Cranberry Martini time! Happy Cooking Y'all :)

Happy cooking, y'all!

Tonight, I brined the turkey and made 4 gluten free pie crusts for pie making tomorrow morning. Then, while waiting for the pumpkin to roast, I made the simple syrup for some festive Cranberry Martinis for tomorrow...and had a few myself!

Yes. I just said "a few"... ;) 

Really simple and probably better in an actual martini glass...but don't let that stop you! I'm sure this drinks fine in any container ;)

CRANBERRY MARTINI

1c sugar
1 cup water
1 cup cranberry juice (I had straight, unsweetened. If you have sweetened juice, use less sugar)
1 cinnamon stick
1 slice of orange peel
1 bottle of vodka ;)


* combine the sugar, water and cranberry juice over med heat until sugar dissolves to make the simple syrup
* let simmer with a cinnamon stick and orange peel about 10 minutes
* cool
* in a glass, add 2 parts cranberry simple syrup to 1 part vodka

I personally like more cranberry simple syrup than vodka - like a 2:1 ratio. But...

"Make how you like," my grandmother always says.

;)

"Frittata" - author Gale Deitch's favorite breakfast recipe :)

photo credit: www.greenbasket.me

Good morning, writers!

Today at the BB B&B, guest author Gale Deitch is sharing with us her favorite breakfast recipe :)

"One of my favorite dishes to make - and this works for breakfast or dinner - is a Frittata," says Gale Deitch, author of A FINE FIX. "[It's] an incredibly versatile dish based on the ingredients you have available in your refrigerator, whether you are a vegetarian or a meat eater."

Frittata

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  
• In a large oven-safe sauté pan, heat a tablespoon of olive oil and a tablespoon of butter.
   
• Add to the pan a small onion, chopped, and a medium potato, cubed. If you are a meat eater, also add and saute cubed ham or chopped bacon until browned.
   
• When the potato begins to get tender and the onion is golden and translucent, add vegetables such as sliced mushrooms, quarter rounds of zucchini, cubed green or red peppers, whatever you have on hand, and sauté until tender. Salt and pepper to taste.
   
• Scramble 8 eggs and pour into the pan over the veggie/meat mixture.
   
• Turn the burner down to medium while the eggs begin to set. This may take a few minutes.
   
• Put pan into oven so eggs continue to set.
   
• Sprinkle top with shredded cheddar cheese (or your cheese of choice).
   
• Turn the oven to a low broil until top browns slightly.
   
• Remove from oven (Use an oven mitt—the handle is hot!) and cut the Frittata into 6 or 8 pie-shaped slices.

Enjoy!

:)

"Soft Boiled Eggs", Guest Author's M.L. Doyle's Favorite Breakfast Recipe

Good morning, writers!

Today at the B&B, featured guest author M.L Doyle is sharing her favorite breakfast recipe :)

"I’m a very basic cook," says author M.L. Doyle. "[I] usually fix myself the typical bacon and eggs, sometimes do a potato hash. My favorite breakfast is what I used to eat at B&B's when I lived in Germany. They always had a big selection of meats and breads but the really good ones had soft boiled eggs. I loved putting the egg in the little cup, opening the top and finding that soft, warm egg on the inside. Delicious!"

Soft Boiled Eggs


Ingredients:

• 4 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 6 cups water

Directions:

1. Bring the water to a rapid boil.
2. add salt and keep it at a rapid boil.
3. Prick the bottom (wider end) of the egg with an egg pricker
4. Immerse in the boiling water and boil for exactly 5 minutes.
5. Dash in cold water, crack & enjoy.

recipe from Food.com

Signed Book Giveaway! "MY ONE SQUARE INCH OF ALASKA", by Sharon Short

It's giveaway time!

Sharon Short was our wonderful featured guest author this week, telling all about her love for the craft of writing as well as her new novel My One Square Inch of Alaska. 

And she'd like to give away a signed copy today!

There are 3 ways to enter this giveaway by 11/9/13 midnight tonight:

• Comment here on this blog post
• Comment on yesterday's breakfast recipe post or
• Comment on Thursday's interview post 

And yes, you can comment multiple times, increasing your chances to win. It is a wonderful book. I enjoyed it.

