Blue Beauty Cocktail

My mixologist- my husband, created a drink last night that I'd love to share with you because it was so refreshing and delicious. It kinda reminded me of back in the day, we used to looooovvve to drink the Rum Swizzles that our Club made. We eventually began making them at home- well, I'm getting off the topic of my husband's creation.
It's called Blue Beauty ~
1 nice BIG round glass
Crushed ice
Bourbon
Blue Curacao
Sweet and Sour Mix
To the glass add:
Crushed ice
1 shot bourbon
2/3 of the glass fill with Blue Curacao
Fill with Sweet and Sour Mix
Stir it up!

Dinner recipe, Summer Lamb

I JUST LOVE THIS RECIPE!
I created this yesterday, or adapted it yesterday for the new clients I'm working for- two of the clients LOVE lamb and I took the opportunity to adapt this dish to their liking.
Here is the recipe, adapted from Epicuruious~
Summer Lamb Salad with Ginger Lime Dressing
serves 4
Dressing
3 T fish sauce
2 pinches sugar
2 T fresh lime juice
2 T water
1 T minced fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
Salad
2 T oyster sauce
1 T vermouth
2 tsp tamari soy sauce
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp brown sugar
1 2# leg of lamb, trimmed, cut into large chunks
1 bunch watercress, bottomw 2 inches discarded and cut into 1-inch lengths
3 c baby arugula/mizona torn in half
4 - 6 leaves Bibb Lettuce
1/2 c basil leaves
1/2 English hot house cucumber, halved sliced thin
12 cherry tomatoes ( I found orange tomatoes and cut them in half)
2 T vegetable oil
1/2 medium red onion, cut into thick wedges
2 shallots, sliced into thin rounds

Preheat grill.

For the Dressing:
Whisk all ingredients in small bowl to blend. Set aside.
For the salad:
Mix oyster sauce, vermouth, tamari soy sauce, minced garlic, and brown sugar in medium bowl. Stir in lamb chunks. Marinate for at least 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove the lamb chunks from the marinade and place on hot grill. Grill on one side for 5 minutes. Turn and grill on other side for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let rest.Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add onion and shallots and saute for 1 minute. Combine watercress, arugula, basil, cucumber and tomatoes in large bowl. Add half dressing and toss to coat. Arrange Bibb lettuce leaves on large platter and add the watercress mixture.
After meat has rested for 10 minutes, slice into chunks. Top salad with the lamb chunks and serve.



The dinner menu was rounded out with:
Hasselback Potatoes, oven roasted asparagus with toasted Panko bread crumbs, Toasty Italian Bread, Fresh Fruit with Sabayon sauce and brownies.

Wedding food

No, I didn't do this wedding- not for 400 people! The wedding was held at the Palmer House in Chicago. It was the wedding of one of my many nieces- Caroline. The appetizers and the food were beautiful. The only picture I snapped was of the salad. Ew- gotta change the settings next time!But here is a copy of the menu~
Wild Mushroom Strudel
Mild Garlic Spinach and Red Pepper Gastrique

Cucumber Ribbon Salad
Tomato, Cranberry, Toasted Walnuts

Choice of Entree
Frenched Chicken Breast
Stuffed with Nancy's Camembert and Summer Tarragon
or
Filet Mignon
Pinot Noir Reduction

Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Asparagus, Baby Carrot, Patttpan Squash
Saffron Poached Cauliflower and Red Pepper

Petit Sweets

Wedding Cake
Vanilla Sauce, Raspberry Coulis
Fresh Berry Garnish

Oh, I did get a picture of one of the desserts- mini sundae!

About My Dad- the lost decades,never captured

Jeanne,Linda, don't forget it's your Mother's wedding anniversary this weeknd.' As my sister and I were descending the stairs, to quickly get to school,we looked over our shoulder and saw our Dad standing in their bedroom, his profile outlined with the light of the window behind him as he reminded us of their special day.



Later that night, we all gathered to mourn our loss, his death. His death was the late news and the breaking news. It was on the morning news- it was on all the Milwaukee stations. It was so sad. He died trying to get back to a wedding anniversary party he had planned at the home of our dear friends the Burns.Our friends didn't live far.
When I received an interruption on the phone line from an Oshkosh operator, who wanted to speak to our Mother, I told the lady Mom would call her back. The operator asked me where Mom could be reached and I gave her the number. ( Phone calls back then, were different, especially if your call was interrupted) My sister and I were scared. I told my sister I would run, in the fog, to our neighbor's house to see if everything was ok- like, if I could see Dad's car. Just as I rounded the bend to see their house in fullview, I heard my sister scream through the fog 'it's all right Jeannie, come home'. Minutes thereafter, Mother, followed by a long procession of cars down our driveway ( we were like, what is this???) came in and told us that Dad had died in a car crash. So, so sad.

