Do You Remember the Time? 1992 (Click for video)

Michael at the height of his magical shape-shifter Eygptian powers. Also at the height of recruiting every major celebrity for his world vision. Uncanny how much Iman really does resemble the Queen Nefertiti recently untombed in 2003 and whose face was reconstructed based on the bone structure found to match this sculpture. A German archeologist first uncovered the ancient sculpture during WWII and Hitler was said to gaze at her beauty for hours in his bunker and was asked to return it to Egyptian authorities under the threat of her curse. It's still in a Berlin museum today. Did Michael realize that her name had been obliterated from history by the successive male pharoahs who resented her influence?

Quincy Jones, who first met Michael as a young adult, says that he can tell when someone has been here before and that Michael was one of those old souls. If he's a time traveler,like the one imagined in one of MLK's eloquent speeches, I wonder where he is now. I love watching Eddie Murphy's facial expressions during this. Magic Johnson is funny too and looks very young with some big feet!. Also gives one pause to how today's talent shows should be run.

His brother Jermaine recently claimed on a reality show to have to sleep with the lights on because he sees people from the 1800's. Michael was also a night owl who could not sleep.

Dentists & Drug Tolerance

Went to a new dentist last week. This was the first time he had to do extensive work on me. Needed 2 crowns, yikes! One little popcorn seed cracked two old fillings. No dental insurance.

It occured to me while he gave me the one measly novacaine shot to tell him that this would not be enough. I don't think that he believed me, and left me alone for about 30 minutes to talk with his assistant as we waited for the numbness to kick in.

The dental assistant walked out after a spell. Both came back to a fully alert patient who was speaking just as clearly as when they had left. I always enjoy being patronized, understating my drug tolerance abilities to new doctors, and watching the look of complete shock that they try to conceal from me. It really does not reassure me about pain control in today's healthcare system. Sometimes I just grin and bear it. I have to hand it to this new dentist though. He's more perceptive than most. He could see that I was lying when I told him that the drugs worked and I was ready for the drill. He overshot me with so much novacaine that only until today have I've been able to open my mouth to eat properly. He must have worried that I would pass out because he kept asking me if I was okay when I closed my eyes and pretended to be somewhere else.

I'm now a legend in that office. My drug tolerance levels have been duly noted on the charts. Can't wait for July 21st and they take the temporary crowns off and put the permanent ones on.

I'll Be There (Acapello) (Click for Music)

This family touches me, it really does.

Just watched a more recent CNN interview by Joe Jackson where he's actually facing the camera now. He must be 80 now. He's also very hard of hearing. Of couse he seems detached, he's a tough old bird. (These young reporters sometimes!)
A first view of where the children inherited the charm and where Michael inherited that unstoppable drive. This will be a fascinating family case study for years to come.
His mother looks great for 80!

latest update: mj died w/o a will......how is that possible?

Thank-you, Thank-you Very Much

I must be like the classy celebrities of old (MJ now, and Elvis) and say thank-you, thank-you very much. I can never assume that you will alway find me fascinating for my good looks alone, so I will continue to work dilliegently to update you with the latest entertainment news.

MJ's death watered me out of a dry spell and reawakened in me the memory of a truly gifted, hardworking artist. I can't think of anyone else today that deserves the recognition as much as he did.

Thanks for reading! It makes me happy!

Connie

Mad Men (click for Aug. 16 trailer)

The Mad Man Billy Mays has just died. Everytime I heard him, my blood pressure went up. Now we find he had heart disease without the joys of overprescriptions.

Speaking of annoying pitchmen, do I have any say at all in who advertises on this blog? The one on the right is particularly peculiar.

The entertainment grim reaper must be meeting his end of the month quota by now.

Farrah's blond-haired blue-eyed legacy of a beautiful, well-loved woman who plays an abuse victim and child predator will now forever be overshadowed by a brown boy that became white, was abused and may have been a child predatator. It also revived his finances without him actually having to do the tour. Was he really so brillant at maximizing his income potential with so little effort? His parents seem to be suprisingly clueless about MJ's finances, his healthcare, or where the will was recently found. Maybe all the skeletons will finally come out from a tight-lipped family that guards privacy like bars of gold at Fort Knox.

Someone else now will earn a living off the carcass of a large family legacy mess. I wonder what his father is really thinking. Could anyone forsee that it would come to this?

Are people really surprised that MJ has been heavily medicated for quite some time now? The only reason that the vultures care now is that someone is losing money and wants to be compensated. That poor doctor just showed up at the end of a long series of missteps. Where has the family been all this time? Did they not sense Michael was not himself?

Is Michael an agent of God's sardonic sense of humor in death?

Ahhh, Michael, if you are demon-possessed as some of the religious fundamentalists say, you must be laughing in hell somewhere.

Otherwise , you have crossed into the sublime of genius again for a final grand finale.

Never Can Say GoodBye 1971 (Click for music)

Good bye Michael. I have to leave your world now, or I'll go crazy and cry from grief. Was this the first step towards you acting younger than you were in order to make people love you? (He's actually 13 and not 11 as he says in this clip.)

Capitalizing on Dead Artists ( click for 2009 tour trailer)

Well, they're already talking about using the taped rehearsals Michael did 8 hours before his death to salvage what is left of the vanished tour. Even till the end, his work ethic and discipline were unbelievable.

Business managers and vultures still have to make a living. I guess I'm guilty too, but I want to thank my fans for reading this. I can see from the hits that I'm receiving that this wasn't a waste of time.

It's especially important for people who didn't grow up with Michael to understand that he was so much more than that Thriller video. His trailer would seem rather pompous for any other artist. I'm a huge fan and it's even a bit much for me. What can I say?......MJ always did like to put on the ole razzle-dazzle......

