Charlie Brown Thanksgiving

I was thrilled last night to finally catch a Charlie Brown special on TV, it seems I always miss them! As Steve and I ate dinner and watched a Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and It's America Charlie Brown (about the Mayflower) ... I decided that we are much like Charlie and Lucy.

"Pretty faces are always leaders" - Lucy

"Good Grief" - Charlie Brown

Not a good week for fish

RIP Kate Spade
September 20, 2008 - October 27, 2008

We'll miss you!

There's something just a little bit fishy about Kate's sudden, unexplained death ... I think Coco brought in a funk, that led to Kate's demise .... I am launching an official investigation, this is not just a case of a standard floater!

R.I.P Coco Chanel

COCO CHANEL
October 18, 2008 - October 22, 2008

Good Swimmer

Great Sucker

Classic

Baa Baa Black Sheep ...

As if 6 dogs and a pig weren't enough ... how the hell did a sheep and a cow get in the back yard?

Snickers and her squeakers crack me up ...

Off to go deal with spending, plumbing and Sarah Palin ...

Even the kids get it ...

A video of a high school friend's child ... if he gets it, why doesn't everyone else?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWbkgXkNICo

Because you asked ... the lasagna recipe

Butternut Squash and Sage Lasagna
Layers of sage-flecked squash and rich, creamy ricotta serve as both filling and sauce.

Ingredients

Serves 8

3 1/2 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1 pound whole-milk ricotta cheese
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 large egg yolks
1/2 pound fresh mozzarella cheese, coarsely grated (2 cups)
Freshly grated nutmeg I didn't use this at all
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/3 cup loosely packed fresh sage leaves, coarsely chopped I would double this
1 1/4 cups homemade or store-bought low-sodium chicken stock

Fresh Lasagna Noodles, (you will need only 1/2 of the batch), cut into 4-by-13-inch strips and cooked, or store-bought dried noodles, cooked I used one box of store bought noodles with no issues

4 ounces finely grated Parmesan cheese (1 1/4 cups)

Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Toss squash, oil, and 1 teaspoon salt on a baking sheet. Season with pepper. Bake until light gold and tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool. Make sure your squash is cooked REALLY tender!

Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees. Combine ricotta, cream, yolks, mozzarella, and a pinch of nutmeg in a medium bowl. Season with salt.

Melt butter in a small saute pan over medium-high heat. As soon as it starts to sizzle, add sage, and cook until light gold and slightly crisp at edges, 3 to 4 minutes.

Place squash in a medium bowl, and mash 1/2 of it with the back of a wooden spoon, leaving the other 1/2 in whole pieces. Gently stir in sage-butter mixture and stock. Season with salt and pepper. I would honestly suggest putting it in the food processor, most of it, and leaving only minor chunks, based on my experience

Spread 3/4 cup of ricotta mixture in a 9-cup baking dish. Top with a layer of noodles. Spread 1/2 of the butternut squash mixture over noodles. Top with a layer of noodles. Spread 1 cup of ricotta mixture over noodles. Repeat layering once more (noodles, squash, noodles, ricotta). Sprinkle Parmesan over ricotta mixture.

Place baking dish on a rimmed baking sheet, and bake until cheese is golden and bubbling, 30 to 35 minutes. Let stand for 15 minutes before slicing and serving.

Helpful Hint
Because fresh pasta is more supple than dried, the uncovered edge of store-bought noodles will crisp more readily than the fresh version.

This may indeed be my next venture, as stolen from someone else's blog ;)

Pear Chardonnay Cupcakes

Cupcakes:
1 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp baking powder
2 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup Chardonnay
1/2 bosc pear, peeled and chopped small

Preheat oven to 350°F.
In a large bowl, mix butter sugar and eggs until smooth and creamy; add the vanilla and mix well.In a small bowl, mix baking powder and flour; add to creamed mixture.Add white wine and mix well, but be carefull not to overmix. Add chopped pears.Scoop batter into prepared muffin tins and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.Let cool completely on wire racks

Frosting:

1/2 cup pear juice
1/4 cup Chardonnay
1 Tbsp dark brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
3 oz. cream cheese
4 c. powdered sugar

Mix the pear juice, Chardonnay, and dark brown sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer uncovered until mixture is reduced to 1/4 cup and is thick and syruppy. Set aside to cool.In a mixing bowl cream together butter and cream cheese. Add powdered sugar carefully and beat well. Pour thickened pear Chardonnay syrup into mixing bowl and beat until well combined.

Frost cupcakes and enjoy.

