Last week and s'mores cookies

I have not had a lot to do for the last several days. This has been great.

On Tuesday I fixed a friend's computer. It was running slow, so I disabled a lot of processes that loaded at startup. Then I went home to finish baking some s'mores cookies. I am not sure where I originally found the recipe online, but it is the same as the recipe from Ice Cream Before Dinner. With 11 tablespoons of butter this is a sure winner.

S'mores Cookies

11 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, room temp
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp cinnamon
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1 cup mini marshmallows
4 Hershey bars, broken into pieces
1 package graham crackers, broken into squares

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.
2. In another bowl, cream butter with both sugars until light and fluffy.
3. Add egg and vanilla. Then add the flour mixture. Keep mixing.
4. Fold in chips and marshmallows. Chill dough in refrigerator for 1 hour (or even overnight).
5. Preheat oven to 375 F.
6. Line baking pans with parchment paper. Lay out graham crackers side by side on the pans as close as possible (they should be touching).
7. Place a heaping tablespoon of chilled dough on each of the graham crackers. Press down slightly with fingertips.
8. Bake for 5 minutes then remove from oven and put a piece of Hershey bar on top of each of them.
9. Bake for 5 – 7 more minutes or until dough is beginning to turn golden brown at the edges. Cool on a wire rack.

The way I did the cookies was to break the graham crackers in half (so they were almost squares). I then put a scoop of dough on top of each of these squares. When they were finished, each graham square had a cookie and chocolate on top, which was my original image when I heard s'mores cookies. However, looking at the pictures and recipes online, the way they are usually made is to get the dough to evenly bake over all the crackers and then cut them up so they are more like bars instead of cookies.

I made 46 cookies with this recipe. A box of graham crackers usually has 54 pieces when the rectangular ones are broken in half.

While I like baking cookies and giving them to people, I was inspired to share them at a Beach Newman event because of the following exchange on facebook a few weeks ago. Instead of paraphrasing, I will share the entire conversation. The sister below is a lot like Juliette from Berkeley.

Friend (status update): My sister is actually an alien being with magical powers from the planet Soggisandwichonia and she plans on devouring every cookie in our house as soon as I bake some. Her mind powers compel me. I must leave now. Farewell, Earthlings.
Friend: Hacked
Friend's sister: No, she wasn't.
Me: She is an adult; she can bake her own cookies. Also, anyone from Soggisandwichonia should be eating sandwiches.
Friend's sister: But the sandwiches there are all soggy, I want COOKIES!!! And aliens never reach adulthood; that's why we always rely on Earthlings to do our bidding. Do you bake cookies?
Me: Soggy sandwiches? How did civilization ever develop on that planet? I do bake cookies. Growing up, the Cookie Monster was one of my heroes. I often make chocolate chip oatmeal ones, but recently I made some smores cookies that were wonderful. I should bring some to one of the Beach Newman events.
Friend's sister: It's a very moist climate, and yes, you should! S'more cookies?!:)

So I decided to bring cookies to our meeting on Tuesday. While I knew my friend would be there, I did not know her sister would be there as well. I have not seen her since January.

Since I did not have anything pressing to do on Wednesday, I cleaned my room. I found some paperwork I was looking for, threw some stuff out, and did some laundry. It has been a while since I saw this much carpet in my room.

Pork, Stuffing, and Apple Pie Filling

When I was at Mount Vernon for Presidents' Day, there was information about what type of food people would usually eat in Washington's time. During the winter, pigs were often slaughtered so people could eat pork. While they had a pig there, there was no pork for sale in the food court. However, I did enjoy a chill cheeseburger.


Fortunately, later that day for dinner I had an opportunity for pork. I have enjoyed this recipe many times and want to share it with you.

Apple and Stuffing Pork Chops

4-6 Pork chops
Can Apple pie filling
Box Stuffing mix
Few tablespoons Applesauce

This is an imprecise recipe. The basic idea is pork chops go well with stuffing and apple pie filling (or applesauce). As a variation you can cut the applesauce completely.

Using a skillet with a little oil, cook both sides of the pork chops until some browning occurs (around 4 minutes per side depending on the thickness). Prepare the stuffing mix as directed on the box. When the stuffing is ready, mix in a few tablespoons of applesauce.

