The Birthday Girl Cocktail
Recipes / May 9, 2018

On the TV show Gilmore Girls, Emily (the grandmother) creates this drink for Rory’s twenty-first birthday, and they actually call it “The Rory.” Lucky for me, my very thoughtful friend Gwen made this drink on my birthday a couple of years a go. I think this cocktail is a good example of the fun recipes you can find in Eat Like a Gilmore. The Birthday Girl 1/4 cup water 1/4 cup granulated sugar Ice 3 ounces vodka 1 ounce grenadine 1 ounce pineapple juice 1 ounce champagne 1 maraschino cherry Prep glass: In two small plates or shallow bowls, place water in one, sugar in the other. Using a martini glass, dip the rim of the glass 1/8 inch into the water, then immediately into the sugar. With glass still in sugar, give it a twist while turning the glass upright. Sugar should stick to the rim of the glass in a thin, uniform line. Mix the drink: Add ice to a shaker until it is half full. Pour in vodka, grenadine, and pineapple juice. Place lid on shaker, and shake until liquids are well blended. Remove shaker lid, add champagne, and gently stir. Serve: Pour in to prepared glass….

Parmesan and Herb-Crusted Cod
Recipes / May 2, 2018

OK, I really cheated on this recipe, but I will get to that in the notes. Parmesan and Herb-Crusted Cod 1 pound (4 fillets) Pacific cod Fine sea salt Freshly ground black pepper 1/3 cup fine cornmeal 1 egg 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese 1/2 cup almond meal 1 teaspoon oregano 1 teaspoon thyme 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil Rinse fish and pat dry with paper towels. Salt and pepper on both sides. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place a wire rack on top of a baking sheet. Line up three low-sided bowls. Place cornmeal in first bowl. Whisk egg with 1 tablespoon water in second bowl. In third bowl, mix together Parmesan, almond meal, oregano, and thyme. Bread each fillet by dredging it in cornmeal on all sides, then dipping it in egg, then pressing it into Parmesan mixture. Discard leftover breading mixtures. Place breaded fillets on top of wire rack on baking sheet. Drizzle lightly with oil. Bake in center of oven until fish flakes easily and is golden on top, 10 to 12 minutes. Use a metal spatulas to remove from the rack and serve immediately. My notes: First, this recipe turned out great and my…

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
Recipes / April 25, 2018

I let my youngest son pick a recipe from this week’s cookbook, Butter Baked Goods. My oldest son is a distance runner, and he’s decided that he’s cutting out dessert. Since he loves chocolate, his younger brother was nice (it does happen occasionally) and picked Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins. Not exactly a difficult recipe, but one of my son’s favorites. Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins 3/4 cup butter 3 cups all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar 1/4 cup poppy seeds 1 cup sour cream 1/2 cup whole milk 1/2 cup lemon juice 2 large eggs Zest of 1 lemon Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Melt the butter. Set aside to cool. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and soda, salt, sugar, and poppy seeds. Mix well to distribute the poppy seeds evenly. In a separate bowl, whisk together the sour cream, milk, lemon juice, eggs, and lemon zest. Add the liquid ingredients and melted butter to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Make sure to not overmix the batter. Use an ice cream scoop to put batter into muffin pans. Makes 12 muffins…

Some Family Favorites
Recipes / April 17, 2018

Before I get to the rest of my cookbook review, I wanted to share a couple of family favorites that I made for Easter. I often want to try out new recipes when I need to bring a potluck dish to a family get together, but then I get nervous that something won’t work out or be a big hit. So most of the time, I just end up making something that I know everyone loves. Also, I wanted to link to a couple of the cooking blogs I enjoy. I don’t only cook from traditional cookbooks! Cheesy potatoes are probably my sons’ favorite homemade dish. Yes, we are a classy bunch! My youngest even recently did a report on it when everyone in his class had to pick a family recipe to write about. My husband, whose family is Lebanese, was a little upset that he didn’t pick a Lebanese dish, which he thought would be way more interesting for a report. But we did actually learn a few things when researching this dish. It seems like it might have been invented in Utah, because it is popular at Mormon potlucks, especially at funerals. The dish is even known…

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