What aging does to old bones...

Snark brought this article to my attention. I live about 15 minutes from here. I also live next to two retirement communities. All the retirees shop at Publix. Gives new meaning to the phrase "meat market".

I have made these before!! Worth the effort.

DEEP-FRIED BABY ARTICHOKES STUFFED WITH PEPPER JACK CHEESE

Active time: 45 min Start to finish: 1 hr

For trimming and cooking artichokes
1 lemon, halved, plus 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
12 baby artichokes (1 to 1 1/2 lb)
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon salt

For stuffing and frying artichokes
About 1 1/2 qt vegetable oil

For deep-frying
3 oz pepper Jack cheese, grated (3/4 cup)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup fine fresh bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Special equipment: a melon-ball cutter and a deep-fat thermometer

Trim and cook artichokes:
Squeeze juice from 1 lemon half into a large bowl of water, then drop same half into water.

Cut off artichoke stems and discard. Cut off top 1/2 inch of 1 artichoke with a serrated knife. Bend back outer leaves until they snap off close to base, then discard several more layers of leaves in same manner until you reach pale yellow leaves with pale green tips. Cut off green tips.

Trim dark green fibrous parts from base and sides of artichoke with a sharp paring knife, then rub cut surfaces with other lemon half. Drop artichoke into acidulated water.

Trim remaining artichokes in same manner.

Put 2 quarts water in a 4-quart pot and whisk in flour. Whisk in oil, salt, and remaining tablespoon lemon juice and bring to a simmer.

Add trimmed artichokes and simmer, partially covered, until just tender when pierced with a knife, 8 to 12 minutes. Drain in a colander, then invert onto paper towels to drain thoroughly. Pat dry.

When artichokes are cool enough to handle, pull out all pointed inner leaves and scoop out fuzzy choke with melon-ball cutter.

Stuff and fry artichokes:
Heat 2 inches oil in a 4-quart heavy pot over moderate heat until thermometer registers 350°F.

While oil is heating, stuff each artichoke with 2 packed teaspoons cheese, pressing leaves around cheese.

Put eggs and bread crumbs in separate shallow bowls and divide salt and pepper between them, stirring them in. Dip each artichoke in egg, turning to coat and letting excess drip off, then in crumbs, turning to coat. Transfer to a tray.

Fry artichokes in 2 batches (returning oil to 350°F between batches) until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Transfer artichokes as fried to paper towels to drain, then cut in half.

Cooks' notes:
• Unless they are purplish in color, it's not necessary to remove chokes from very small artichokes because they are edible at this stage. But removing them will create more room for cheese stuffing.
• Artichokes may be stuffed, but not coated, 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Bring to room temperature before frying.

Makes 24 hors d'oeuvres.

Gourmet
March 2002

"It must be Summer" Fountains of Wayne

The song above has a line that says "It must be summer because the days are long...". For the mothers of school age kids, "Ain't that the truth". I now have to find endless ways of avoiding the boob tube for at least 18 hours of the day. You know ,they won't get up for school at 6am but they surely will be up at the crack of dawn all summer long.

Seriously, this is the first summer where the girls have realized what summer vacation is all about. They had to actually work at school this year. I am ready because I was attending school with them. I am so done with third grade math.

My eldest thinks she is having a love affair with the television this summer. NOT! I hesitate to tell her that in two weeks I am hauling them across the ocean to India. This will be a good break for all of us. We'll visit relatives and they'll experience another culture(where kids respect their elders).

The youngest has asked me if I am going to translate for her since she thinks that no other country speaks English except America. Makes me realize how insulated they are. Being the little capitalist she is, she was also wondering how far her allowance stretches there. I should have plenty to blog about this summer.

Italian Hot Fudge Sundae

Giada De Laurentis stinks! She is beautiful,witty and she is a fantastic cook. I love her recipes and this is one I recently tried out.

1 2/3 cups whipping cream
1/3 cup freshly brewed espresso
12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 quart vanilla ice cream or gelato
1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped
Bring 2/3 cup of cream and espresso to a simmer in a heavy medium saucepan. Remove from the heat. Add the chocolate and stir until the chocolate melts and the sauce is smooth.

