hot summer day, they perk up your spirits and bring a smile every time you serve them. And here is a bonus–make summer entertaining easy. Keep a batch in the freezer and when guests arrive, all you need to do is scoop it up and serve it.

So here is a new frozen treat for you (well, at least for the adults) to enjoy. Plus, a few weeks ago I shared my Frozen White Wine Margarita recipe (my all-time most requested recipe) and in case you missed it I posted it again. Cheers! [Read more…]