Red Wine, Chocolate and Coco Chanel

I was feeling very Martha, Rachel and Betty today and decided to tackle some recipes that I'd been wanting to test, so I did.

First - Red Wine Cupcakes with a Marscapone Icing. I don't like chocolate cake, but wholy Moses this is some good stuff!! I skipped the secret caramel toppping under the icing because I was too lazy to make the caramel, but next time I'm going to do it as I think it makes a nice addition to a "girl's night" cupcake. What better that an all in one combination of chocolate, red wine and the super indulgent caramel! Yummy! My neighbors, Shelly and Alex's fiance' Shane are starting to love my baking whims!

I overfilled the cupcake liners a bit, well, a lot, so my cupcakes are a bit high and a little lopsided! Oh well, the batter is really thick, a warning for those who dare to venture down this road of drunken baking!
I took Rachel Ray's suggestion of a cute little red grape as a garish, not sure I like it, I might have to play with garnish ideas ... and of course, does anyone have ideas for incorporating red wine into icing to make a red wine icing? Delish, I think so ...

Next, my craving for Butternut Squash Ravioli from Olives at the Bellagio could not be overlooked any longer. I thought I could wait until Erin got here in November, but alas, the urge for sage, butternut squash and pasta over took me. I found this recipe for Butternut Squash Lasagna and gave it a whirl. It needs to be whirled again.

The taste was MAGNIFICENT!! SUPER DELISH AND SO WORTHY OF A PIG OUT! However, my ability to use Ricotta needs some work, the squash was under cooked, so a little a hard, then not near enough of it was "smooshed" ... plus, I think I under "saged" - don't you hate it when you undersage ... ugh. However, the end result was delish, delish, delish with some work needed!! I highly recommend you try this at home!

CHEERS TO YUMMINESS, MARTHANESS AND EVEN A LITTLE RACHELNESS!

So on a fishier note, I felt like Kate Spade has been a little lonely, on top of that, she is a horrible tank keeper! You wouldn't believe the algae build-up in that girl's home. So, a Saturday outing led to the acquisition of Coco Chanel, in the classic colors of black and white, with exquisite taste (for algae) and a complete lack of personality - the name suits her perfectly!

Keep in mind, I've never claimed to be an award winning photographer, but Coco is especially hard to capture on film. She is a 'sucker' fish, so she is always stuck to something, swimming is not an option for her! This is the best I could do, but trust me, she is so Coco Chanel!!!

Pork or Pork Barrel?

Like most, I watched the debate tonight, it was either that or baseball (Go Phillies!) and sadly, I chose what I thought was the intellectual choice. I've seen 4 year olds debate over the rules of the monkey bars better. McCain and Obama fought over milk and apples instead of focusing on the important issues, the bologna sandwich and twinkies - no 4 year old would make that mistake, no 4 year old would be that short sighted. So where does that leave us ...



Well it leaves us with a failing economy and the brightest stars out there are about to drop from the sky and hit the earth like meteors, at least one of them, the other may just remain a star, albeit dimmer and without placement on a map of the constellations. The other, the earth shattering meteor, is going to leave this country wondering what hit it .. scrambling for help and running in circles because there is no help, no hope.



I can't defend McCain right now as he made a fool of himself tonight. If the best thing he can come up with about his running mate is that she's a reformer and understands the families of special needs children, we have a problem, as this indicates he can't hire a decent staff to write speeches and advise him on debate winning quips, which means cabinet will most likely reflect that, which means government will closely mirror it as well ... his only witty remark was that he wasn't Bush, aside from that he poked at Obama, tried to steal his Cheetos and made fun of his finger painting - real productive - way to get to the point and discuss the issues facing America. Finger pointing and finger painting never got anyone, anywhere.



That being said, I'm still far more likely to turn my fate over to him than I am to a man who clearly can't address factual allegations against him, constantly changes his story and ultimately plans to turn this country into a socialist nation - if I wanted socialism I'd be in France (mmm bread) or Zimbabwe, hell, even Canada; I'd spend all my money on taxes and get even crappier healthcare. I don't trust this one, he's slick and well-spoken, seems to have formed a cult, but in the end he scare's me, no terrifies me. Acorn and Ayers alone can cause concern, never mind his constantly changing position, referring to people as workers and raising, no lowering, no raising taxes ... He smiles big and speaks proud all the while really talking about nothing more than how the crust needs to be cut from his sandwich.



So mid-debate, I started packing up all my belongings and got a dart to toss at Mexico, my decision making game for where to live after the election, as if now wasn't a good enough time to play international move roulette ... Cozumel or Cabo can't be awful right .. beaches, tacos, salsa and margaritas can't make for a bad life. I'd say moving internationally would make me miss family, but trust me, they'll visit. So as I packed, researched movers online and prepared to change my cocktail routine from Vodka & tonic to Petron & Sprite, I realized, there might just be another option.

