Passion Fruit Cocktails!

Posted by Naomi Gabay

Got a passion for holiday entertaining? A passion for cocktails? Or simply a passion for passion fruit? Then these are the cocktails for you, directly from Allen Katz! Here are a few fun takes on passion fruit cocktails just in time for Thanksgiving.

Extradition
Ingredients:
3 fresh Strawberries, hulled
2 ounces Pisco
2 ounces fresh apple juice
3/4 ounce passion fruit syrup

Directions:
1. In a mixing glass, muddle strawberries. Add remaining ingredients and shake vigorously over ice. Fine strain into an old-fashioned glass filled with fresh ice. Garnish with a strawberry on the rim of the glass.

Passion Fruit Margarita
Ingredients:
2 ounces Partida Reposado Tequila
1 ounce Le Combier Triple Sec
1 ounce fresh lime juice
1/4 passion fruit syrup

Directions:
1. Shake ingredients over ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a lime wheel float.

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Cheeeeeeeeeese!

Posted by Sandy Gluck

If you need a couple of quick apps for your holiday dinner, you might think about a little bit of cheese. You'll find some good ideas for quick bites in Hallie Harron's book "Cheese Hors d' Oeuvres." Many of the tasty bites can be prepared ahead, making dinner that much easier. A few that caught my eye, and my appetite, are White Cheddar Gougere, puffy savory/cheesy cream puffs, Brie Bites, and Parmesan Biscotti. This little book is packed with 50 recipes, from creamy, to crispy with lots of stops along the way.

I decided to make the Parmesan Biscotti and while the original had almonds in it, I added a little pork product for Shavon my engineer. Hey, it's almost Thanksgiving, and I've got to show my appreciation. And thank you to Hallie for the inspiration.

Parmesan Biscotti Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled plus more for work surface
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup finely grated stravecchio (Wisconsin parm), or Parmesan
1/3 cup finely chopped dry spicy chorizo, pepperoni, or soppresata
3 tablespoons cold butter, cut up
4 large eggs
1/2 cup cold water

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350. Line a large baking sheet with parchment.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, paprika, salt, and cheese. With a pastry blender or two knives scissors-fashion, cut the butter into the flour mixture until pea-size bits of coated butter remain. Stir in the chorizo.

3. In a glass measure, whisk together the water and 3 eggs until combined. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture, add the egg mixture and with a fork, work gently until combined. Transfer to a lightly floured work surface and with floured hands, knead gently until smooth, about 2 minutes. Divide in half, transfer to baking sheet and shape each into a log about 9 inches long. Beat the remaining egg and brush on the logs.

4. Bake until top slightly golden, about 25 minutes. Remove from oven, cool 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325. Cut each log on the diagonal into 1/4-inch thick slices. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until crisp. Cool on wire rack, then store in an airtight container up to 3 weeks.

Can’t-Miss-Sides From Our Listeners!

Posted by Jon Costantino

On Morning Living, we put out the word that we were looking for some can’t miss side dishes for Thanksgiving, and wow, did you respond! Here are a few that were sent in:

Ann’s Garlic Cheese Grits
Ingredients:
1 cup of grits
4 cups of water
1 teaspoon of salt
1 stick of butter
2 eggs beaten
1/4 cup of milk
black or red pepper to taste
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
1 large minced garlic clove( or more if desired)

Directions:
1. Cook grits with 4 cups of water and salt according to package directions. Add the butter, eggs, milk, pepper, cheese, and garlic. Can add crispy crumbled bacon if desired.

2. Stir well until combined and pour into greased 9x13 pan.

3. Bake in 350 degree oven for 40-60 minutes until set in middle.

Shirley’s Corn Pudding
Ingredients:
2 eggs
8 ounces sour cream
1 package corn muffin mix
1 can cream style corn
1 stick butter

Directions:
1. Beat eggs, add sour cream, and 1 can cream corn. Add corn muffin mix. Melt butter and add to mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes.

Mary’s Cranberry Squash
Ingredients:
2 cups cooked, mashed butternut squash
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons butter, melted
3/4 cup raw,halved cranberries
salt and pepper
butter

Directions:
1. Mix all ingredients and spoon into casserole. Drizzle butter over top. Bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes.

Welcome to the Party

Posted by Tony Bielaczyc

I get asked about native plants a lot by people who are thinking of changing the plant palette or design of the their gardens. Just last night, I was talking with neighbors in my new building about the beds that surround the building: ditching this, moving that, when one person said 'I want to use just naive plants'. He then added how he liked the butterfly bush (Buddleia) that we have in the front of the building since they're a 'nectar source for insects'. I didn't really have the heart to tell him that the buddleia we have is a native of China and is now considered a noxious weed in Oregon and Washington state. Native plants are good, right? They're 'pollinator plants', right? They behave nicely and are trouble free, right? Non-natives are bad, right? They dominate, and overrun a place, right? We shouldn't be using them, right?