ABC'S from the little boy wonder 1970 (Click for music)

We miss you Michael......you should know by now how much you were loved.

Drugs, Craziness & Celebrities (click for Black or White video ending)

What can I add to a subject that is as cliched and as old as time? Little kid makes it big, goes crazy, gets hooked on drugs, dies young.

I normally would not sympathize with a tragic, caricatured figure like Michael. After all, he was well compensated for his talent. Maybe I do because he's only 7 years older than me and brought such joy to me and my friends during our pre-teen, teen, and early adult years. I also remember how polite, shy and respectful he was to his elders. He was well brought up and it wasn't unusual in those days for parents to spank their kids. He was obviously the pride and joy of his parents and siblings, and they had nurtured his talent. Since the age of 11, he was accustomed to adoring crowds, pleasant tv interviews and popular broadcast performances. He was hardworking and disciplined. He charmed everyone. The craziness did not begin to really manifest itself until he had already given so much to the world.

I wonder if he were born a few years later, he wouldn't have been so aware of the racism that permeated the industry. A bright, sensitive boy was most certainly aware of the physical divide and the different standards for black performers. The black performers were the best because they had to be. There was no room for error. He was old enough to remember the assassination of Martin Luther King yet never displayed the racial anger that later hip hop artists would (with the exception of his superb ending to the happy-go-lucky Black or White video). He was like a later version of Sammy Davis Jr. who melded into a white world of well-paid talent. Michael's talented father suffered for it even more by giving up his dreams of show business for a crane operator job in Indiana. He realized early that to make money, the white audience had to buy it. This desire to succeed in a white world transmitted to his ambitious and gifted children. Child abuse would be a given in a small house with many mouths to feed and a man worried how he will provide for his family. We will never have a complete picture of what it was like to grow up in that small house in Indiana. It's no stretch to imagine that it was not easy.

Do I think Michael was a child molester because of his own child abuse or his potential bisexuality? The investigators that have experience with these type of cases say he exhibited all of the signs. As a highly sensitive child who absorbed the adult pain around him, he would have been keenly aware of the expectations set upon him. His beloved mother was a Jehovah witness who would have viewed homosexuality as a mortal sin. His father was the stereotypical male of the time period that would not allow emotional expressions of weakness. Every child compensates differently for shortcomings in their childhood. Every child grows up to different family expectations based on birth order or abilities. The only way Michael could receive love and recognition from his immediate family was to remain the perpetual child and to work like an adult. If he knew he was a homosexual, he was shrewd enough not to express it. He already understood the power of image making and hiding behind its facade at an early age. It's obvious that he left the realms of sanity a few years back and that drugs broke some thin barrier of norm. He was no longer the alert, perceptive Michael I remembered. He was lost in a self-made cloud of mist.

His physical appearance didn't help his cause. For a master media magician so brillant about his career image, it's difficult to fathom why his face would become an open scar for the world to see. He was a deteriorating Dorian Grey before our eyes, a warped picture of eternal youth revealing a mental illness from deep within.

Something keeps pulling me back to those early childhood performances when his utter joy was irrepressible. He didn't choose this profession, it chose him, and even if his father hadn't whipped him to perfection, he was self-driven enough to do it on his own. There's a fine line between genius and insanity. I don't hear his immediate family commenting on this, and they seemed to lack the introspection or the necessary skills to handle a child star who could not face adulthood. He was also the breadwinner of a large family. People forget that he was still supporting his family until his death. That would have to create some sort of family dyfunction.

Nevertheless, the ultimate responsibility was Michael's as a full grown man to not feed his insanity and internal demons. His father after all, made it all possible.

I wish that he hadn't been so isolated from a normal life as a child. He did have 8 other siblings that suffered the same fate. None turned out like him even though they had their own turmoils and less successful adult careers. He seemed happiest when surrounded by his siblings. It was obvious that he would become the solo artist. Were there sibling rivalries? It seemed like they tried to shelter him. He was so vulnerable and egoless that it's hard to know what to blame. He was a joy to watch.

Wanna be Startin' Somethin' 1983 (click for music)

My favorite single from the "Thriller" album.

I Want You Back 1969 (click for music)

Did anyone notice how hard this little boy was working for a living? Watch him move!
And that voice! How could one little body have all this talent?

I Got The Feelin'! 1968 (click for music)

Sheer joy. Do you see the beginnings of the moon walk here? Even while imitating his hero, James Brown, he was already innovating.
Beautiful little boy. Also happens to be the same year that Martin Luther King was assassinated.

R.I.P. FARRAH FAWCETT

I was in the 6th grade when that infamous red bathing suit poster came out. I remember one nerdy boy named Michael just going absolutely nuts before the teacher arrived to teach her class. That poster was being passed around by all the boys while the girls consoled themselves with Baby Love lip gloss. I hated Farrah on the spot. That feathered blond hair gave birth to a blow dryer revolution that would fry my preteen curly brown hair years. I decided right then and there that I would hate all straight haired blonds going forward.

In the 90's , I secretly gloated as she aged and ethnic girls with curves and curls came into style. I grew up and she was growing old....she also adopted the curls that I so long fought with from birth.....

I had a change of heart after watching Farrah's documentary a few weeks ago. Her resolve and compassion during her own pain and disappointments reflected a depth of humanity that I honestly thought she lacked. She knew she was dying and only asked of God that she simply wanted to live.

When I watch those early commericals of her at the height of her beauty and vitality, it makes me wonder sometimes.......What is God thinking about anyway?..........

Not even a bubbly blond deserved that.......