In a greased casserole dish (9x13 perhaps), spread the apple pie filling. Then arrange the pork chops on top. Add more applesauce if desired. Then cover with the stuffing. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until heated through and the pork chops are done. I recommend removing the cover for the last 10 minutes to give it a little crisp. Depending on how thick the pork chops are it could take longer. However, the browning before baking will do a lot of the cooking.

The last time I made this was an adventure. There was no apple pie filling, so I used copious amounts of applesauce. However, I dumped a lot of sugar into the applesauce because it was the no sugar added version. A good rule of thumb is no sugar = no fun. Cinnamon can also be added to the applesauce if no pie filling is available.

Seneca, the Stoics, and a Coffee Ring

I recently finished Letters from a Stoic, a collection of letters written by Seneca, a Roman of the first century AD. The Latin title is Epistulae morales ad Lucilium which means moral letters to Lucilius. In all there are 124 letters in the collection, but my Penguin Classics edition does not have all of them.

These letters are some of the best extant examples of Stoicism and its way of thinking. My one line summary of Stoicism is happily accept what fortune gives you and be in control of your emotions. The letters are practical advice on how to implement this philosophy in daily life.

I started this book sometime in the middle of last year. The letter format makes it easy to read in little parts. However, that also reduces my drive to finish the book. Since there is no larger structure, there is no need for me to remember the beginning of the book when I get to the end.

Some of the letters are great while a few are less interesting. If I had planned ahead I would have a list of a few good letters for you to check out. The only one I remember anything specific about is Letter XC. Even then I only remember wanted to argue with it.

I do not know as much about Greek and Roman philosophy as I think I should. Reading this is part of my program to fix that. This is the second of three Stoic works I plan on reading. I already read Marcus Aurelius's Meditations and next I will be reading Epictetus's Enchiridion. If you want a suggestion, I recommend you pick up Marcus Aurelius's Meditations. Like all the important works from Ancient Greece and Rome, it is available online.

Now for something different and non-Stoic. I have a recipe to share.

Italian Coffee Ring

1 stick margarine
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup milk

chocolate chips, nuts, or raisins (optional)

Cream the margarine and sugar. This involves waiting until the margarine is soft and mixing it thoroughly with the sugar. After this add the rest of the ingredients and mix some more. For the last item I usually add chocolate chips. I add around a cup, but put in however many you think look good.

On a greased cookie sheet, spoon the dough into two long logs. If desired, you can make one ring instead. Bake at 375 for 15 - 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

After it cools add frosting and cover with jimmies. I would furnish a picture, but these did not stay around the house very long.

Bryce Canyon Driving and Las Vegas Eating

Raining, snowing, raining, snowing, raining, snowing, raining, and more raining. That is what actually happened to me on my last trip. The driving was some of the most scenic, dangerous, and fun I have ever done.

The driving and weather conditions
This is how I got to Bryce Canyon. It was raining as I started my driving. From Larry's house I took the 22 to the 57 to the 60 east to the 15 north. The rain and fog were all around and it was difficult to see the other cars. As I drove into Nevada the rain continued and by the time I made it into Arizona it turned into freezing rain. When I made it into Utah the freezing rain became snow and lightened up. I exited at Ceder City to take Utah 14. It was a mountain road through a forest and a true winter wonderland. It was a winding road that traced shapes I have never seen on street signs before.

After 40 miles of that fun I took US 89 north to Utah 12. As I drove the scenic route at night I could see where the road went under rock arches. I turned off at the 63 and went south until I found Ruby's Inn where we stayed.

Ruby's Inn was more than a hotel; it had a restaurant, general store, liquor store, equipment rentals, laundromat, barber shop, photo place, and tour reservation center. In the general store, they had a lot of gifts. One of them was a glass with an expression on it. What would be your first thoughts on reading it?

Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we may be in Utah

I thought it implied being merry did not happen very often in Utah. Before I could voice this sentiment, a person who overheard me reading the glass chimed in "I was born in California and then rudely brought to Utah when I was a few years old, and I emphasize rudely brought."

Then I went on a trip to Zion which I covered in an earlier post.