I lost my first hope, the pudgy, southern gentleman, Fred Thompson. Being the important guy on Law & Order doesn't get any hotter, but a presidential candidate ... back of girls ...



So I move on to the next best thing ... he's also a little round, a little short and a little southern ....



PICKLES



It's only logical really.



Pork barrel politics - GONE, Pickles doesn't think pork should be kept in barrels.


Bail outs - GONE, it's every creature for itself


Sharing the wealth - let's be serious, do you really think that one pig would share a field of corn with another pig, I don't think so. If you waddled over here and worked to get it, dammit it's yours.

Welfare - there's not such thing, nothing ever goes well for a pig at the fair ...



His cabinet would be exemplary ...

• Simon as Secretary of State maintaining order


• Snickers handling Foreign Policy-making loud, obnoxious noises when inappropriate intruders approach and quietly allowing those who qualify in without hesitation


• Rascal leading the FDA and USDA


• Rebel would act as Vice President, as that position really doesn't do much anyway


• Etta Mae would work hard for Senior's rights ensuring the safety and validity of Social Security and Medicare


• Fern would be the press liason, she looks good in public

There would be no handouts, as everyone in this pack has to work for their food , so why shouldn't that be national policy.

Crimes would be punishable immediately, a jury of your peers is fine, but seriously, if someone sees you pee on the floor or eat a chair leg, you WILL be ratted out.

Wealth is not shared. If you find it first, it's yours. Don't expect to take a toy from someone's else mouth because you have too many puppies and not enough teets .. what's mine is mine and what you don't have is your problem.

Food will be subsidized, as when it gets too expensive, grumpiness insues and we can't have that.

Energy. Pickles and his cabinet proposes that in order to get our country back on its feet and less dependent on foreign oil or even oil, we use his revolutionary cat-ergy ... cat powered energy for vehicles, home energy and more. It's revolutionary.

Everyone will learn to work and to work together as a pack, if you dont' fit in, you get eaten, it's just that simple. Work is the key word. You have to work to eat, it's just that simple.

Will there be mud-slinging, hell yeah! Will it be more fun that what we are seeing now? Oh yeah!

Will there be a bumpy road ahead, trying times during the transition, yes! But will he reduce the price of corn for the betterment of man-kind, most certainly

I can guarantee you this ... the rose garden will NEVER look the same again.

So, I implore you, beg you, and quite honestly expect you, to make the right choice and election day (which is apparently any day) .....

TAKE THE PORK OUT OF THE BARREL AND STOP THE SHOVELING OF MANURE ...

VOTE PICKLES FOR PRESIDENT

If you haven't registered to vote yet, or this message has made you change you mind, no worries, our friends at 'Pumpkin Seed' will be right over and for an incentive of $25, they will pay you to register, re-register and re-register again - and to vote, and vote often. Pickles knows nothing of these policies, despite his unfailing support of Pumpkin Seed.

Pork is the only option! Write in Pickles in 2008!

MONDAY'S QUIZ ANSWERS

In case you didn't know all the answers ... here they are, you've waited long enough ... Thankfully, for you, I knew all the answers

Answers To Quiz:

1. The one sport in which neither the spectators nor the participants know the score or the leader until the contest ends …Boxing

2. North American landmark constantly moving backwards: Niagara Falls (The rim is worn down about two and a half feet each year because of the millions of gallons of water that rush over it every minute.)

3. Only two vegetables that can live to produce on their own for several growing seasons: Aspargaus and rhubarb.

4. The fruit with its seeds on the outside …Strawberry.

5. How did the pear get inside the brandy bottle? It grew inside the bottle. (The bottles are placed over pear buds when they are small, and are wired in place on the tree. The bottle is left in place for the entire growing season. When the pears are ripe, they are snipped off at the stems.)

6. Three English words beginning with ‘dw’: Dwarf, dwell and dwindle.

7. Fourteen punctuation marks in English grammar: Period, comma, colon, semicolon, dash, hyphen, apostrophe, question mark, exclamation point, quotation marks, brackets, parenthesis, braces, and ellipses.

8. The only vegetable or fruit never sold frozen, canned, processed, cooked, or in any other form but fresh: Lettuce.

9. Six or more things you can wear on your feet beginning with ‘S’:Shoes, socks, sandals, sneakers, slippers, skis, skates, snowshoes, stockings, stilts.