Happy National Peanut Butter Day

I know, I know...I don't "believe" in National Days. Or do I? It seems that maybe I'm changing, since I celebrated with a s'moretini on National S'mores Day and Granny Bernier's spaghetti on National Spaghetti Day.

It was brought to my attention at lunch that today is National Peanut Butter Day. I love peanut butter, but I'm not head-over-heels for it or anything. I'll consume the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup sitting at my desk in honor but I don't know that I'm inclined to go much farther in celebration.

However, for those of you gung-ho about National Peanut Butter Day, here's a little ol' recipe for peanut butter pretzel bites that I noticed on Pinterest today if it strikes your fancy to bake something special. 


On second thought, maybe I'll give Zada a peanut butter kong in honor of this special day. She'll like that...she, unlike me, is gaga for peanut butter.

A Lovely Way to Spend a Cold Minnesota Evening

With The Husband out at an event, it's just me and the dog this evening...I had to cut my walk short because, damn it was cold out! I know it's all "relative," considering the winter we had last year, but still. Unbelievable.

So now while the wind whistles outside I'm in comfy clothes, the dog's fed and happily snoozing and I, well I think it's time for a little "me time" -- some wine, a nice fire and a tasty, heaping plate of chorizo nachos.

National Spaghetti Day

Evidently yesterday was National Spaghetti Day. I know it's true 'cause I read it on Facebook. Then I confirmed said fact by checking on The Google and Wikipedia stated that January 4th is, indeed, a day of national celebration in honor of spaghetti.

Now, I'm not a fan of National Insert Whatever-the-hell Here Days (hang on, I guess I sort of celebrated National S'mores Day by drinking a delicious s'moretini), but I AM a fan of food. Especially pasta. In true I'm-justifying-this style, I opted to make spaghetti – okay, okay, I used linguine noodles but let's not split angel hairs – in order to give the day its due.

Of course, one cannot have any type of Italian food without consuming wine to complement it, and since this was a red sauce I opted for (of course) a Pinot noir. Bogle's, to be exact. Quite tasty.

I'm sure you're wondering what I put in my spaghetti sauce. I shall divulge (and confess) that it's a knock-off of Granny Bernier's recipe she learned from the Italian woman ("Mrs. Palermo") she lived next to when my dad was young (this was in Chicago, I believe).

The real recipe calls for tomatoes and onions grown in one's garden to start the sauce; my family sort of skips that old-school stuff and begins with a plain tomato sauce for a base (Mom prefers Old World Style Ragú, which is what I also use).

After that one needs to add the following ingredients:

• onions,
• garlic,
• Worcestershire (pronounced "woostah" in Massachusetts) sauce,
• oregano,
• some sort of hot sauce (Mom uses Tabasco; I use Sriracha or chili paste),
• a hefty splash of red wine (that's my addition),
• pepper (I think that's my addition, too) and
• Italian sausage (browned).

Now, the ORIGINAL Granny recipe calls for mild Italian sausage links cut into "coins" and browned before being added to the sauce...since I'm a rebel I totally get the HOT Italian sausage (ground). I mean, who's got time to cut evenly-sliced coins, anyway? I'm sorry, Granny. 

After all these yummy ingredients are in the pot, it's best to let them simmer – so the flavors can "marry," as some chefs are wont to say – for at least an hour.

I put this meaty sauce over wheat noodles, serve it with some yummy garlic bread and pair it with a nice red wine (again, most often it's a Pinot noir...mainly because that's our favorite kind). After finishing that meal, it's mostly lying back on the couch watching TV because there's not much else one can do with a fully distended tummy.


Bon appetit, pasta lovers...I hope your National Spaghetti Day was as delicious as ours!

Refrigerator Pickles

I think it's only been about two years since I was introduced to refrigerator pickles by our family friend, who brought them on a horseback riding/camping weekend (I fell in love).

Now I just expect she'll not only make them every year, but give me at LEAST two jars' worth. I've always been a pickle fan but fridge pickles have become my ultimate favorite. I tend to hoard them and not really share...good thing The Hubby doesn't really like pickles.

This summer was no different – I expected her to bring them on our weekend in August of camping at Pillager with horses/food/perhaps some beer – and she delivered yet again. This time I got two jars at once, so I was pretty pumped.