The Departure
The morning we left Bryce Canyon it was snowing. I planned on taking the same route back I had taken to get there. As I turned onto the 14 it was not ploughed as well as the 89. However, the gates were open so I determined the road was open. As I drove the conditions became progressively worse. I could see where a tree had fallen into the road and had been cut by a chainsaw to clear the road. There were fresh tire tracks in the road, so I was not worried.

About a quarter of the way through this 40 mile road the path narrowed. There was only one ploughed lane. Then I came across a car that was going the other way. Since there was over two feet of snow on the ground and only one lane was ploughed we had a problem. We got out of our cars and conferenced with the drivers of the two trucks that were following me. I learned a service vehicle was stuck on the road ahead and the car in front of me had turned around because the road was impassable. The other people suggested I back my car out until the road became wide enough to turn my car around. A helpful local person I talked to said this was one of the worst storms he had seen in the last 30 years of living there.

I started backing my car out, but it was difficult for me to follow the road. I asked Peter to get out and walk the route so I could follow his black jacket instead of white tracks in white snow. After half a mile of this and almost running over Peter a few times I decided to turn the car around. I slammed the back of the car as far as I could into one side of the road. I did not get very far because the front tires got caught in the snow. I cleared the snow but the tires were still spinning. The other driver, Larry, and Peter pushed the car as I slammed on the gas. After some maneuvering and coordinated pushing, the car was successfully turned around.

After backing my car up for over half a mile I had a new appreciation for driving forward in the normal way.

A Detour to a Detour
Since Utah 14 was closed I needed to find an alternate route to get to the 15. After talking to the kind person who helped me turn my car around and a friendly gas station employee, I learned the snow became rain only a short distance to the south. I headed south and planned on taking Utah 9 through Zion National Park. I had driven to Zion a few days earlier so my entry fee had already been paid.

The snow turned into rain as I was traveling south on the 89. I turned on the radio for Zion travel information. The radio said part of Utah 9 was washed out in the park due to heavy rain and the road would be impassable for several days. I made a detour on top of the detour. I drove south and in Kanab took 89 A (an alternate 89) to Arizona where I hopped on Arizona 389. This undivided highway (or single carriageway) had wonderful landscapes. There was nothing except desert and mountains in the distance.

Arizona 389 became Utah 59 and that dumped me onto Utah 9. I followed it to the 15 and then stopped in St. George for some food. A 72 mile trip that should take 1 hour and 18 minutes became a 123 mile and 3+ hour jaunt into the deserts of Arizona.

In Arizona the 15 follows the path of the Virgin River. This is the same river that runs through Zion. The river was a raging torrent with all the rain and it was fun to drive the curves in the road following it.

In Las Vegas
Eventually I made it into Las Vegas where the cloud cover was thick and the rain unabated. As I was driving it looked like the Imperial Palace was going to be washed away; there was a lot of water rolling out of their parking structure. It ended up OK even though the river I drove through was featured on the news that night.

While in Las Vegas we went to the Palazzo and saw Jersey Boys. It followed Frankie Valli and the singing group the Four Seasons. I am not familiar with the people or the music involved, but I did recognize the names or parts of a few of the songs as songs that were popular once upon a time. Larry said if they made a musical like that about the Backstreet Boys it would make more sense to him. Even though the music was not meaningful for me, I enjoyed the performance.

For dinner one day Peter made spam musubi. He did this during our last trip. Like last time, he cooked rice in a pot and managed to burn the rice and really mess up the pot. In spite of this, the food was good and I furnished a picture of it below.

Spam Musubi

This recipe is imprecise. It is the type of thing that is best shown instead of written down. However, I want you to be able to experience this if you wish so here is my description of what Peter did. Consult the Unnamed Geniuses and look at a few pictures online to get an idea what the final product looks like.

Rice
Seaweed paper
Spam
Mr. Yoshida's Sauce

Cook the rice as indicated on the package or your own way. Cut the spam horizontally so you have several pieces the same size as the top of a spam can. The pieces can be as thick as you like. I think Peter made them less than 1/4 inch thick. Boil the pieces of spam in water for a few minutes. While I do not think the boiling is necessary, it helps get rid of some of the sodium. Next, fry the pieces of spam in a pan with some Mr. Yoshida's Sauce. Let the spam soak up the flavor of the sauce and flip them over to get it on both sides. Remove from the pan.