Beat the remaining 1 cup of cream, adding powdered sugar 1 tablespoon at a time, and almond extract in a large bowl until soft peaks form. Scoop the ice cream into bowls. Top with the warm fudge sauce, whipped sweetened cream, and nuts.

I...AM...A...FABULOUS...SPECTATOR!

I AM A FABULOUS SWIMMER/BIKER/RUNNER! --words to chant as you compete in the Danskin Women's Sprint Triathalon...--Sally Edwards(Ironman Triathlete)


3:15 am Mother's Day--In a show of support I am up and ready to get my friend Amy. She is participating in her first triathalon. It was the Danskin mini-tri at Magic Kingdom. She gets to swim the Seven Seas lagoon, bike around the Kingdom, then run through the Magic Kingdom.

I am unofficial coach/photographer. Just looking at these women compete makes me tired. I get revenge at the ungodliness of the hour by slurping my coffee in front of Amy,since she can't have any till after the race, this kills her.

Now she is the type of athlete that I aspire to be. She is a fit woman. She is not those muscle bound mamas you see that are lean and scary looking. The best part is she doesn't throw it in your face that she could bench press you.

5 am-- Very dark out. It's a little strange getting off the ferry at the Magic Kingdom and hearing absolutely nothing. Amy goes to set up her transition area and I stake a chair out at the finish line. I whip out the camera and take pictures. I need blackmail photos of her in these triathalon shorts that I have dubbed "Diaper Pants." I told her that I needed to take a picture of the back because you can see the padding better. She refuses because she knows I'll post it to the blog.

6:45--She is off. I say a prayer that the alligator snapping turtle I saw lounging on the shoreline is not around. But this being the Mouse Kingdom, where all things are perfect, I'm sure he wouldn't bite.

6:50-8:45 I run around taking pictures. I stupidly thought I would be lounging in my chair reading. Instead, there is no time because these chicks finish too fast. Her husband and kids join the cheering section. Amy finishes really well and I think that she is hooked on this.

We head to the Polynesian for a character breakfast. Snark and the kids join us. The breakfast was good. Mickey, in his luau shirt, is surly. My youngest touched his hand and the mouse brushed her away. Me thinks Mickey might need a new job. As we left, a group of ladies told Mickey how much better this would be without kids and the damn mouse gave them a thumbs-up. Hello, where are you?? This isn't Vegas, baby!

I was too tired to make a snarky comment. I went home and pulled the covers back over my head and took a nap.

Happy Mothers Day!!!

This is to all the women who have made me want to get out of bed everyday. I will try and not exclude anyone from my speech.

My mom and my grandmother--These two ladies have supported me even when they thought I was crazy ( which is often). My grandma loves me so much she flew from India so she could be there when I had my oldest child. She instilled her love of family and reading in me. I hope to be as strong as my grandma is. My mother, I can't say enough about. She's my mom. She had to put up with my Sybil like self during puberty into early adulthood. She was still standing when I came home from a month long trip to say I was getting married and then threw the best party.

My two wacky daughters. They fight and beat the hell out of each other during the day and then curl up next to each other at night. My younger one puts her sister's homework and lunch in her backpack. The older one lets her sister sleep next to her when she is scared. They write me notes saying they love me and when can they watch the tv. Please circle yes or no. Yes I love you, No you cannot watch the tv during the week!

My aunt- for having this zany sense of humor that enabled all of us to live through my teen years and my wedding. When things were heated my aunt injected a bit of humor to lighten up our lives. She treated me as the daughter she should have had.

My mother-in-law who has loved me unconditionally. When times are low my mother-in-law always says that life bounces back and God will provide. And she is right.

My friends Amy and Traci who are really my sisters. They just don't know it. I love them and hope they know that there isn't a thing that I wouldn't do for them. Words don't express how I feel. They are my family.

My bookclub and Newcomers Club in Baton Rouge. These ladies made me feel so welcome. The Newcomers embraced me and I never met so many nice ladies in one place. My book-club reinvigorated my love of reading. The great thing was we could severely disagree about a book and still have a great lunch after. I miss them.

My friends scattered around the world. I may not write often or call even less but I think about you all the time.

Have a wonderful Mother's Day!

Roasted chicken and poblano tacos

Good weeknight recipe!