Then – wonder of all wonders – my friend made them for the first time this summer (she gets a TON of fruits and veggies from her CSA every week) and evidently had enough to bring into the office and share...ANOTHER jar of homemade, beautiful pickles à la refrigerator. Plus, hers are different from our family friend's, so it's not as if I have three identical pickle jars in the fridge. Not that it'd really matter anyway, I guess...

So my friend's pickles are more sweet than dill, and while I'm not normally a fan of non-dill pickles, these are incredibly tasty and they were just so beautiful I almost didn't want to open them and start gorging. Had to take a few shots just to preserve the memory :)


I think I've just decided my new favorite thing: friends who're great in the kitchen. Thank you for sharing, friends :)

PS: It seems I'm not the only one enamored with refrigerator pickles. Just on a whim I decided to look them up but didn't even get to type in "pickles" before The Google knew for what I was searching:

Smoretini Recipe

A couple weeks ago, in honor of National S'mores Day (August 10th), my friendly neighbor came over to give me an interesting recipe: a martini made to taste like a S'more. A "smoretini," if you will. (And I think you WILL.)

The weekend after that, he had me over to his patio to sample a pitcher of said s'moretinis he'd made to celebrate just that occasion (albeit a tad late, at that point). Now, I don't drink martinis. In fact, I don't even drink liquor (read: booze; not wine or beer). Okay, one of my signature drinks is a Bloody Mary, but that's different.

Anyway. So we sat on his patio and sipped smoretinis in the warm aftermath of a summer's day. Correction: he sucked down 3 (that I know of); I had ONE smoretini. I took one sip and thought, "hello, I'm drunk."

While definitely tasty, I think the recipe he was using – he followed it exactly – could use more Chocolate Liqueur (it didn't QUITE taste like a S'more):

S'moretini Recipe

1 64-ounce pitcher
32 ounces vodka
16 ounces Chocolate Liqueur
1 sleeve of graham crackers (as needed)
1 jar marshmallow creme (Marshmallow Fluff)
1 bag miniature marshmallows (he used full-size)
1 bag wooden skewers
16 martini glasses (less, if you're re-using as we did :)

Pour vodka and chocolate liqueur into pitcher and stir. Refrigerate for several hours (until very cold). Crush graham crackers and place onto a flat plate.


Rim martini glasses with marshmallow creme. Dip glasses into graham cracker crumbs (just as you would for margarita glasses).


Place marshmallows on skewers and toast over an open flame. Pour 3 ounces of cold drink mixture into each prepared glass and serve with toasted marshmallow for garnish.

Enjoy in moderation --- they're strong!

Not that it "goes" with a s'moretini drink, but if you're looking for another recipe, try the one I made for National Spaghetti Day!

Victory 44

I lived in North Minneapolis for 4 years and never knew about Victory 44. Maybe it's new or maybe I was too scared to venture out. Regardless, I've recently experienced this cool little place and I must say the experience was a surprise.

For that neighborhood the cuisine is shockingly cosmopolitan. My friend and I sat on the patio –  which is cuter than the inside and according to our waiter, dog-friendly – and sipped our cold, adult beverages while said waiter explained their chalkboard menu (including how to say "charcuterie").

Since their plates are all small and we wanted so many items, we ended up ordering quite the parade of wonderful food. To accompany my waiter-advertised white wine and my friend's cocktail, we dined upon the following:

1. Bacon fries (these were tasty, big french fries with crumbled cheese; we didn't notice any bacon)
2. Scotch egg - absolutely to DIE for if you like scotch eggs!
3. Charcuterie - their "meat and cheese tray" which is actually a lovely concoction of head cheese, liverwurst, paté and pickled veggies and overall yumminess.
4. Seared scallops - extremely tasty. 
5. Dessert - a 2-part, delectable, sinful, utterly fantastic display of art which we also ate. FABULOUS.

We did spend a nice little sum of coin –  although they're small plates the prices add up when you eat as many of them as we did – the quality of the food was definitely worth the price. 

I'm thinking I'd love to head back sometime and try more menu items (and also the dessert...it'd be silly not to) and maybe I'll even bring the dog!