Well...yes and no. Native plants are mostly trouble free, and in many cases are a food source for insects and other animals, yes. But they do self sow and spread. So, trouble free and well behaved? Not always...when people use the phrase 'native plants,' it's like saying 'organic' or 'going green'. The intent is good, but what do they really mean? In terms of gardening, I think  they mean plant diversity. Plant diversity is just that, lots of different kinds of plants all together. Plants like butterfly bush: Easy as can be to grow, thriving in hot, sunny spots, deer resistant and fragrant, pretty flowers that attract and help feed pretty butterflies. No wonder it's wildly popular. But can it still be a good choice, even when it's on its way to becoming not just noxious, but downright obnoxious.

It has been said before: Gardening is a lot like hosting a big dinner party with loads of widely different personalities. And like a good party, it isn't a 'set-it-forget-it' event, but requires lots of work to make sure everyone has what they need to enjoy themselves and shine in the way that made them attractive and a good candidate to invite to the party to meet all the other great guests in the first place. With work and luck, everyone gets along and has a fabulous time, both locals and visiting dignitaries. To keep everyone comfortable, we need to tidy up after some of our guests and rein them in when they start to take up too much space in the room. But those non-native revelers are great to invite and liven things up. And they're often a great choice in unexpected places.

Like this beauty, Australian bush mint, Prostanthera rotundifolia. A listener called yesterday for advice on how to grow it. Well, with a name like Australian bush mint, you can bet it's not a Washington state native. In fact, it is a native to Australia where it's considered a very responsible garden choice for its drought tolerance, long flowering period, as a food source for pollinators, a medicinal used by indigenous people, and even for it's fragrant foliage that helps to deter grazing animals. But in Seattle, an Aussie in Seattle? Well, if you think about the notoriously hot, dry, Aussie-like summers of Seattle, yes. To make sure it does its best, our gentle listener should look for the sunniest, hottest spot in her garden, like a place between a paved walk way and a wall or a raised bed that has lean, fast draining soil with some shelter from winds. Or in a container that's out all summer and wintered over in a cool, sunny enclosed porch or room. I know, I know, sunny in Seattle during the winter, right...I'm just saying ideally.

And I'm just saying that when we make plant choices, we need to be proactive. Mix things up, but ask questions and read labels. If your choice is a rampant grower that sheds tons of seed all over the place, maybe it's not the best choice, be it native or exotic. Or, maybe you need to be willing to take the upper hand and deadhead big time, thin self sown seedlings, and dig and compost the far too many established plants already there. It's not a question of black or white, good or bad, native or non-native, but of deciding which of the fun, interesting potential 'guests' out there you'll invite.

Fruit & Veggie Challenge: Thanksgiving Recipes & Cocktails

Posted by Lisa Mantineo

Once a month, along with sharing delicious fruit and veggie packed dishes we invite Sam Lipp, assistant general manager of Gramercy Park Hotel's Maialino, on the program to craft produce-inspired cocktails for you to enjoy. This week, in the spirit of Thanksgiving we chose dishes that you may find on your holiday table, and asked Sam to create drinks using them as either inspiration or that would pair deliciously with them.

For new listeners: If you're interested in making your meals a little healthier by using more fruits and vegetables, then you might want to sign up for our Fruit and Vegetable Challenge. The goal of the program is to incorporate more produce into your busy schedule. If you want more info on the challenge, read our first post about it.

Don't forget: Keep track of the amount of servings you are eating throughout the week. Simply email us -- everydayfoodradio@yahoo.com on Thursday night with the fruits and vegetables you've consumed and the number of servings per day.

Baked Apples With Dried Apricots
Light Italian Wedding Soup
Shiitake Fried Rice

Sam's Fruit & Veggie Cocktails

Red Delicious (goes with Baked Apples and Dried Apricots)
Ingredients:
2 ounces Lairds Bonded Applejack
3/4 ounce lemon juice
3/4 ounce honey syrup (equal parts honey to hot water)
2 dashes Peychaud’s Bitters
1 dash Fee’s Whiskey Barrel Aged Bitters

Directions:
1. Shake all ingredients except the bitters with ice in a cocktail strainer and strain into a martini glass. Add bitters and serve.

Girl’s Best Friend (goes with Italian Wedding Soup)
Ingredients:
1/2 ounce Carpano Antica Formula Vermouth
2 dashes Angostura Orange Bitters
4 ounces Champagne

Directions:
1. Shake the Vermouth and bitters with ice and strain into a Champagne flute. Top with Champagne and garnish with an orange twist.

Ginger Does Julep aka the Gingered Julep (goes with Shiitake Fried Rice)
Ingredients:
1 1 /2 ounces Bourbon
1/2 ounce dark rum
3/4 ounce spicy ginger syrup

Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients in a cocktail strainer and shake vigorously with ice. Strain into a Julep cup with crushed ice. Swizzle with either a Swizzle stick or spoon until the outside of the cup is frosted. Garnish with a bunch of mint.

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