Michael Jackson R.I.P. (Click for music)

I grew up with Michael Jackson so to speak. I remember the Jackson 5 and Osmond cartoons and seeing them dance and sing their hearts out on Flip Wilson, Sonny & Cher & the Carol Burnett shows. I remember little Janet doing her Mae West imitations and charming the world. Michael was a young James Brown performing "I Want You Back". We watched Michael and Diana Ross on "The Wiz". The Jackson Five imitated dead white artists before springing the "Dancing Machine"'s robotic moves and huge afros on mature white audience variety shows. Older stars such as Diana Ross and Cher patronized Michael and then flattered him by doing poor imitations of his dance moves. Cher even adopted an afro for his appearance on her show. Michael was a charming teenager and viewed as likable for both black and white audiences. It seemed normal for the cute black kids to be on a white variety show, while older black artists who worked the "Chitlin'" circuit beamed with pride and envy on the doors little Michael was blasting open with his all-American charm.

Michael's Off The Wall LP was my teenage awakening to another world that I did not experience in my white suburban Upstate NY Irish/Italian Catholic upbringing. I remember my sister and I listening to the LP on the turntable record player and Ann Marie being the first kid of means in our neigborhood to buy it. This was before MTV broke out in 1982. Everyone remembers Michael for ruling the beginning of MTV and the Thriller video. But for me, the revolution began with the first song played on the Off The Wall Album in 1979 in my floral print bedroom before the Billie Jean MTV break-out video in 1982. It was also our first glimpse of Michael as an adult solo artist and our last view of him as a "black" performer.

The music that poured from that burning LP made me come alive. It was so far ahead of the curve that it actually stretched my mind to the musical revolution going on before the cusp of MTV. The early MTV (1981-1982) had no commericals, big hair bands or reality shows....it was dance music with Michael Jackson, Madonna & Blondie leading the way. The computer graphics were amateurish with white backdrops, and the clothes worn looked like homeless people who had searched through the trash bins of Andy Gibb. Sting and Pat Benetar could not compete with Michael Jackson's groundbreaking dance moves in his Billie Jean video.

Madonna was the only other artist at that time to have the same effect on me. I was working at Ames Department Store and my one and only African American colleague was telling me how "hot" Madonna was in her new video on a station called MTV. I naturally assumed she was African American and MTV was a "black station". The radio stations were still segrating music as black or white and Madonna was identified as "black". My sister and I danced to her cassette tapes. We didn't know she was white until her Lucky Star dance video burned the MTV airwaves in 1982. Jackson & Madonna were the first savvy performers to use MTV for self-promotion. They broke thru the barriers before Rap or Punk as words existed. (Blondie performed rap on MTV before it was called Rap). Britanny Spears was still wearing diapers. Punk rock had not become a genre yet. Bon Jovi was no where to be found. Journey hadn't yet dominated the airwaves with "Don't Stop Believing". REO SpeedWagon and Styx were making their exits.......Entertainment Tonight had not yet made its debut in 1981. People magazine was only 5 years old.

We were living in a creative space void that was the perfect entrance for a Michael Jackson alien in silver spaces boots to dance into. Time-space was setting up for a musical social revolution called MTV while we were still too innocent to recognize the world atoms shifting around us. This was the final days of disco and the beginning dawn of computers in every home, MTV in every living room, YOU TUBE videos, mediocre American Idol talent shows, and tabloid gossip shows called "news". CNN didn't exist yet, and people read the newspapers or watched the 6 o'clock news. Tabloid news could only be found in the supermarket aisles under the National Enquirer covers while waiting in line. If we wanted to know what a budding singer looked like, we searched the album cover photos. If we wanted a picture, we bought posters and hung them in our rooms. If we wanted to hear new music, we had to buy it, or wait for it to come out on the black radio stations or the Casey Casum weekly top 40 countdown. If we wanted to see the music performed, we had to buy the tour tickets, or wait for guest appearances on variety shows. If we wanted to know more about their personal lives, we trusted the teen magazines' publicity machines. Hip hop wasn't a word yet, and Prince was only dreaming of becoming as eccentric as Michael. The door was now shut on disco and a new American music was blossoming from the Bee Gees' remains. Elvis had just died. For a budding artist to catch international attention, he/she had to be an exceptional songwriter or performer. There was no one to imitate for the new rock & roll developing. They did not need Simon Cowell's critiques, and Paula Abdul didn't exist yet. There were no American celebrities doing international tours , or adopting adorable children of color from other countries, or helping the native African hungry and HIV infected. The war on drugs had not been declared yet. Actors weren't elected to political offices yet, and musicians and actors weren't politicians yet. Religious beliefs were respected and kept private. Gay rights was just beginning to emerge, but individually hidden. The Middle East was someplace far, far away where bombings were a daily event. Africa was going hungry and mentioned at many dinner tables across America by parents scolding children to eat their vegtables. We were in a sheltered, safe world that had just sucked the life out of the final days of disco, variety shows and charming large family acts.
A flicker of excitement wavered with the Off the Wall debut in 1979.

I will always remember the purity of that sweet voice singing over syncopated heartbeats and pulsating rhythms. It's no accident that Michael adopted the white socks, black shoes of Elvis' breakout concerts. Michael had the quadruple threat of dancing moves, rockability, personal vulnerability, and expression of voice. His abundant, unconscious and infectious joy of performing was contagious. He was a 21 year olded Pied Piper leading a new generation into an imaginary world.

$100,000 Chicken Recipe Winner (Click for top 4)

This contest was sponsored by the Food Network Channel in Charlotte, NC at the Westin.

