I know there aren’t many of you looking for non-alcoholic drinks to sip on when your friends go out for cocktails but this is a great NA drink featured at the Paradox Hotel (Solaire Poolside Bar) in Santa Cruz.  I am not exactly sure of the name of this drink but twice now I’ve just asked the bartender to make me a good NA drink and the photograph above shows off what they make!

For your drinking friends, they do offer some local beers on draft (Santa Cruz Ale Works i.p.a. and amber ale) and wine too of course.  At the moment they only have Soju cocktails but they are inline for a liquor license beyond beer and wine.  We like munch on their Marcona almonds.

You can order drinks and sit outside by their pool and sip away!

Cocktail Bar Menu

The Solaire does have a happy hour too:

Solaire Happy Hour

This winter our friends from San Francisco drove down twice just to eat at Aptos BBQ with us.  These same friends have tried lots of BBQ in San Francisco and say they love the smokey flavor at Aptos BBQ.  They even claim that they haven’t found anywhere else in the Bay Area that can get that smokey taste in their meats.  Their favorite … the smoked tri-tip sandwich. Both times when we finished our meals our friends bought more meat to take back for lunch-time sandwiches for the next week.

At Aptos BBQ you order at the counter and take a seat in the southern style dining room (with live music each night from what I hear). They do have sides such as the potato salad, baked beans, and coleslaw that are also tasty. One of the best things about their sandwiches is that they serve them on garlic toast!  In addition they have craft brews on draft with lots of tasty choices.

8059 Aptos St  Aptos, CA 95003

http://www.aptosstbbq.com/

I made this one again tonight!  It is a really tasty vegetarian tomato pasta sauce that you can throw together in one dish and easily get it on the table in a flash (well, 40 minute bake time).

Baked Pasta Sauce Recipe

• 1/4 Cup Olive Oil
• 1, 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes + juice (I use fire-roasted)
• 1 jar marinated artichoke hearts
• 1 jar (or mixed) black/greek olives &/or green olives
• 1 jar roasted red peppers
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup Italian bread crumbs
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Preheat oven 400F.

In a baking dish (9×13), pour olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan.  Then add the tomatoes and all of the veggies (you can add mushrooms too) and mix a bit.  Then top the mixture with bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese.

Bake for 40 minutes.

Cook the pasta of your choice and put the baked sauce on top!

Have you been to Baskin’ Robbins lately to pick-up an ICE CREAM CAKE?

These are two alternative homemade ice cream cakes we have made that won’t break the bank and they were great!  We made the NERDS & Funfetti Ice Cream Cake for my brother-in-law and he thought we bought it (was he just being nice, not sure). The Peanut Buster Parfait Ice Cream Cake was made by a friend and it was so tasty.

• Peanut Buster Parfait Ice Cream Cake Recipe (pictured above)
• Kid’s Nerd & Funfetti Ice Cream Cake (Affordable and easy ice cream cake for kid’s birthdays!)

Nerds Funfetti Ice Cream Cake Recipe

- Buy a Funfetti Box Cake, pack of NERDS candy, White Icing, & Breyer’s Vanilla Ice Cream (to class it up)

1. Prepare & Bake Funfetti Cake as directed on box in a removable side cake pan.
2. Let the cake cool. Use knife around sides of cake pan edge. Remove cake pan side. Then cut cake into two pieces on the side (to create a top and bottom piece). Then place the bottom portion of the cake onto a plate.
3. Next, let your Breyer’s Vanilla ice cream soften a bit.
4. Spoon the ice cream onto the bottom piece of the cake (don’t let it hang over the edges).  Now place the top part of cake back on.
5. Freeze the cake for a bit so it hardens (this makes it much easier to frost).
6. Next, frost the cake on the top and sides.
7. Sprinkle Nerds on top (and Skittles too if you have want to).
8. Freeze again until you are ready to serve.

Earl Campbell's Hot Links

Our Uncle is friends with Earl Campbell and was sent a bunch of Earl Campbell’s HOT LINKS in the mail, which we were lucky enough to enjoy.  When they had us over to try them, we loved them and even passed on a pack to our Texas friends and they loved them too (they are a bit spicy so you have to enjoy that).  So we set out to order a bunch more but this time with cheese: Hot-n-Cheddar Links!  The packs are quite large so we split a shipment with friends.  The links are pretty great to have in the freezer and pop out to make these tasty and easy dishes below.