Take some rice and mold it on top of one of the pieces of spam. I would guess half an inch of rice on top of the spam would be good. Then wrap the rice and spam in some seaweed paper leaving the ends open. The seaweed paper we used worked well after it was cut in half. If you are making it and any questions come up you can give me a call.

To finish off the route, I took the 15 to the 60 west. On the 60 I got into the carpool lane and stayed there for my next 3 freeway changes. I took the 57 south to the 5 south to the 55 south.

In case you were not keeping track, the entire trip took me through four different states multiple times. I went California - Nevada - Arizona - Utah - Arizona - Utah - Arizona - Nevada - California. This trip was 1356.8 miles, which makes it the longest road trip I have ever driven.

Samuel Adams Cupcakes

It is time to make some cupcakes with a fine beer, Samuel Adams.

I originally saw this recipe in the Orange County Register on April 22nd. However, a quick search will turn this up in many places online. All the recipes are the same. This is a problem because they all turn out terrible. I left the cupcakes in for twice as long as the recipe states and they still looked questionable and unbaked. Whoever wrote the recipe must have been drinking a few Sam Adams.

The original recipe has all the ingredients below, except with 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup Samuel Adams Boston Lager, and 3/4 cup flour. For my changes I left out the water, increased the Samuel Adams to 3/4 cup, and pushed the flour to 1 cup. With my new recipe I baked a dozen which turned out better. I bumped the temperature up to 350 from the originally mandated 325 for the second batch and they baked even better. The original recipe also neglects to tell you to add the flour, baking soda, and baking powder to the mix. As I said, someone must have been drinking when writing the recipe.

Now my new and improved recipe.

Boston Lager 25th Anniversary Cupcakes

1/2 cup butter
1 1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 eggs
1 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup Samuel Adams Boston Lager
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place butter, sugar, and cocoa powder in a large mixing bowl. Add in eggs and mix until thoroughly combined. Mix in flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Pour in Boston Lager, then salt. Mix until mixture is smooth and there are no lumps.

Line muffin tin with muffin liners. Pour approximately 3 – 4 oz into each cup. Bake in oven at 350 degrees for approximately 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. The recipe's official yield is 2 dozen, but I ended up with 20 or 22 using my "that looks good" method of filling the cups.


For these I used some Pillsbury frosting I wanted to finish up at home. Consequently, I did not test this frosting recipe. However, with a cup of butter it has to be good!

Boston Lager Butter Cream Frosting
3 cups confectioners' sugar
1 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon whipping cream
2 tablespoons Samuel Adams Boston Lager

In a standing mixer with a whisk, mix together sugar and butter. Mix on low speed until well blended, then increase speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes. Add vanilla extract, Boston Lager, and whipping cream and continue to beat on medium speed for 1 minute more, adding more cream if needed.

The Bears are coming

As some of you know, tomorrow is the first game of the California Golden Bears football season. I have been listening to my Cal Band CD to get into the correct mood.

The complete schedule for the season and where to find the Bears on TV and radio is available on the Cal Bears website. You can also listen to all the games on KALX online.

On Saturday at 1 the Bears will be playing UC Davis at Memorial Stadium.

When I lived at the Yee Tenement House, I would often make a dip Derek, Patrick, and sometimes David would enjoy before walking down Piedmont to the stadium. I will share the recipe so you too can enjoy this game day tradition. This would usually be accompanied with rum and cokes or gin and tonics if I had a two liter bottle of tonic to finish up.

Layered Nacho Dip

1 (16 oz.) can refried beans
1/2 pkg. taco mix
16 oz. guacamole dip
8 oz. sour cream
1 small can black olives, chopped or sliced
2 tomatoes, diced
Green onions (or a small onion) finely chopped
taco sauce or salsa
thick layer of shredded Cheddar (and/or Jack) cheese

Mix refried beans & taco mix. Layer in shallow dish (I think I used a 9 x 13) or pie pan in order: Beans/taco mix, guacamole, sour cream, chopped black olives, diced tomatoes, onion, salsa & shredded cheese. Serve with nacho chips.