Here's the winning recipe:

Mahogany Broiled Chicken with Smoky Lime Sweet Potatoes and Cilantro Chimichurri

Click title above for other top 4


1 cup chopped cilantro leaves

6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

3 large cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon salt, divided

1/4 teaspoon pepper, divided

5 tablespoons dark brown sugar

3 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons bottled hoisin sauce

2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup plus 1 1/2 teaspoons lime juice, divided

1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast halves, cut in 1-inch cubes

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in 1/2-inch pieces

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 teaspoon chopped canned chipotle pepper

1 teaspoon adobo sauce (from canned chipotle)

3/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon lime zest

Cilantro sprigs, for garnish



In a small bowl, mix together chopped cilantro, olive oil, minced garlic, 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and 1/8 teaspoon of the pepper; set aside.



In medium bowl, mix together brown sugar, mustard, hoisin sauce and vinegar. Reserve 2/3 of this mixture. To remainder, add 1/2 cup lime juice and stir in chicken; cover and refrigerate.



Place sweet potatoes in a heavy saucepan and cover with boiling water. Cook, covered, over medium-high heat until tender, about 15 minutes. Reserve 1/4 cup cooking liquid, then drain potatoes in colander. Return potatoes to reserved cooking water and add butter, chipotle pepper, adobo sauce, remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons lime juice, cumin, lime zest, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and remaining 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Mash potatoes.



Preheat the broiler. Thread chicken on 8 bamboo skewers that have been soaked in water for 30 minutes. Broil about 6 inches from heat, basting with reserved mahogany sauce until done, about 8 minutes. To serve, divide potatoes among 4 plates; top each with 2 skewers of chicken and drizzle with cilantro chimichurri sauce. Garnish with cilantro sprigs.

Peaches & Cream

The state of Georgia is known for it's peaches......

Just peel, slice and dice some peaches and serve with vanilla ice cream

To preserve peaches, mix with champagne and refrigerate

To spice up peaches, add cinnamon, ginger & cloves or pumpkin pie spice and a little chili powder

Summer Slaw

No cooking again! I defy the Cooking Gods!


Purple head of cabbage sliced and diced
3 tbspns mayo
1 tspn apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
1 tbspn milk or soymilk
dash of hot sauce or cayenne pepper
1 packet Splenda
salt & pepper to taste
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup walnuts
(can leave out raisins & walnuts if you wish)

Mix together, refrigerate, dive in 1-2 hours later.

Salmon Mousse

3 small cans of boneless skinless salmon
1 packet of cream cheese
4 tbspns lemon juice
4 tbspns olive oil
2 tbspns horseradish
1 tspn hot sauce or cayenne pepper

Blend ingredients in a food processor. Serve with crusty bread, English muffin or cheese scones and a tangy pickle. A meal in itself, with a salad, or a starter to a meal, or good for lunch. It has a pretty sunset color or coral color depending on the intensity of the salmon used......

Sunscreener Tomato Salad

Can I tell you something? I don't wear sunscreen. Not for 20 years. I am fair-skinned and blue-eyed and try to avoid the sun during its peak hours of 11-2. I just hate putting the lotions on my skin knowing that I'll be in the water and that it must run off ( I don't care what the bottle says).....So I put on my big hat and sunglasses , eat this tomato salad with olive oil and onions (all good for the skin.) Tomatoes are high in Lycene and scientifically proven to prevent sunspots. Onions, garlic and olive oil are also good for the skin and may explain why Middle Eastern and European women have such beautiful skin.....My Mom is 73 and has no wrinkles or sagging collagen and never wears make-up......

Can also add cucumbers, radishes & celery to this -will keep for weeks in frig- unlike those bags of lettuce they call "Salad" in the grocery store......

Sunscreener Tomato Salad

Sliced & diced beefsteak tomatoes ( homegrown if possible)
Sliced & diced onions
olive oil
Oregeno or Greek Seasoning or Italian Seasoning
Lemon Juice or balsamatic vinegar
minced garlic

Can serve cold or at room temperature.........

Sorry no measurments for this......use best judgement.....

Tuna Nicoise Americanized

The only thing to cook in this is the hard boiled eggs for 10 minutes. Can leave out if you wish:

1/2 cup green olives sliced up
2 hard boiled eggs peeled and sliced up
5 Tbpsns Duke's mayo
3-4 cans (3 ounces) of white tuna drained
1-2 pickles sliced up
2 sticks of celery sliced up
1 onion sliced up
2 Tbspns of mustard
Parsley, salt & pepper to taste

Mix together and let sit in frig.....serve on saltine crackers or by itself with some cheese or salad.

Scones & Biscuits, Biscuits & Scones

The first time I heard the word "Scone", I was staying with a Scottish friend in Asheville, NC where a quaint breakfast nook served them. They were savory, warm and served with tea or coffee and jam on the side.

I've been fascinated with them ever since. They are in Irish recipes and Scotch-Irish recipes.

So what is the difference between a "Scone" and the Southern biscuits served with every meal down here? (Cracker Barrel & Bojangles)......

Scones can be savory or sweet depending on the recipe, and were named by Scottish royalty of the 1500's. Biscuits were the poorer Scotch-Irish version.

Here's a recipe for either one:

Irish Honey Currant Scones

2 1/2 cups flour
2 tspns grated orange peel
1 tspn baking powder
1/2 tspn baking soda
1/2 tspn salt
1/2 cup cold butter or Smart Balance margarine cut in pieces
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup sour cream
1/3 cup honey
1 egg slightly beaten

I just pour all the ingredients into a food processor and mix until blended. (I've never had the patience for pastry blending or folding, and as long as you don't overprocess, you're fine.) Add flour as needed to prevent stickiness.

