WTF?!? Friday: Hungover

I'm not saying this casserole can do the work of the 'hair of the dog' -- I'm just saying I'm a little slow on the Friday post. That said, WTF?!? cocktail would you pair with this mystery casserole?

Flipping Out

Are my kids the only ones that flip out every night at dinner if I haven't decided to do dessert? Before the first forkful of whatever fabulous food group fusion hits their mouth, they move their lips to ask, "What's for dessert, mom? Huh?" Oh, it is indeed charming.

So much to my chagrin, my time crunch, and my barren pantry, the big cheese of the Sunday paper - Parade Magazine - had my back this weekend. And so my family had this:


Pear Flip-Flop
4 1/2 Tbsp unsalted butter
3/4 cup all-purpose flour [I used whole wheat - to go all Jessica Seinfeld on 'em - shhh...]
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teasp baking powder
Pinch of salt
3/4 cup milk
1 1/4 teasp vanilla
1 1/2 cups sliced or diced pears
Powdered sugar, for dusting [crap - I totally spaced on that]

Cut the butter into chunks and toss into 9-inch deep-dish pie plate. Place in a 350 degree oven for 5-8 minutes, or until butter is melted. Meanwhile, whisk together dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Add milk and vanilla and whisk until smooth.

Pour batter over the hot butter, top with the pears. Bake 45 minutes or until top is browned and a toothpick poked into the center comes out clean. As they bake, the pears will sink to the bottom and form their own layer [or not].

Cool 30 minutes [if you have any restraint when it comes to dessert]; dust with powdered sugar. Serve slightly warm, straight from the dish [or eat it straight from the dish, like the micro-waved brownies of our past].

Easy. Peasy. Not Japanesey - but damn tasty!


This has to be about as retro as it goes. Definitely a word-of-mouth colonial kind of recipe, I can imagine every lady - from house help to house wife - has this doughy dessert in their apron pocket.

And they should. Because, damn, it's good.

Nothing can replace a true ASSpic!

This is what I did.
And I did it for the cleverest, kitschiest blogger I know - Mimi! I hold her bloggy WW challenge of yesteryear pretty dear. You can find my recipe and all the retro stomach turners of '72 right here:

1972: The Retro WW Experiment

Hey - don't KNOX it 'til you try it.

Gellin' like a felon

Guess what crime I committed with this innocent envelope of Knox:
Find out this week. And find a bag - there may well be a wave of nausea washing over you when you do.

Please humor this random line:
The skin jumps opposite the impersonal convenience.
It's a blog dare.
And anyway, when you find out where the Knox went, it'll make your skin crawl, too.

Pineapple Turns World Upside Down. Film at 11 a.m.

We were invited over to friends' last night for cocktails & catch-up. I invited a pineapple upside down cake. I labored. And when I flipped it over...it didn't deliver.
In looks only. Because, darn it. It was delicious. Even if I didn't have cherries on hand. Lesson learned: let cake cool. Longer. But a slice - and a sip - still warmed us on the inside.

What's in your Pyrex?

Mine's full of homemade granola.


You know, it IS January, after all. And a girl watching her waistline never goes out of style. If you're on a quest for less jiggly bits, visit my friend Mimi's blog. Right Here.

Oh, Mimi! Be warned that you're going to giggle. And it might make you jiggle. But a good side-splitting gaffaw is sure to burn a few pesky calories - and beats the hell out of a tuna gelatine mold.

& Before I forget - here's where I found the tasty granola recipe - on a new-to-me blog: Amanda's Cookin'


What kind of good-for-you mischief are you stirring up today?

Snow Day!

KC is under not a blanket, but a quilt of snow this week. We're on snow day #2. And when you can't beat it - you eat it. So we did. Tonight's dessert was straight from mother nature.


Snow Ice Cream
Medium-sized mixing bowl of fresh snow
1 Cup-ish of milk
1 Cup-ish of granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon vanilla
Chocolate syrup to drizzle [and add flavor!]

Please don't tell me you read that article on all the bacteria in the fresh, powdery snow, too. I don't wanna hear it. If they knew in 1950 what we know in 2011, there would be no MSG!

Castsup Erruption

Man. That sounds dirty. Doesn't it? But that's exactly what's happening on the cover of The American FAMILY Cookbook.Those poor little potato tots. Waiting there. Helplessly. Hoping for just a lick of the 50s chief condiment.

Lend me some sugar, I am your neighbor.

What's a girl to do with an empty cooky jar? Between the holiday baking hooplah and the [im]patient wait for the Daisy's to deliver the Thin Mints, some old-school, white-flour, granulated-sugar, full-on carb cookies were in order. You know, the kind just like grandma used to make. Well, that's what they say in Better Homes & Gardens Birthdays and Family Celebrations cookbook (c)'63.


The scared kitty cookys were inspired by our new fluffy family member, Sparrow. And just like her, they turned out sweet and fluffy, too.

Sugar Cookies
Just like Grandma used to make --
[Because, remember, if Gma made 'em now, she might sub in some quirky ingredients - nothing like a reminder that the old gal can't quite bake 'em like she used to. Good thing you can step up to the oven.]

1 cup butter or margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
3 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour [admittance of guilt: I never sift]
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Cream butter and vanilla. Add sugar gradually, creaming till light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each. Sift dry ingredients together. Add gradually to creamed mixture. Chill thoroughly (3 to 4 hours).

Roll on well-floured surface 1/8 to 1/4 inch. Cut in desired shapes. Bake on ungreased cooky sheets in moderate oven (375 degrees) 6 to 8 minutes. Cool slightly on cooky sheet; remove to rack and finish cooling.

Beef...

...it's what's oozing technicolor blood before dinner.

Don't judge a soup...

...by it's wretched color.
Wondering just what I've ladled up for the family? Go ahead. Guess...

Auld Lang Syne

Maybe it was the martinis. But we made it 'til midnight.
I'm working on a bit of a bucket list for the new year. And it includes plenty of old tricks. Are you resolving to raise the bar? Lower the bar? Visit the bar?