You can play with the amounts and ingredients any way you like. I used genuine Safeway refried beans most of the time and started with this appetizing sight.


Game day never tasted so good.

Long Islands and Small Celebrations

I was at BevMo last week. The trip was to restock on many good things that were dwindling if not completely gone from my residence. I also checked if there were any good wines left at the end of the 5 cent wine sale.

Aside from the alcohol, one item I purchased was a double jigger. This is used to measure ingredients for cocktails. Normally I use a shot glass labeled with half ounce increments for measurements, but I wanted to upgrade to a classic jigger and avoid using a breakable shot glass.

The packaging for the item was labeled as measuring 3/4 oz on one side and 1 3/4 oz on the other. This was surprising to me as I would expect one side to be twice the size of the other from the name jigger and double jigger. I did a test when I got home and discovered the item actually measures 3/4 oz and 1 1/2 oz. The packaging lied to me.

On the topic of using 3/4 oz as a measurement, I have a recipe.


Long Island Iced Tea

0.75 oz Vodka
0.75 oz Gin
0.75 oz Rum
0.75 oz Tequila
0.75 oz Triple sec
Cola

Mix equal parts of the five alcohols and then top with cola.

There are many different variations with different liquors or sour mix instead of cola, but this is the only version I have made at home. Whenever I go to Las Vegas I like to order a Long Island at every different casino they offer me drinks at. While I did not write down what place used which mixer, I enjoyed all of them. I think the Bellagio and Wynn used sour mix, while the Las Vegas Hilton used cola. You should know a Long Island Iced Tea is one of the stronger drinks you can order.

One of the many liquors I bought was Pimm's No. 1. This is great for a summertime drink popular in the UK.


Pimm's Cup

1.5 oz Pimm's No. 1
Ginger ale

Mix the two ingredients and enjoy. The ginger ale can be replaced with lemonade or champagne (becoming a Pimm's Royal Cup). A little history of Pimm's Cup is available from the Unnamed Geniuses. Pimm's No. 1 has a base of gin and is infused with spices and stuff. There are also a few variations listed at the Webtender.

Drifting from drinks to a dessert, my neighbor sent me the following recipe from an email. I tried and enjoyed it.


5 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

4 Tbsp flour
4 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp cocoa
1 egg
3 Tbsp milk
3 Tbsp oil
3 Tbsp chocolate chips
Small splash of vanilla extract

Add the flour, sugar, and cocoa to a large microwave safe mug and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well. Add the chocolate chips and vanilla extract and mix some more. Put the mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts. The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed! Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.

This is perfect for any occasion you want to celebrate at the last minute. If you can't think of one immediately, my next post will give you a reason to celebrate.

Race for the Black-Eyed Susans

Tomorrow is the 135th running of the Preakness Stakes. People will be making their way to see the horses run at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. Two weeks ago my post about the Kentucky Derby opened this series.

Will the Derby winner Super Saver win the second crown? Or will he be beaten by Lookin At Lucky who is almost equally favored in the odds? Calvin Borel rode Rachel Alexandra to victory in last year's Preakness, can he repeat the feat with Super Saver? All these questions will be answered tomorrow in the 1 3/16 mile race.

The race website has many race traditions chronicled. There is the singing of "Maryland, My Maryland" and the painting of the winner's colors on the weather vain on the Old Clubhouse cupola.

Also online is the official drink recipe. It is reproduced below, but I use whatever vodka brand I have at hand. In case you are wondering, the Black-Eyed Susan is a flower. It is the state flower of Maryland and the winner of the Preakness is presented with a blanket of the flowers. This lends the race another name, the same way the Kentucky Derby is the Run for the Roses.

Black-Eyed Susan

1 1/4 oz Early Times Kentucky Whiskey
3/4 oz 42 Below Vodka
3 oz Sour Mix
2 oz Orange Juice

Combine and garnish with orange slice and cherry.

I will take this opportunity to add to my post from the Derby a couple of weeks ago. I made some Derby Pie and it had a full stick of butter.