You can roll out this dough and cut into squares and then halve the squares into triangles. (Or you can do what I do, and spoon like cookie dough onto a greased cookie sheet).

Bake 15-20 minutes in a 375 degree oven. Serve warm or cool.

Buttermilk Biscuits

2 cups flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tspn sugar
1/2 tspn salt
6 Tbspn cold butter cut into pieces
3/4 cup buttermilk

Again, no patience, throw in food processor until just blended, and spoon out like cookie dough onto greased cookie sheets. Bake at 425 degrees for 15-18 minutes. I add flour as needed to prevent stickiness. Serve with jam or drenched in Southern chicken gravy.

Southern Redneck Contribution

My southern friends have influenced me more than they know!

BJORK- Army of Me (click for music)

From my pretty tweeter boy, thank-you for sharing this song!
Her voice is an Artic Blast that freezes global warming in its tracks. A numbing artist from a planet called ICELAND. (Pour yourself a vodka cranberry mix into a frozen martini glass and let the sheets of ice cut thru you.)

I cannot get enough of this artist and doubt another like her will drift by soon.

(to remove ad spyware after playing this, click My Computer, remove programs, and remove Adobe Control X program- You'll notice spam in your email box otherwise.)

Sample 17th-18th century Menu (click for Cream of Peanut Soup recipe)

Writing about Charleston led me to wonder... What did people eat in the 17th-18th centuries?

Here's a sample menu ( perhaps only for the gentry) developed by my talented & gifted former Kendall/Hunt colleague, Cathy Goodman and current owner of Big Fish Co. in Dubuque, IA. She developed this menu about 20 years before the age of Google. Kendall/Hunt not only served it at our sales corporate function, but let us wear the 17th century-style rental costumes. I still have the photo! (Will post later). 10 years later, in Williamsburg, VA, I visited King's Tavern and enjoyed the Creme of Peanut Soup mentioned here:


Cocktails and Hors d'Ouevres
Spirits

Alcoholic beverages were a household staple in the colonies. There were no aspirins, no tranquilizers, and no anesthetics, so rum or brandy was often used in their stead. A good drink was also regarded as a preventive against flux or fever, which is why many an early-rising planter fortified himself with a starter before making the rounds of his plantation.

Pour yourself a swig of rum, then a swig of brandy before cooking this massive but easy meal! (Or if you agree with Jefferson, glass of red wine) of If you're feeling English, a dark malted beer.

Crudites
Brie and French Bread
Baby Swiss and Crackers

The appetizer came in with Prohibition to accompany what was often an unpalatable drink and stayed on in favor as companion to the cocktail.

Rinse and cut up some celery, carrots,radishes & cucumbers.Serve with crackers or Italian bread, cheeses of your choosing and maybe some ranch or dilled yogurt dip for the raw veggies.

Dinner
King's Arm Tavern Creme of Peanut Soup
(Click on 17th-18th Century Menu Title above for Williamsburg recipe)

Brazil is the native home of the peanut , the "ground nut" that sailed with Portuguese explorers to Africa and back to the Americas with the Negro. In 1794, Thomas Jefferson recorded the yield of 65 peanut hills at Monticello. The colonial staple is now the most heralded item on the King's Arm Tavern menu.

Caesar Salad

In Elizabethan England fresh salad was always the first dish served at the five o'clock supper. England's John Evelyn wrote a discourse on Sallets in 1699 which more affluent colonial housewives kept hidden on their shelves. He advised that the greens be washed and drained in a "Cullender," and then swung in a clean napkin. (Before the age of the "Salad Spinner")

No recipe here, just a bag of salad mix, rinsed & drained well with a little lemon juice, olive oil & Greek seasoning. (found at Wal-Mart-stock-up and use on everything!)

Beef Wellington with Twice Baked Potato

Since beef cattle roamed until they were lean and tough, veal and pork were the most popular domestic meats in the 18th century. Not until about the 1890's did grain-fed beef find wide acceptance.

Here's a quick and easy updated version for two:
•2 filets mignon, 1-inch thick
•2 sheets puff pastry (freezer section where pie crusts are)
•Salt and pepper to taste
•1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
•4 Tbsp. of 1/2 lb sauteed mushrooms, 1 onion, 1/2tspn thyme, 1/2 tspn salt & pepper, 1/4 cup white wine (or lemon juice will suffice here)& some vegetable or olive oil
•1 egg

1. Thaw puff pastry according to package directions.

2. Season filets generously with salt and pepper.

4. Pre-heat a medium (10-inch) non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add butter and swirl in pan to melt.

5. Cook filets on both sides for about 3 minutes until well-browned on edges, but not well done. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
In the meantime, sautee in same pan the mushrooms, onions, wine, salt, pepper & thyme until browned.

6. Heat oven to 400F. Whisk together egg and 1 tablespoon water (egg wash).

7. Lay the filets down on puff pastry (takes 2-4 segments crossed over to cover filet completely). We're not looking for perfection here, just a nice looking package. Spoon some of the mushroom mixture on top of filet and finish wrapping like a Christmas present. Brush with egg wash, and bake in center of oven until golden brown; about 30 minutes. Meat should be medium cooked. Puff pastry will puff up nicely.

Wrap 2 potatoes in alumninum foil and bake alongside Beef Wellington, Vegetables, & Cornbread for 30 minutes @ 400 degrees. Cornbread is really for breakfast the next day in the "Virginia fashion"


Scandinavian Mixed Vegetables with Dill Weed

Vegetables appear infrequently in 18th century cookbooks, and when they do appear, they are generally too overcooked and over spiced for 20th century palates. An exception to this is this savory mixture.