You can eat these sausages grilled or cooked on the stove top with some sides but we also found three other recipes that worked really well with these links. One is an easy stew from Bon Appetit and the other is an easy Jambalaya Recipe.

UPDATE: The shipping costs are pretty high for these sausages but from our research it says that the Fremont, CA Walmart carries them!

Earl Campbell’s Sausages in these easy recipes:

• Sausage & White Bean Stew (with Spinach or Kale)
• John’s Sweet Potato & Sausage Soup Recipe

• Easy Jambalaya Recipe
• This is a great weeknight dinner, super easy, fast and it will impress the weeknight crowd for sure, this is not a complex flavored true jambalaya – it is the weeknight, fast version. Serve with a salad.
  

Ok, so this is not difficult and it is not gourmet, it is just good!

My Aunt makes this breakfast casserole EGG BAKE (my husband calls it ‘French Toast Casserole with Sausage & Cheese’) every holiday when we are together.  She also makes a really complicated Danish Pastry Wreath Recipe to accompany it. If you don’t have the time to make a homemade coffee cake to accompany this dish, make a box coffee cake (I love those too).

Egg Bake Breakfast Casserole Recipe

6 slices white bread/cubed
1 lb. cooked sausage
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups milk
8 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. salt

Mike all together and refrigerate overnight.

Bake in a 9 X 13 pan at 350F for 35 to 40 minutes.

Recently, we hosted a "Tantalizing Tapas" & "Dating-Couples Game" Dinner Party.

It was really fun and would be a great Valentine's Day Affair!

TANTALIZING TAPAS DINNER PARTY MENU:

Small Sides to Start:

• Toasted Marcona Almonds with sea salt (Can purchase at Whole Foods or Specialty Groceries.)
• Marinated Castelvetrano Olives (on tooth picks) (Check out your local Olive Bar.)
• Pickled Vegetables (on tooth picks)

Main Dishes:

Patatas bravas with chorizo
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/461640/patatas-bravas-with-chorizo

Spanish Radicchio Salad with Manchego Olive Vinaigrette (A super hit from 'Toro Bravo' restaurant featured on Portlandia!):
http://wanderingchopsticks.blogspot.com/2011/04/spanish-radicchio-salad-with-manchego.html#.UILkQIVgOLU

Spanish Frittata (any filling you desire):
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/frittata-recipe/index.html

OR

Vegetable Empanadas:
http://www.food.com/recipe/vegetable-empanadas-with-tomato-sauce-247508

Dessert:

Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta

http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/15191/vanilla+bean+panna+cottaOR

Spanish Peanut, Buster Parfait Ice Cream Dessert
http://www.heatovento350.com/2010/06/peanut-buster-parfait-ice-cream-cake.html?showComment=1277755726967

DATING GAME Steps:

1. Print out these questions below (One per-pair: Need one-side with "He Said/Partner 1" and one side of paper with "She Said/Partner 2").
2. Give each couple a # and divide up the couples so that questions are asked by someone who is NOT their partner.
3. Move couples into separate rooms so they can't hear each others answers.
4. Ask the "SHEsaid" to the opposite partners.
5. Then return as a group to share all of the responses.
6. Score the questions. If the couple has the same answer, they get a point for each they guessed the same answer for.
7. The Couples who get the most answers in-common, wins!

ASK HER or Partner 1                          PARTNER NAME #1:______________

*Answer what you really think (not what your partner thinks).