8 small corn tortillas( I used mini pitas since I don't like the flavor of corn tortillas)
storebought roasted chicken
1 poblano roasted(Broil in oven till skin is charred then stick in plastic bag for a few minutes then peel and chop)
1 red pepper roasted(same directions as above)
2 TB olive oil
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 clove garlic(chopped)
juice of 1/2 lime
pinch kosher salt
1/2 c. sour cream
1/2 finely chopped onion
2 TB chopped cilantro
1/2 grated Cheddar

Preheat oven to 400. Shred chicken to make about 1 1/2 cups. mix together oil, cumin,1/2 chopped garlic and lime juice. Add chicken and salt. Mix sour cream, cheese, peppers, onion and cilantro in another bowl. Divide chicken mixture evenly among tortillas and top with sour cream mix. Bake for 5 minutes and enjoy.

This week

Snark told me today he has had a rash of potty talkers at work. People who are on the toilet and talking on the cell phone. I warned him that might cause unintentional spray so stay away. You can't pee and hold the cell phone without someone getting hurt.

My friends the Proglers came to visit. We had a great time having dinner with them. Why did it take us moving out of state to get together for dinner??? We took them for drinks at Animal Kingdom Lodge. We wandered around and tried to see animals out of night vision goggles. My luck all the good animals left and all I saw was "Duckus Americanus".

My eldest wears size 7 womens flip-flops. I'm scared to see what she wears when she turns 10.

I had three communion parties on Sunday. Thank God(literally) that all the kids go to the same church. We knocked out service in one fell swoop.

Someone royally pissed me off today. She had the nerve to say "I don't understand why people come to our church for a Communion ceremony if they are not going up to partake of communion. That means they obviously don't believe in that holy sacrament." To which I had to say "Your religion does not allow other baptized Christians to partake in your communion. I am one of those. Communion is important to me, but your church will not allow me to participate." She had no answer and obviously is not as well versed in her faith as she thought she was. As Snark says "Don't let your lack of knowledge slow you down."

Tomorrow is my birthday. I got two cases of wine and a bike. My friend Amy and her college roomie used to "drink and bike" I would try it, if it didn't require so much exercise.

Oops! Forgot to post a recipe

So my birthday is Wed. I request this cake every year from Snark. Not too sweet and just right(like me).

CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH MASCARPONE AND PRALINE

For praline
1/2 cup whole blanched almonds
1/2 cup hazelnuts
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water

For cake
3 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened)

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup water
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 large egg
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup well-shaken buttermilk

8 ounces mascarpone cheese (about 1 cup) at room temperature
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar

Make praline:
Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a baking pan toast nuts in one layer in middle of oven 10 minutes, or until almonds are lightly colored and hazelnut skins are blistered. Wrap nuts in a kitchen towel and let steam 1 minute. Rub nuts in towel to remove any loose hazelnut skins (do not worry about skins that do not come off) and cool completely.

Line a baking sheet with foil. In a small heavy saucepan bring sugar and water to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Boil syrup, without stirring, washing down any sugar crystals that cling to side of pan with a pastry brush dipped in cold water, until it begins to turn golden. Swirl pan until syrup is deep golden and remove from heat. Stir in nuts and pour praline onto baking sheet, spreading evenly. Cool praline completely and break into pieces. Transfer praline to a sealable plastic bag and with a rolling pin coarsely crush.

Make cake:
Preheat oven to 300°F. Generously butter a 9-inch round cake pan (at least 2 inches deep) and line bottom with wax or parchment paper. Butter paper and dust pan with flour, knocking out excess.

Finely chop chocolate. In a small saucepan combine cocoa powder, butter, oil, and water. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring until smooth, and remove pan from heat. Add chocolate and sugar, whisking until smooth, and transfer to a bowl. Cool chocolate mixture completely and whisk in egg. Sift flour and baking powder over chocolate mixture and whisk until just combined. Whisk in buttermilk and pour batter into cake pan, spreading evenly. Bake cake in middle of oven 45 to 50 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean, and cool in pan on a rack 5 minutes. Run a thin knife around edge of pan and invert cake onto rack. Discard paper. Cool cake completely and transfer to a plate. In a bowl stir together mascarpone and sugar. Spread mixture over top of cake and generously sprinkle with praline.

recipe courtesy of Cafe Mezzo