Here's my version:

1 bag of frozen California blend vegetables mixed with lemon juice, olive oil, Greek seasoning, dill weed and roasted in oven alongside Beef Wellington @ 400 degrees for 30 minutes.

Assorted Breads

No bread from wheat was held as sustaining as that made from corn; besides, the yield of corn per acre compared to that of wheat better than twenty to one. But wheat flour was finer, and among the gentry, buttered wheat bread and tea made a desirable snack. Corn bread was the bread on which to work and travel. At Mount Vernon, "Indian corn cakes for breakfast after the Virginia fashion" was the rule.

Quick 21st century version:
Buy 2 Jiffy cornmeal boxes and follow directions on box with 1 egg each and some oil & milk. Pour into well-greased stick-free frying pan & bake alongside vegetables & Beef Wellington for 20-30 minutes. (Wrap rubber handles with foil , or use frying pan without rubber handles)

Chocolate Raspberry Torte

The dessert was the pride and joy of colonial housewives. Wrote an 18th century poet:

'Tis the Dessert that graces all the Feast,
For an ill end and disparages the rest...

The number of eggs called for in the old recipes (sometimes up to 20) seemed needlessly extravagant, until we recall that colonial hens, who had to scratch for their living, laid much smaller eggs than do their scientifically bred, fed, pampered & confined successors of this century. Sugar, imported from the West Indies, was costly and came in large cone-shaped loaves, which had to be broken down.

Here's a 21st century recipe-fast!:
1 box Betty Crocker chocolate cake mix
(follow directions on box and mix eggs, oil and water with cake mix)
Add 2 tbsps of almonds ground up in food processor (can leave out if don't have) & 1/4 cup melted raspberry jam or 2 tbspns of raspberry liquor, Mix again.
Pour into greased cake pan & bake for 30 minutes @ 350 degrees.
Microwave raspberry jam and 1/4 -1/2 cup chocolate chips for about 20 seconds. Add water,if needed, for easier pouring and reheat again
Pour over cake and let drip down sides, wait to cool
Can eat as is, or to impress guests:
Garnish with fresh raspberries, mint leaves and a dollup of whipped cream

Louis Martini Merlot

Thomas Jefferson was an acknowledged wine connoisseur. He also owned Sally Hemingway's brother, a well-schooled French culinary chef per Jefferson's request.

He supported a proposed reduction of duties on wine to avoid the use of whiskey as a substitute. Wine he declared to be the necessity of life and said, "No nation is drunk where wine is cheap." Jefferson died at 84 (ancient in colonial times and partially due to his high vegetable diet (favorites were peas & cucumbers grown on his farm), low meat diet, and love of wine. His beloved library was sold to auctioneers to pay his debts. (Very Amercian if you ask me!)

Macoroni & Cheese

I also understand that Jefferson liked mac & cheese if you please.....one more history lesson:
It is said that macaroni, a curved, tubular pasta made from flour that had its origins in China and was brought to Italy by Marco Polo, has been cooked and served with cheese in Italian homes, inns and restaurants for over 500 years. By the eighteenth century, the dish, in one form or another, had become popular throughout Europe, and colonists from England brought along their appetite and recipes for this cheesy treat to North America. In the 1800s, recipes for various versions of macaroni and cheese appeared in many American cookbooks. And so, a legend was born.

21st century version, VELVEETA CREAMY MAC & CHEESE, of course!

or for a an even more homemade taste- buy Stoeffers Mac & Cheese in freezer section & warm up

Fried Zucchini Checinni Bikini

Slice and dice this popular Italian and American Squash. Fry the pieces in vegtable oil or in olive oil until they shrink and taste like candy. Salt & Pepper to taste.

I went to school with a girl named MaryJean Checinni who used to have birthday bashes at the height of the 70's. We would all disco dance to the strobe light that her parents set-up in the basement. She also had an Olympic-sized pool in her back yard. Also the last time I wore a bikini I think.....

Presidential Burgers

Did you happen to catch on NBC the tour of the White House, and what Obama does during his lunch hour? Poor guy has to get in a securitized black limo to catch a local burger made by "Five Guys and a Burger" which we happen to have right here in Concord, NC next to the Lowes Motor Speedway. I have to say, Obama, you're right, this place rules for a good greasy burger with any topping imaginable and fries that soak thru brown paper bags-all for $8. But there's another place called "What-A-Burger" which is locally owned in Concord and cannot be found in any other area of the U.S. or North Carolina for that matter. I live only a few blocks from it, and the locals have turned me onto it. I have to say , at first I felt out of place when I first came in and heard the heavy southern accents discussing week-ends of home barbeques and horseshoe playings. Sometimes I can't understand any of it, and have to ask them to repeat it in English please. The plain faced women that work there are the sweetest and most beautiful people on earth and greet me with "What you havin' sweethart?" or "Is this all for you?!" greeting and then proceeding to holler the orders to the middle-aged southern boys behind the grill soaking Patti Melts in butter with swiss cheese & sauteed onions (My mom's favorite, and not mentioned on doctor's visits), "All-the-Way footlong Hotdogs" with chili & slaw and my personal favorite, the "What-A-Burger" with beefsteak sized tomotoes, onions, lettuce, cheese, mustard and a side order of steak fries or onion rings that would put McDonald's to shame, all for the incredible price of $4. These burgers are like the ones you would make at home if you had the energy to fire up a grill like Bobby Flay does, go buy the toppings, and steam those buns. Kids can get huge vanilla cones that topple over when you walk out. No credit cards accepted here, cash only, and if you happen to be a little short, and they know you, they've been known to draw from the community till to cover it.