1. WHAT DO YOU ENJOY DOING AS A COUPLE? (1 POINT)
2. WHAT BODY PART DOES YOUR PARTNER LIKE BEST ABOUT YOU? (1 POINT)
3. DOES YOUR PARTNER PICK-UP AFTER HIMSELF OR LET IT LAY AROUND? (1 POINT)
4. WAS IT LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT? EXPLAIN. (EACH WORTH 1 POINT)
5. GIVE ONE INITIAL REASON WHY YOU THOUGHT HE WOULD BE A GOOD PARTNER? (1 POINT)
6. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOR? (1 POINT)
7. WHAT DO YOU AND YOUR PARTNER COMMUNICATE BEST ABOUT (MONEY, JOB, SEX, LOVE, LEISURE, FAMILY, OR ETC..)? (1 POINT)
8. HOW MANY CHILDREN DID/DO YOU WANT TO HAVE? (1 POINT)
9. IF YOUR PARTNER COULD TAKE YOU ANYWHERE, WHERE WOULD THEY LIKE TO TAKE YOU? (1 POINT)
10. IN WHAT ONE WAY WOULD YOUR PARTNER LIKE YOU TO SHOW MORE LOVE FOR THEM? (1 POINT)
11. IF YOU HAD ONE YEAR LEFT TO LIVE HOW WOULD YOUR RELATIONSHIP BE DIFFERENT? (IN YOUR EYES & IN YOUR PARTNERS EYES) (WORTH 2 POINTS, 1 FOR EACH ANSWER)

ASK HIM or Partner 2                         PARTNER NAME #2:______________

1. WHAT DOES YOUR PARTNER ENJOY DOING TOGETHER AS A COUPLE? (1 POINT)
2. WHAT BODY PART DO YOU LIKE BEST ABOUT YOUR PARTNER? (1 POINT)
3. DO YOU PICK-UP AFTER YOURSELF OR LET IT LAY AROUND? (1 POINT)
4. WOULD YOUR MATE SAY IT WAS LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT? EXPLAIN. (2 POINTS, ONE FOR EACH)
5. GIVE ONE INITIAL REASON WHY YOUR MATE THOUGHT YOU WOULD BE A GOOD PARTNER? (1 POINT)
6. WHAT IS HER FAVORITE COLOR? (1 POINT)
7. WHAT DO YOU AND YOUR PARTNER COMMUNICATE BEST ABOUT (MONEY, JOB, SEX, LOVE, LEISURE, FAMILY, OR ETC…) (1 POINT)
8. HOW MANY CHILDREN DID/DOES YOUR PARTNER WANT TO HAVE? (1 POINT)
9. IF YOU COULD TAKE YOUR PARTNER ANYWHERE, WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO TAKE THEM? (1 POINT)
10. IN WHAT ONE WAY WOULD YOU LIKE YOUR PARTNER TO SHOW YOU MORE LOVE? (1 POINT)
11. IF YOU HAD ONE YEAR LEFT TO LIVE HOW WOULD YOUR RELATIONSHIP BE DIFFERENT? (IN YOUR EYES & IN YOUR PARTNERS EYES) (WORTH 2 POINTS, 1 FOR EACH ANSWER)

• Holiday Danish Pastry Wreath Recipe
• Egg Bake Breakfast Casserole (served w/ above pastry)
  
• Bacon+Cheese Fondue Dip Recipe
• Bacardi Rum Cake Recipe

Recipes –>

Shortbread Diamond Cookie Recipe:

• 5 cups flour
• 2 cups butter
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 egg

Combine ingredients with blender.  Roll up cookie dough in wax paper and place in refrigerator until the day you are ready to bake the cookies.

Preheat oven to 350F.  Roll out 1/4? thick. Cut into diamonds using a knife (see photo). Bake 12 minutes. Frost and add sprinkles.

Frosting Recipe:

• 1/3 c. butter
• 3 c. powdered sugar
• 3 tbsp. cream or milk
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

• Assorted food coloring & sprinkles

Beat together all ingredients until smooth. Use food coloring and make several different colors of frosting.

—————

Tijuana Tidbits Recipe

Makes 18 cups

Ingredients:

• 4 cups tortilla chips, broken into 1 1/2” pieces
• 3 cups Crispix cereal
• 1 bag microwave popcorn popped (8-9cups)
• 1, 12 ounce can of mixed cocktail nuts
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 TBSP chili powder
• 1/8 tsp Cinnamon
• 1/8-1/4 tsp ground red pepper

Preparation:

Heat oven to 250F.

Combine chips, cereal, popcorn, and nuts in large roasting pan. Combine other ingredients in small saucepan, heat to boiling.   Pour over cereal mixture in pan, stirring to coat. Bake 1 hour, stirring every 20 minutes. Remove from oven and turn onto sheet of wax paper to cool.