Lost Decades with Dad

Nearly 5 decades have gone by. I still miss my Dad so much. Last night I was with three very special friends: Fether,and Marty and Beth in Milwaukee. Fether recounted that night I received the devastating news about my Dad. It was 1963, two weeks before JFK's assassination. That night, Fether was there along with Marty.... Hearing Fether remember, recount that awful night, was so special and so endearing to hear that today- nearly 50 years later. I now know I was in shock. No therapy for us back then. But I had friends. Thanks Fether! You don't now what it's like till you have gone through it but none of you had to go through it, yet, you were there. I love you all.



I smiled when he picked me up.













I smiled when he filmed me.




















I was the first born. . One of Dad's sayings: 'No more nonsense' as seen here with my sister Linda demonstrating 'no more nonsense'.







I danced with him while standing on top of his shoes.





My most recent years have led me to discover how very special he was to his family. A hotel man, Pfister Hotel, and how he managed it with a wife who defied many cruelties. The contemporary words would be: texted to her.

He thought I'd be a great entreprenaur. And I wanted to be that, very much. But then, Dad left us. Not his choice.
Mom always said her life changed at that moment. She was right. Again. So sad. She was a one woman man. She never wanted to marry again. Her love was gone. And so was my Dad. I was 15 years old. And Mom was 44.
Miss you Daddy!
Jeanne and Linda (and dog Taffy xxx)with neighbors Karen and Carol Rueping

Upside Down Butterscotch Apple Cake

Time to do some practicing with some recipes that are in my 'To Try' file. I wish I could get better with the camera- I know having a light box would help but I'm just not there.....yet!
So, here is the recipe for this apple cake. I got it from Epicurious. You can get it there too. Otherwise, here it is~Baker's sugar, a favorite of pastry chefs, is also called superfine sugar. It measures the same as regular but dissolves more quickly. It's available at some supermarkets. You can also make your own by whizzing granulated sugar in a food processor until powdery.

Cake

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

2/3 cup baker's sugar (superfine sugar) or regular sugar 2 large eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 Golden Delicious apple, peeled, cored, finely chopped (about 3/4 cup)

Butterscotch-caramel apples

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter 1/3 cup (packed) dark brown sugar

1/3 cup butterscotch morsels

2 8-ounce Golden Delicious apples, peeled, halved, cored, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices

For cake:

Preheat oven to 375°F. Mix flour, baking powder, mld salt in medium bow1. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until smooth. Gradually add sugar and beat until well blended. Add eggs and vanilla; beat until blended. Beat in flour mixture, then sour cream. Stir in chopped apple. Set aside while preparing butterscotch-caramel apples.

For butterscotch-caramel apples:

Melt butter in 10-inch-diameter nonstick ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add brown sugar and butterscotch morsels; stir until melted and smooth and mixture is bubbling, about 2 minutes. Add apple slices to skillet and cook until golden brown, using tongs to turn slices, about 3 minutes per side (there will be a lot ofliquid in skillet). Remove skillet from heat and let cool 3 minutes. Using tongs, arrange apple slices in skillet in concentric circles or other pattern.

Carefully spoon cake batter in small dollops atop apples in skillet. Using offset spatula, gently spread batter evenly to edges of skillet (batter will seem to float on top of apples and pan juices). Bake until cake is golden brown and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool in skillet 10 minutes. Run knife around edges of cake to loosen. Place large platter atop skillet. Using oven mitts or pot holders, hold platter and skillet firmly together and invert, allowing cake to settle onto platter. Serve cake warm.

Test-kitchen tip: If your nonstick skillet doesn't have an ovenproof handle, wrapping the handle in

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/printer _ friendly/234162

Treetop dining in Thailand

Wouldn't this be fun?? First you have to get to this place. but read about it- what fun! I found this on Urban Daddy~And when the sun's about to dip below the shoreline, head to a beachside eucalyptus tree, where you'll find a rattan-and-steel bird's-nest just big enough for four (available at the in-house restaurant starting in July). Climb in with your dinner companions, and you'll be hoisted up into the treetops for Thai fusion with an epic view... and the waiters will take care of you by flying back and forth from a nearby tree via zip line.

So maybe don't order the soup.