Derby Pie

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 stick butter, melted
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
1 unbaked pie shell (the recipe insisted upon Pillsbury, but I used Marie Calender's)

Preheat oven to 350. Combine sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt. Add eggs, one at a time, then vanilla and melted butter. Stir in chocolate chips and pecans. Pour into pie shell and bake for 30-40 minutes. Let cool to set.

The Passover Seder and Unleavened Bread

There was another RCIA event this past weekend. It is not a standard event for people in the program, just something the team wanted to do to teach the people. In preparation for becoming Catholic, they prepared a Jewish Passover Seder. It is the ritual meal Jews eat every year to commemorate their liberation from Egypt.

While I have been to Catholic explanations of the Seder before, this was much more detailed and authentic. I directly participated in drinking the four cups of wine, washing of the hands, breaking one of the three matzo on the plate, eating a Hillel sandwich, dipping an herb into salt water, spilling ten drops of wine for the plagues, eating charoset (mixture of apples and nuts), and singing Dayeinu (about being grateful to God) among other things.

To get into the spirit earlier in the day, I made my own matza. Everyone got the recipe at the Sunday teaching earlier in the week, but I was one of the few who actually made it. The recipe is reproduced below.

Unleavened Bread

1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp Crisco
1/2 cup very hot water

Mix flour, salt, and Crisco together - Put in a Tupperware type container and shake until it is the consistency of pie dough - crumbly.

Add water.

Shake about 3 minutes, or until dough forms a small ball. Then, take the ball and THROW it (not knead it) on your counter for about 15 minutes. (You may need to take an "arm rest")!

Divide into 3 parts - put on ungreased cookie sheet and flatten before baking to about 1/4 inch.

Bake at 350 degrees about 25 minutes.

NOTE: "Throwing" it on the counter is VERY IMPORTANT and for at least 15 minutes - if you don't, the bread will be tough.

In addition to this given recipe, I took a meat tenderizer and attacked the dough every few minutes to help soften it up. I also used the tenderizer to imprint a design on two of the pieces.

Back to the Meal
There is a lot of symbolism and meaning in the Seder. It focuses on how God brought the Jewish people out of slavery in Egypt. The teaching on Sunday explained some of the background. I wanted to know more, so I stared my own online research. I have been focusing on Jewish sources to explain the Seder. I want to learn about everything in its original context, not from sources or people who cherry pick only the most helpful information for their interpretation. There are some Christian sources that ignore much of the Seder and there are some Jewish people who celebrate the Seder and say the messiah has come in Yeshua (Jesus). I will not attempt a summary, but the Unnamed Geniuses are here to help explain the Passover Seder.

All of this stuff is important to Christianity because Jesus and his apostles were Jews. The Last Supper was a Seder that was prepared and eaten in accordance with Jewish custom and law. However, Jesus does not finish it in the proscribed way. Four cups of wine must be drunk in the meal, but Jesus stands up and walks out before he would have offered the fourth cup.

A few points were brought up in what I heard and read:

• The third cup of wine is for God's redemption of Israel. After this cup Jesus suspends drinking the fourth cup until He accomplishes His redemptive work.


• Jesus is the new paschal sacrifice. Like the lamb offered in the Passover Seder, He is without blemish.


• At dinner, Jesus says He will not drink wine again until He is in His Father's kingdom. He rejects wine offered to Him until His death.

There is a lot of information out there and I do not have a clear understanding of everything that is happening. I hope this will push you to read up on it or offer your own insights.

The Third Scrutiny
The Third and final Scrutiny for the Elect happened two Sundays ago. All the readings are online. The Gospel for the day was the raising of Lazarus in John 11:1-45. Refer to my post on the First Scrutiny for links explaining the Scrutiny since they are all very similar.

Next for RCIA will be the Holy Thursday mass, followed by a bunch of things on Holy Saturday before the Easter Vigil (which is another big bunch of things, three sacraments, and lots of grace).

Irish Cocktail and Corn Casserole

In the past week I have read 100+ pages in three different books and over 30 pages of a textbook, but have not yet finished any of them. (Actually, since I wrote that line yesterday I finished one. A post will be forthcoming.)