I really almost didn't want to share this with anyone because it's a local well-kept secret, and I don't want to walk in one day and see the place overrun with Secret Service and the media. I don't know how Obama can stand it.

06.06.09-Just went again, told the ladies I've been bragging about them and they may get strangers in there......she replied in a husky voice "WE'RE READY FOR 'EM, WE'RE READY FOR 'EM"

Southern 3Keys Lime Pie

This is a quick,easy & cheap summertime dessert if you have a food processor (just buy the crust if you don't or smash crackers in plastic bag with rolling pin to relieve the day's stresses)

1 can condensed milk (yes, I know, tons of sugar, SOME RECIPES ACTUALLY TELL YOU TO ADD SUGAR & VANILLA WHICH IS NOT NEEDED)
1/4 cup lime juice
1 packet of graham crackers ground up in food processor with 2 tbspns of butter and pressed into a pie dish(can use hands or bottom of a glass)
1/2 packet of cream cheese to cut the sweetness ( if have, leave out if don't)

mix condensed milk, juice together and scoop & scrape into graham cracker crust
Refrigerate. Serve with whipped cream. ( or not) and top with any fresh fruit laying around (such as strawberries listed below, or fresh blueberries). NO COOKING INVOLVED AS THIS RECIPE DOES NOT REQUIRE EGGS.

Italian Strawberries

As far as I am concerned, if you want to learn from the best, go to the masters of cooking, the Italians. They have merged thousands of years of invasions, travel and Mediterrrean climate into an organic vegtable, fruit and lean protein diet. Northern Italy has the German influences with their white cream sauces, meats, cabbage & potatoes. Southern Italy, and the tip of the boot where my maternal ancestors come from, have the Greek, Arab influences with the red tomato sauces, eggplants, zucchini, cornmeal, oranges,lemons,figs and fish that permeate the diet. The Pasta, a MiddleAges Chinese contribution from Marco Polo's travels, well is just the icing on the cake. Like great cooks everywhere, they use what they have to come up with the lightest, cheapest food fare. Some recipes complicate things so much, no wonder people get intimidated by it all.

Only the Italians could come up with a quick way to preserve my favorite American summer fruit: STRAWBERRIES: ( can also be done with blueberries, raspberries)

slice, dice, and wash strawberries
mix with 2-3 tbsps of balsamatic vinegar ( made from grapes and sweeter than its cheaper cousin, red wine vinegar)
2 tbspns of sugar or 2 packets of Splenda
sprinkle black pepper & mint or basil on them and mix until a glossy finish from the vinegar clings to the strawberries and makes them shine.
Strawberries will keep a week longer in the frig. If you have some cornbread, top on the cornbread with some whipped cream and a mint leave for a southern Italian shortcake.

Charleston, SC (Click for ghost tour info.)

I've been to Charleston, S.C. a couple of times. First time, about 20 years ago, I met with some Upstate NY friends and a Southern friend kind enough to drive. They rented a house on Sullivan's Island for a week for about $400 a week at the time. We went crab hunting on the beach, boat riding on the Fort Sumter historical tour that described the place where the Civil War began. My first impressions were hot, humid and still a little bit stuck in time. Couldn't stay long and wanted to explore more.

2nd time, was in 2001, I came back and took the historic carriage ride in the downtown market place where baskets made by African Americans of the Gullah tradition and foods are displayed and sold. The tour guide was a theatrical and historical southern gentleman that described the "Northern Aggression" and the Pirates that hung from the Weeping Willow trees still standing along the "Battery" waterfront during the American Revolutionary period. Most of the American Revolution was fought in the back woods of South Carolina and Charleston's key waterfront position with George Washington's support. (Key historical fact overlooked in my Upstate New York schooling where Harriet Tubman's and William Steward's house still stand.)
Huge planatation-style homes line the waterfront and still have Civil War cannon holes in their front porches during the final fight for Southern rights. There's a southern society here that attempts to preserve the idealized version of the South. It is beautiful with the undercurrents of a war that still has not been forgotten, or a grief for a lifestyle that is long gone. This was 10 years ago, and the culturally sensitive people must have gotten wind of it. I understand that a new museum has gone up since where the slaves from West Africa were displayed and sold, right next to the charming lantern lit, bricked road shops that have glossed over a people's pain and suffering.

Low county cooking is popular here with the boiled peanuts, hot sauces, shrimp & grits and Po' Boy sandwiches of crabmeat, crab cakes, and she-crab soup. Sweet potatoes and sweet potatoe pie another favorite. Rice side dishes (homage to the rice plantations grown in the 17th-18th centuries) with bright orange Saffron also can be found. There's also the ubiquitous chain restaurants that the locals have recommended to me. I try to avoid. Young partiers can be heard on a week-end night carousing down the streets and the annual Charleston marathoners can be seen running by, juxtaposed against the Georgia-style 17th century architechure backdrop on Meeting Street from the hotel window where I stayed.

I also bought a signed copy of The Ghosts of Charleston and met with the young & handsome co-author and co-founder of www.tourcharleston.com. Edward B. Macy, who just happened to be doing a book signing during my visit, humored me with a sincere smile during my Northerner questioning on the ghost photos that he took as he wrote "TO CONNIE-ALL THE BEST! MACY." Little did I know that he would go onto CNN and History Channel fame for documenting these hauntings. The book is based on eyewitness accounts and stories of Charleston natives who have accepted supernatural sightings as present-day facts. The Civil War & Revolutionary War stories that are said to cause the hauntings are fascinating, but I was too scared to actually go on the walking tour. If you're brave enough, be my guest & click on Charleston title above!
I need to visit again and see the lobby of the hotel that Oprah went to and watch the rich people go by.

