Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Templeton Rye

I realize this blog needs some work. The pictures are dark and not very good (I passed on the $900 blogger photo class by food stylist and local Long Beach resident Matt Armendariz a few months ago) , the before and after projects are few and far between, and the last few meals I've made were not blog worthy, hence the sporadic posting, but.....despite all that, I still have the best followers in blog world!

You may remember the Whiskey 101 post a while back. In the comment section I mentioned to one of my Midwest followers that we can't get Templeton Rye (only sold in Illinois and Iowa) in California. And look what showed up in the mail yesterday! Modern day bootlegging! I love it! Can't wait to try it at the next whiskey club in May!
Interesting factoid: The term bootlegging comes from the prohibition era when people would hide flasks of alcohol in the legging of their boot. Maybe everyone knows that, but I just read it and thought it was interesting.

Monday, April 19, 2010

Birthday Gifts

A couple weeks ago I celebrated my birthday with a few friends at a farmer's market picnic. Good food, several bottles of wine, an ice cream cake, and lots of cute gifts! My friends apparently know me very well! Gifts included McClure's pickles, a marble mortar and pestle, ceramic measuring cups and spoons, a personal embosser stamp and a really cute blue hand mixer! The pickles are good but very spicy! You will need some relief for your mouth mid way through eating one. I've never had a pickle that needed a chaser, but these do. Prepare a few slices of cheese and possibly a beer to help you get through it. For those of us not lucky enough to live in Brooklyn or Detroit (OK, just Brooklyn), you can now pick up a jar at some William's Sonoma stores.

I was so excited to receive the hand mixer before KitchenAid discontinued that cute blue color. I did not act fast enough for the stand up mixer in the same color though. Maybe it's for the better. The things I was making with my old mixer before it blew up were not doing my waste line any favors...compound butter, cookies, whipped cream, cream pies, etc.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Candied Carrots

These carrots are delicious and almost impossible to screw up. My brother has been making these for years and I think he got the recipe from Martha Stewart but I'm not sure, and I don't have any measurements. Cut about a pound of carrots or so into 1/2 inch circles. Add carrots, a cup of water, butter (about 1-2 tablespoons), brown sugar (I use about 1/4 cup), a pinch of salt, a teaspoon of pepper and a 1/2 teaspoon or so of cinnamon and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until done. Add more salt, pepper or sugar (or any of the other ingredients) to taste. They are delicious, cheap and so easy! A friend of mine invited a new suitor over to her apartment for dinner and made these carrots. The suitor said they were the best vegetable he ever had. He then had to leave for his late night shrink appointment(true story). They never did go out again, but the facts remain, that they are still the best vegetables ever.