You had to know, there was a Part Two

    So I was super excited with my parent's survival guide, and ready to share it with the people, that I actually come in contact with, and damn it, lo and behold, they have more rules to add. Figures. this is the Parent's Survival Guide to Christmas 2: My personal guide :)

• In honor of my friend, Tricia...when giving gifts to your nieces, nephews, etc, etc...Be sure to purchase gifts that are obnoxious and loud. I think a drum set would be perfect.

• When you are in the hospitality business like myself, the last thing on your mind is browsing through the Hallmark store. I did it today, for WAYYY to long. Wow, how hard is it to buy a freaking gift. Apparently really hard, because I was there for 45 minutes.
• Shopping in itself is painful tough. I could walk around, and around, and around with a "can you help me face on?" but where are the people that are paid to help you? Exactly!
• Why are they so many candle options? Did we really need a "dune grass" smell? It took me 20 minutes to capture each girl that I worked with. Do you see the insanity in that?
• Why, when there is just hours left in shopping, I am tweaking like some kind of junkie? I am ready to buy my next door neighbor the barbecue sauce that, he was unable to get in July?
• I am caught up into the cattle herd we call Christmas, and staring at Hallmark displays, and for far too long. Bad combination..girl desperate, with a pocket full of money who's betting blind.

• Oops, forgot completely about Christmas dinner, never mind that yesterday, I ordered 2 dozen eggrolls in the snow, in the parking lot of Price Chopper, but that was only because I recognized the guy as "Eddie's Dad", I just need to remember, pick up at 150 maple street, after 2pm. The best thing about this whole sketchy hokey deal, is that these eggrolls are freaking worth it!!! No Lie!!!!
• Parental Units coming tomorrow, have a super cool surprise for them I am pregnant with triplets, I am a little bit more prepared then last year. With each year, I become, just a smidgen more responsible. Perfection takes time.
• Tomorrow, I hoping that I can feed my boss some super charged bloody Mary's. Because today, for our humble area of the world we were nuts, no one wants to answer "those questions" crazy. How many different ways can I tell you, that we have no more gingerbread?
• Guess what!!!, your kids pull out their trump cards, right about now!!, heck I was browsing, my cellphone never rang? But, I came home and my kids had a whole lotta things to say.WHY???

• This rule is super important.. PLLLECHHHGGHHHH! Stop the insanity.
• All I want for Christmas is to sleep in, and I am not asking for an unreasonable time frame, just until I can't comfortably sleep anymore. When you get older, it gets harder.
• No one from this moment on mentions Monday, I get it... I am on hiatus....you know like coconuts and pineapple.
• Hi, my name is Paige and I am not ready!, dang Christmas anyway!!
• Last but not least, my hydro drink for a pointy head guy, that I affectionately call McD, boy did you cause a tsunami at the bakery. Quit Smiling!!!!!

 McD's Hot Butter Rum

1 cup unsalted butter
1 pound of powdered sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground allspice
2 quarts vanilla ice cream
1 pound brown sugar, packed

In a mixer cream butter and sugars together until smooth. Add the spices and ice cream and mix until smooth. Transfer this to a freezer safe container and store for at least 1 month.  To serve, place 2 heaping tablespoons of this frozen confection in a coffee mug add 1 1/2 ounces of rum and add 6 ounces of boiled water, stir and enjoy. Dust with cinnamon and nutmeg to make it fancy.

When women are depressed, they eat or go shopping. Men invade another country. It's a whole different way of thinking. ~ Elaine Boosler

A Flash in the Pan

     The world needs more flash mobbing. In fact, a little flash mobbing, some ice skating and then sitting down to a big spaghetti and meatball dinner might decrease the bickering in the world. When was the last time, you stopped and thought about someone, less fortunate than yourself. I delivered Penuche and Chocolate fudge to some folks that don't have the privilege of walking, or even being part of the so-called rat race. They are home bound, but somehow they found out, that I make fudge like their Mom's used to make. That makes my heart swell, This means I am doing something right. To invite me, into their home speaks volumes. I am grateful. Too many times, those of us that have the ability to see, hear, walk, and talk never think about those that were cheated of the basic liberties. We don't realize how blessed we are, until we lose the things that were important to us.