On the Go Trail Mix

Good for the Body and the Budget......1/2 cup = 350 calories


Bran Cereal (Fiber)
Dried fruit such as raisins, cranberries, cherries (vitamins)
coconut flakes ( lowers bad cholesterel and raises good cholesterel)
walnuts ( Omega 3's)
chocolate chips (anti-oxidants & zinc)

Mix whatever you have, put in a plastic container, and off you go!

I Don't Feel Like Cooking Summer Bean Salad

1 tbsp red wine vinegar or lemon juice
1 tbsp olive oil or vegtable oil
1 can of green beans
1 can black beans
1 can white beans or chick peas
1 can of whatever beans I have
1 can kernel corn
garic
sliced onions
dash of hot sauce (if you don't have, buy a big bottle and never run out)
1 can of tomatoes or chiles & tomatoes (drained)
salt & pepper
sliced green pepper or celery if you have it
Italian seasoning or basil or oregeno or dill or Mrs. Dash

Mix together and DONE! Serve alone with some bread or cottage cheese or salmon or leftover meat. (Did I really need to tell you to drain and rinse the beans & corn?)

Best Beef Stew and Quick!

The cloves, Worcestershire & Bay Leaf is what makes this........it's from my Mom's 1961 "The Pocket CookBook" with her own modifications:
ENGLISH BEEF STEW:
1-2 lbs beef sirloin tips or stewing beef
2 tbsp vegtable oil
4 medium carrots sliced
4 medium onions sliced
4-5 medium red potatoes sliced (don't need to peel, just wash)
1/1/2 cups hot water
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp ground cloves
1 bay leaf
1 Tbspn Butter
1 Tbspn Flour

Brown sirloin tips in vegtable oil. Add carrots, onions, potatoes, water, Worcestershire sauce, salt & pepper, cloves, bay leaf. Mash 1tbsp of flour with 1tbsp of soft butter to prevent lumps and add to stew for thick gravy. Simmer for about 45 min on medium heat or until potatoes are tender. No beef broth needed as the juices from this are incredibly spicy, warm and earthy. I like to take a slice of Italian bread with butter or a healthy spread of your choice and slam it into the gravy, lift it to my mouth, and let the juices dribble down my neck. Fish out the bay leaf and throw away.

LACE Training & Mind Melding

I'm caring for a relative with tinnitus (ringing of the ears) which I understand William Shatner, THE original Captain Kirk (1965) for those new Star Trek movie fans, suffers from... The new movie is awesome and has the original Spock Leonard Nimoy in it with Chris Pine as the young Captain Kirk.
Tinnitus partially explains Shatner's Zany behavior on the show Boston Legal. Tinnitus can be caused by hearing loss and usually fixed by hearing aids, but sometimes not, and the doctors don't always know what causes it.
Anyway, I digress.....my Mom suffers from it and we sufferered thru some bad doctors to get to this point, so for those of you that have this, please note: Miracle Ear has been a Godsend for us.....they are located at various Sears branches and keep up with the latest technology on hearing aids and rehabiliation.
Lately, Mom, even though she is wearing some very stylish custom fitted computer chipped hearing aids that have at least stopped the ringing in her ears, still hears at only a 30% level and needed some physical rehabiliaion called LACE TRAINING. Very simply, an online computer course designed to teach her how to hear again.
As tedious as I thought this was going to be for us, we have had some fun. Here some of the things said during the course, and this is what she heard:

Lace Statement:"Paul Revere helped organize and helped lead the American Revolution by riding his horse and ringing the bell."
What Mom heard:"In all my years, something, something, Revolution with house on the zell."

Lace statement:"The state of Georgia was originally populated by ex-convicts and rebels."
What Mom heard:"Georgia popped something on the bells"

Lace statement: "Canada would have become the 14th colony if the French had seceded."
What Mom heard:"Canada something something 14th fried seeds"

Even I had a hard time with the rapid speech and background noise. Mom wants to skip it this week and I sense that she can hear me laughing.

Diabetic Potato Salad

For those that suffer from diabetes or just trying to lose weight, this is a substitute for my favorite high glycemic white food: POTATOES. Can I ever give up the earthy, velvety , crunchy, boiled ( I don't care how you cook it, it survives) vegetable that brings up childhood memories of St. Patrick festivals and Polish cooking, and German fairs? Potatoes and banannas have high potassium levels which help keep blood pressure down. This may explain why I'm an anomaly to my doctor who says I have low blood pressure despite being overweight and one who pours salt on her food like snow in the middle of a Buffalo blizzard.

Maybe not, but here's a good attempt:

2 frozen bags of cauliflower
2-3 strips of precooked bacon warmed up in microwave or small frying pan
1/2 bag of frozen peas
1/2 cup parmesean cheese
1 large white onion sliced and diced
1/4 cup milk or soymilk
2 packets Splenda
dash of hot sauce
1/2 cup Duke's mayo ( a favorite down South with no sugar in it)
some dill or parsley for color if you have it

Blanch Cauliflower and frozen peas for 5-7 minutes in boiling water. Save 1/2 cup of hot water. Mix together the rest with saved water and salt & pepper to taste. Put in fridge. Open door 2-4 hours later. Pretend it's potato salad.

Fake Mashed Potatoes:
Frozen bag of cauliflower, boiled, food processed or mashed with milk, butter, garlic, salt and pepper until it looks and feels like my favorite side dish at Thanksgiving. The nice thing about this, if you used potatoes in a food processor, it would come out like glue, not so with cauliflower.