Store in airtight container up to 2 weeks.

——————–

• 3/4 c. Zwieback crumbs (can’t find it anymore, we did fine it at Meijers, so we used an Almond Biscotti, crumbled)
• 1/2 c. melted butter
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 tsp. almond extract
• 1 (8 oz.) can almond paste
• GLAZE:
• 2 c. powdered sugar
• 3-4 tbsp. milk

Bacardi Rum Cake Recipe

Cake:

• 1 cup chopped, pecans or walnuts, toasted
• 1 18-1/2 ounce yellow cake mix
• 1 1-3/4 ounce (4-serving size) instant vanilla pudding mix
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup cold milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup Dark Rum

Glaze:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup Dark Rum

Preparation:

Cake: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Grease and flour pan 12-cup Bundt pan. Sprinkle nuts on bottom of pan. Combine all cake ingredients. Beat for 2 minutes on high with electric mixer. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour. Cool in pan. Invert on serving plate. Prick top with fork. Drizzle glaze over top of Bacardi Rum Cake. Use brush or spoon to put extra dripping back on cake.

Glaze: Melt butter in saucepan. Stir in water and sugar. Boil 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in rum. Note: The rum will cause steam. Be careful not to burn yourself.

———–

Bacon+Cheese Fondue Dip Recipe

You can serve this in a bread bowl or a Fondue pot.  It is easy to make, fast and you can do it in the microwave.

• 4 Slices of Bacon, cut into 2? pieces
• 2 T flour
• 1 C milk
• 1 garlic clove, halved
• 8 oz. Monetery Jack Cheese, shredded (2 C)
• 4 oz. Cheddar Cheese, shredded (1 C)
• 1 t. dry or prepared mustard
• 1/2 t. Worcestershire Sauce
• dash hot-pepper sauce

1. Cook the bacon. Crumble and set aside.
2. Put bacon drippings in a glass, microwavable bowl. Stir in the flour, add milk and garlic, stir until smooth. Cook on high for 3-4 minutes until thickened, stirring once. Discard garlic.
3. Stir cheeses into milk mixture. Cook on medium (50% power) 4-6minutes until smooth, stirring once. Stir in mustard, Worcestershire, pepper sauce, and reserved bacon. Mixture will thicken as it stands.  Makes 2 Cups.

Serve in round bread or Fondue pot. Remove top of bread and hollow out leaving a 1/2? shell.  Serve with bread cubes, vegetables or chips.

Our last Gourmet Club Dinner was a really fun one because of its Fast Food themed recipes!

• The host assigned us each a restaurant and told us to find a dish or recipe we wanted to recreate in anyway.  They made the salad and dessert to make sure to cover those but the rest was wide open.

We ended up doing Wendy’s Chili (being from Ohio and all, near the founding location of Wendy’s in Dublin, OH) and Frosty’s.  The Chili was good but the Frosty’s tasted exactly like the real thing (see recipe below).  This was such a fun meal and the Mini-Big Mac Sliders were amazing

McDonald’s:

• Mini McDonald’s Big Mac Recipe (See here for Burger Part and how to layer them and here for Special Sauce Part, friends who made these used Greek yogurt rather than Miracle Whip)
• Mini-Slider Buns from Trader Joe’s (even with sesame seeds on top, they worked perfectly)
• McDonald’s Fries (Super labor intensive work but Serious Eats tells you how to make McDonald’s fries to do it! We added salt and sugar, yes McD’s put sugar on their fries, and made frozen fries (fast food style frozen fries) that were baked first and then fried.
• McDonald’s Apple Pie Recipe

Wendy’s:

• Wendy’s Chili Recipe
  
• Wendy’s Frosty Recipe – This really tastes like it!

Carl’s Junior:

• Cranberry, Apple, Walnut Salad (We left the chicken out of it since we were having so much other meat).

Chick-Fil-A:

• Chick-Fil-A Fried Chicken Recipe (Once again, Serious Eats Food Lab figured it out!) + BBQ Sauce & Ranch

Taco Bell:

• Taco Bell Taco Recipe

Like Whiskey? Like Pickles? Like the Mission in San Francisco?

Whiskey with a Pickle Back

= Elixir