As an update to a previous post about GRE scores, I have my actual report to share. My Analytical Writing score was 3.5 out of 6 which is in the 23rd percentile. For the other two sections, the percentiles are exactly what I guessed in the previous post, Verbal 90th and Quantitative 62nd.

As I said before, I know I can do much better on the test. While ETS says people who retake the test usually do not see a significant change in score, I have some personal experience that differs. Once upon a time back when Writing was a separate SAT II subject test (May 2003), I took it. The first time I got 520, which is the 21st percentile (from a chart I found). Before the test I had a lot of literal drama and trauma. It was one of the craziest and most surreal weeks of my life. When I took the test a second time without the extenuating circumstances, I scored 760 (or 92nd percentile). If I ever do retake the GRE, I will be preparing and aiming for 90th percentile or higher in all three sections.

Now for the next installment of Chris's Cocktails & Casseroles.

Plain and Fancy Corn Casserole

1 can creamed corn
1 1/2 cups cooked rice
1/2 cup cut up pepper
Little cut up onion (I used half an onion, but use less if you like it less)
2 tbsp melted butter
1/2-1 cup shredded cheese, divided
2 egg yokes

Combine and place in an ungreased (I do not believe in ungreased, but you can try if you want to) casserole pan. Top with more cheese. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes.

I doubled this recipe and added a can of whole corn. It was delicious.

This recipe was on a card in my Mom's recipe box at home. The title of Plain and Fancy comes from the TV show of the same name in Buffalo many years ago.


Even though St. Patrick's Day has passed, there is nothing wrong with enjoying this next cocktail year round.

Irish Car Bomb

Bottle Guinness beer
0.75 oz Jameson Irish whiskey
0.75 oz Baileys Irish cream

Fill a large glass half full with Guinness. Then take a shot glass and fill it half full with whiskey and then float the cream on top of that. If you want to be fancy, slowly pour the cream on the back of an inverted spoon into the already half full shot glass. Next, take the shot glass and gently (or aggressively if you don't mind a mess) drop it glass and all into the glass with the Guinness. Immediately chug the drink, as the reaction of the ingredients will start to curdle.

Dessert Recipes and a Drink

Hurry Up Coffee Cake

This is an easy one I got from my Mom.

1 package yellow cake mix
1 cup flour
1 can fruit pie filling (can be cherry, peach, apple, or any kind you like)
4 eggs

Combine the cake mix, flour, and eggs. Cut up any large chucks of fruit in the pie filling.** Stir the pie filling into the mixture. This can be put into a bread pan (I think it can fill two) or a 9x13 pan. Either way grease the pan throughly.

Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes. If it is a 9x13 pan, it can take 5-10 minutes less. Use a toothpick to see if it is baked throughout. If the toothpick comes out clean, it is done.

**If my Grandma is making this with cherry pie filling, she likes to leave the cherries whole and gently mix them in. This way when the finished cake is eaten the cherries are still individual cherries.


Pumpkin Delight

This recipe came from one of my Mom's friends. Even with the high price of pumpkin recently this is worth making. How can this not be good? It has two sticks of butter!

1 large can pumpkin (not to be confused with pumpkin pie filling)
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 can evaporated milk (12 oz)
3 eggs

1 package yellow cake mix
1 cup butter, melted

Mix the first five ingredients. Dump into a greased 9x13 pan. Then lightly and evenly sprinkle the yellow cake mix over the top. Drizzle the butter over the top and bake at 350 for one hour.

A variation is to add 1 1/2 cup chopped pecans between the cake mix and butter.


Glorious Revolution, or 1688

This is a drink I created myself. However, I am still looking for another alcohol to add to it.

1 oz Gin
1 oz Scotch
1 oz Irish whiskey
1/2 oz Triple sec

Fill with club soda.

I drew upon English history for inspiration for this drink. The alcohol represents England (gin), Scotland (scotch), and Ireland (Irish whiskey). If I knew of something I could use for Whales, I would include that as well. The triple sec (an orange flavored liquor) represents William of Orange who was invited to take over the crown of England, Scotland, and Ireland.

If you want the complete summary of the history, check out what the unnamed geniuses have written.

Cocktails and Casseroles

When I was in Northern California at the end of September, Derek gave me a few ideas.