And having Sharon Short as a guest here at the BB Writers Retreat this week was equally as wonderful. Thank you, Sharon!

:)

"Sour Cream Coffee Cake", Guest Author Sharon Short's Favorite Breakfast Recipe :)

photo curtsey of McCormick

Good morning, writers!

Today at the B&B, guest author Sharon Short is sharing with us her favorite breakfast recipe :)

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Ingredients:
For cake:
1/2 cup margarine
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 ounces sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For struesel:
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped walnuts OR pecans
1 tablespoon cinnamon

For glaze:
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Butter or treat with baking spray a baking pan (9 x 9, or round cake pan). In small bowl, mix ingredients for stuesel; set aside.

In medium bowl, mix together dry ingredients. In larger bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs.  Mix in half of the dry ingredients. Mix in half of the sour cream. Mix in the rest of the dry ingredients, and then mix in the rest of the sour cream. Mix in vanilla extract.

Pour batter in greased pan. Spread struesel on top and swirl into batter lightly.

Bake 40-45 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare glaze by mixing ingredients. (It helps to then transfer glaze into a zip lock baggy; you can snip a corner of the baggy to then pipe on the glaze when you're ready.)

After the coffee cake has cooled a bit, swirl on the glaze.

NOTE: my family loves this for breakfast on Thanksgiving and Christmas mornings. For Christmas, I even have a tree shaped cake tin I use to bake this coffee cake. Sometimes I make it just for fun throughout the year. Enjoy!

-- 
Sharon Short
Author of MY ONE SQUARE INCH OF ALASKA (Penguin Plume)
Literary Life columnist, Dayton Daily News
Web and blog: www.sharonshort.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/SharonShortAuthor
Twitter: @SharonGShort

Last Days of Summer... Tomato Basil Salad

Today I woke up missing my grandmother and the feeling of her - her presence - has been with me all day. Dropping off the kids. Going to the farmer's market for fresh veggies.

The market is right next to where she used to live and we'd go there often together. So it was no surprise that the tomatoes were not only on special, but good and plump and calling my name. As were the Italian peppers that will be making their appearance tonight in one of her most famous dishes.

However, I don't want to wait until tonight to make something that reminds me of my Nonna. Smells like her. Tastes like her cooking. Well, almost. No matter how many times I make her food, it never comes out quite right. Not like grandma used to make.

And her food was famously good...and good for you.

Well, as I type this, I have her Insalata Pomodoro - Tomato Salad - marinating on the kitchen counter top and making my mouth salivate.  THIS is the secret to great tomato basil salad: letting it sit, the flavors marry.

From the peck of tomatoes I got from the farmers market, along with a bunch of basil and 1/4th of a gigantic locally farm raised red onion, I made a lunch worthy of my grandmother's presence. I just wish she were here to enjoy it with me.

Tomato Basil Salad - Insalata Pomodoro

* 3 cups free cut ripe tomatoes (see below for free cut)
* 1/4 cup sliced red onion
* a bunch of basil, riped
* 1 1/2 cup olive oil
* salt to taste (I use a lot of salt, you do what you want)

1. Wash the tomatoes and, over the salad bowl free cut the tomatoes into bite sized pieces. THIS is the other secret to perfect tomato salad. Never use a cutting board, as all the juice from the tomatoes will just sit there on the board when you want the juice in the salad. That's the best part - sopping up the left over juice with a good piece of bread :)
2. Next, slice the onions and add to the bowl. I like mine in long, skinny slices. "Cut them how you like," is what my grandmother would say.
3. Tear the basil up into bits and pieces over the bowl. Let the aroma carry you away and don't bother with the cutting board. Cutting basil bruises it and it just doesn't taste the same as when you rip it up with your fingers.
4. Lastly, drizzle all your warm, lucisous olive oil over the salad and add salt. Like I said, I use a lot of salt, probably about 2 teaspoons or so. Why? It neutralizes the acidity of the tomatoes and THAT is what makes this salad so scrumptious - the smooth bite and flavors.
5. If you're in a hurry, go, eat. But if you have time, stir all the ingredients together and let them sit in the bowl for a few minutes to meld together. The longer, the better. This salad is best served at room temp.

And that's it!

One final summer dish during these last days of summer...

Enjoy!

:)