     Today, Elizabeth Edwards died, and I am sad about that, because she was some one's mother, wife , daughter and friend. She left out of the same door she entered in. This reminds me of my brother-in-law Freddy Babbitt, may he rest in peace. Here,was a man that knew the very essence of life. He did what he wanted and that was that. He reminded me of the movie the "Big Fish", I swear that movie was written for him. I think all of us, me included spend far too much time trying to master our happiness, instead of just letting it play out. When we throw out the manual, things seem to go much better.

     I must tell you it is hard to be a human, whether you are a chef or not. Imagine how, world leaders feel. They definitely have more sleepless nights than me. My mind is cluttered with, whether I have been too hard on my youngest son?, can Jolly Ranchers melt and be combined?, what time is it?, does Botox really work?, and when did I get that wrinkle there?. It seems, once I hit 40, my eyesight went, I needed more sleep and for some reason Desperate Housewives seemed important. Middle age, wow..where did it come from, who opened the door? and why is skin care so damn important at my age.

     Remember when we were younger, I am talking to the "I am 29 again club", we could eat anything, stay up all night, get little sleep, bounce here and there, and still have time for more bouncing. Just writing this, I feel a nap coming on. I am no longer interested in sacrificing sleep for fun. Sleeping is fun, there is nothing better than climbing into a bed with cold sheets so you can spread out and soak up the chill. Far better than standing in a crowded club, with people you don't know, listening to music somewhat similar to a nuclear warning siren. Priorities change is all.

     So, what better way to celebrate slowing down, than with a Smoothie. The word smoothie annoys me a little, because I expect a Oompa Loompa to serve it. When someone made the "first smoothie", did they say "wow, it's smooth. Let's call it a smoothie!", knowing Americans probably, because we have Snuggies, Huggies, Muggles,Wiggles, Doodlebops and Backyardigans in Crazy Town. Where is Crazy town and why do I need Dora's map? Anyway, I digress..

Kick you into Good Health Julius

1 1/2 cups orange juice

1 cup frozen peaches

1/2 cup plain greek yogurt

1 tablespoon honey

2 cups fresh spinach

2 cups ice

1 packet of Emergen-C tangerine dietary supplement

Blend all in a blender and enjoy, if you are feeling a little under the weather, this is a great drink to feel better.

Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter.~Mark Twain

Once in a Blue Cheese Moon

     So, I took my youngest son ice skating, wow, I forgot how fun it could be. I was moved strongly twice to rent some skates and get out on the ice with my son. However, fear got the better of me, and I quietly chided myself, for not being more outgoing. Thing is, when I was 13, I believed in my heart that I had a career as a figure skater, however fate had a different idea. I fractured my ankle in four places ending my brief stint as an up and coming figure skater.
    One thing I noticed, was how many girls play hockey. Go Girl Power!! I say that because, women not too long ago were a minority in professional kitchens. We were there, but needed a strong presence to get noticed. The thing about professional kitchens is, at times, it can mimic Darwin's theory of natural selection. If you can't keep up you will be left behind. In order to not be stuck making salads for 8 hours, you had to step out on that ledge, conquer your fear, and show your skills. It is the squeaky wheel that gets the grease.

    I should have heeded my own advice and enjoyed skating with my youngest. Sometimes, the first step is the hardest. Like blogging, I was nervous about how I should go about it, what I should blog about, should it be factual, like Alton Brown?, should it be informational like Trip Advisor?, or should I just be me, and tell my readers what I want them to know. That is pretty much been the journey, sharing my love of food in a factual, informational, and personal sort of way.

     Tonight is a "Blue Moon" and driving home from the rink it was enormous, making it seem colder. Is there a switch somewhere that gets tripped, as we move towards the winter equinox? My mind kept thinking about hot chocolate and whipped cream, as I was watched my son skate, thinking how wonderful it would feel to shed my coat, don my fuzzy slippers and settle in for cocoa.

Winter Hot Cocoa

2/3 cup sifted Cocoa Powder

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup Nonfat dry milk

1 tsp cinnamon

3/4 cup malted milk powder

1 cup french vanilla non-dairy creamer

5 ounces bittersweet chocolate

5 ounces buttermints

Mix the sifted cocoa with the sugar, dry milk, cinnamon, malted milk powder, french vanilla non-dairy creamer and whisk. With a decent grater, grate the chocolate into the cocoa mix. In a food processor, process the buttermints until chopped and well blended, and stir into cocoa mix. In a sauce pan heat 4 ozs of milk with 4 ozs half and half, whisk in 3 heaping tablespoons of cocoa mix, stir well. Serve with a healthy dollop of whipped cream. Store in an airtight container, and enjoy all winter long.

Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.~Norman Vincent Peale

Mulling over Cider.

     Living in Vermont, I have had the pleasure of enjoying the best cider on the planet.  Orchards are common here, and weekends are spent picking apples, eating cider donuts and of course having hot mulled cider.  Autumns in Vermont are unlike any place in the world.  The trees are ablaze with color, the grand  finale of fall has begun, the transition of summer to winter is taking place, the days are noticeably shorter and the air has become crisper, skies turn grayer, turning people inward to their homes to nest. Autumns are in a sense melancholy, kids are back to school and the activities of the summer seem to fade like fireflies. One by one the trees signal their betrayal, everyday there is a little less green.  Pumpkins , Indian corn and gourds replace the citronella, sunscreen and bug sprays , and porches are adorned with idols of fruitful harvests.

     Small quaint towns in Vermont begin their hayrides, bonfires and festivals.  It is during this period that the first batches of cider are born.  The saying it is "American as Apple pie", would suggest that apples are American, but it was the European settlers that brought the seeds with them. During Colonial times, cider was the drink of choice, and it is not the apple cider we see today, rather it was hard cider or fermented cider. Since they could not trust water due largely to contamination.   As settlers pushed westward, apple production went with them., and the story of Johnny Appleseed made its way into our history books.  However as it gained popularity it also reached it's pinnacle, with the introduction of German beer.  Beer had a faster fermentation process and German immigrants could set up large breweries for producing larger quantities of beer while cider was only limited to small farms.  With Prohibition on the horizon cider production had all but dried up.

     Here in Vermont we drink what is known as "sweet cider" and mainly it the juice from the apples. The apples are cleaned, cored, quartered and pressed through a cider press, this device mechanically pulps and squeezes the juice out, at this point the cider is ready to be bottled and pasteurized to remove bacteria.

      Making mulled cider is likely to attract guests to your kitchen, the aroma of the spices and sweetness evoke warm feelings of autumn and the approaching winter season.  Mulled cider remains the most beloved drink, it perfumes our homes with memories of holidays past, and the promises of celebrations to come.

If God intended us to follow recipes, He wouldn't have given us grandmothers.~ Linda Henley

When life hands you lemons......?

We all know the saying, when life hands you lemons you make lemonade, making the best of a situation. We all have had to do it in our lives..Thank goodness for moments that we do realize it is all just part of being human...in the words of Frankie goes to Hollywood...Relax!!! :)  So lemonade?, I know it has some roots somewhere, somehow?  I have to say that lemons date back to the times of Christ, but really we just need the hyphenated version and not when it was carried across the desert to be hybridized. We fast-forward, the beauty of digital America. Lemonade has become a symbol of Americana as much as a hot dog at a Yankee's game.  In New York city the summers were brutal, I can remember when I was attending culinary school in Providence, Rhode Island,the heart of the city was easily 15 degrees hotter than the outer lying towns.

 In the late 1800's the New York Times mentioned several stands selling lemonade to combat the sweltering heat, some as a way for kids to make some some money.  Perhaps the most well-known lemonade stand is a little business started by a sweet little girl named Alex in 2000, she had cancer and sadly she passed away in 2004, but her gift to childhood cancer lives on with over 25 million dollars raised to find a cure.  Never underestimate the heart of a child!! Lemonade and lemonade stands have shaped our great country and are a symbol of entrepreneurship, and determination.  Just think if we could bottle that determination, where we would be?

Blueberry Ginger Lemonade

2 cups simple syrup
2 cups frozen blueberries thawed
2 cups cold water
2 cups lemon juice
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
muddle the blueberries and ginger with the simple syrup and let set for about 30 minutes, next add the lemon juice and water and get some ice and enjoy.
Note about simple syrup...to make you use:
2 cups granulated sugar
4 cups water

place sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil, allowing the sugar to dissolve.  Cool, store and use for lemonade recipes.  

A dinner lubricates business.~Lord William Stowell