It started Saturday morning in the hotel room. I mentioned how I remember Derek watching cooking shows on Saturday mornings senior year. There were a few things that stayed with me from the shows, like the line "If Yan can cook, so can you!" After finding and watching these shows on TV, Derek suggested I start a career as a cooking show host. In the episodes I could explain how to make one of my casseroles. Unlike other shows that gloss over the baking time, I could use it to demonstrate how to make a different alcoholic drink. It would be Chris's Cocktails & Casseroles.

I liked the idea. A good first step would be a series of online videos. However, since I do not have access to a second camera and competent cameraman (or camera person to be politically correct), there are technical issues. Until they are resolved, I will post here.

Yorkshire Chicken

A couple of weekends ago I made Yorkshire Chicken. I have made it several times before and following this easy plan you too can enjoy it.

4-5 chicken breast with ribs
(boneless will work as well, but the cooking time will need to be cut)
1/4 cup oil at most, just enough to coat the bottom of the 9x13 pan
1/3 cup flour
2 tsp salt
1/4 pepper
1.5 tsp sage

Yorkshire Pudding Ingredients:
1 cup flour (the original recipe says sifted flour, but I don't sift)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 tsp parsley flakes
1.5 cup milk
3 eggs

Remove the skin and excess fat from the chicken. Coat the outside with the flour, salt, pepper, and sage. The amounts are not vitally important, just sprinkle some of the salt, pepper, and sage on it and coat with flour. After using the oil to coat the bottom of the casserole pan, place the chicken in and bake at 400 for 40 minutes.

Mix up the Yorkshire Pudding by combining the flour, baking powder, salt, and parsley. Add in the eggs and milk, removing all the lumps by mixing.

After the chicken has been in the oven for 40 minutes, pour the Yorkshire Pudding mix into the oil at the bottom of the pan.

Return the chicken and Yorkshire to the oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until the Yorkshire Pudding is puffed up and a desired tint of brown.

I always remove the skin before baking so there will not be too much oil in the bottom of the pan. Too much liquid will make for a soggy Yorkshire Pudding, which I can attest is no fun.

Now onto the drink to make and enjoy.

Japanese

2 oz Brandy
0.5 oz Orgeat syrup
2 dashes Angostura Bitters

Combine ingredients with ice, stir, strain, and serve with a lemon twist.

A couple of months ago I bought a book, The Pocket Recipe Guide: Museum of the American Cocktail which has 100 drink recipes. The cocktails use a wide range of items. I had the proper ingredients at home to make 10 or 15 of the 100 drinks in the book. This is one of them.

If any of these directions are unclear, questions and comments are welcome and encouraged. For an immediate response, you can call me during the preparation if something does not look correct.

My response to the swine flu

There has been a lot of talk about the H1N1 virus, also known as the swine flu, in the last few months.

My first response to this sensationalism is the same response I have when I hear about a new computer virus. I do nothing.

H1N1 is similar to other flu viruses. It is transmitted in the same way. If you want to avoid getting H1N1, do the same things you should do to avoid getting a flu virus.

These include:

• Sneezing into your shirt sleeve instead of your hand.
• Sanitizing commonly touched surfaces, including door knobs and avoiding touching your face if you do touch these surfaces.
• Washing your hands with soap and water anytime you get close to a sink and before eating.
• Avoiding close contact with people who exhibit flu symptoms.

I refer to these measures, perhaps pejoratively, as common sense.

Since some people insist on being in a state of frenzy and repeating the dangers over and over, I have had to implement a second level response to the swine flu.

Eat Pork!

I found a great recipe for Western South Carolina style BBQ sauce. This recipe is in a few different places online, I do not remember on which site I found it.



Western South Carolina Style Barbecue Sauce

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 medium onion, minced
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon dry mustard
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup ketchup

Heat oil in 2-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; sauté‚ until softened, 4-5 minutes. Stir in all the remaining ingredients except ketchup; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, then add ketchup. Cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 15 minutes.

I put this sauce on pulled pork I purchased at Costco and made sandwiches. They were delicious!

This is one of many different barbecue sauces. I will follow with more recipes as I try them.