Apricot Glazed Pears and a Great Wine

I'm what you'd call a wine wimp. Meaning, anything "dry" is off my list. I gravitate toward the sweeter wines--the dessert wines, like Moscato and Lambrusco. So for me to find an entire VINEYARD whose wines I like is a HUGE deal. The only problem? The vineyard is in Pennsylvania, and they can't ship to Indiana (silly state has a no wine across state lines law...seriously, folks, I'm trying to help the economy here if you'd just change the law ;-).

When I was in PA visiting friends, my friend Mel, the hostess (who is a PHENOMENAL baker) served Franklin Hill Vineyards wines with dinner. DH and I loved the selections, so much that we didn't go straight home the next day (and we had an 11-hour drive home ahead of us), but instead went to the vineyard to buy a few bottles to take back to Indiana.

Tonight, I'm enjoying the last of a bottle of "Fainting Goat," a mildly sweet red with a black cherry flavor. Yummy. If you're ever in the Bangor, PA area, you have to stop by Franklin Hill Vineyards. It's worth the trip. Very hospitable people, very good wines.

(and if you happen to be driving to Indiana after that, pick me up a bottle of Fiesta, and a couple of Niagara. I'll make you carrot cake cupcakes to make it worth your while ;-).

My kids are sick here, so I decided to make some healthy food for dinners this week. I made a Tortellini Tomato soup (which I haven't had time to take a picture of...I'm not feeling so swift myself) and for dessert, I made Apricot-Glazed Pears tonight

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These were in the Rachael Ray Mag a while back. They're really simple. I had picked up Bosc pears earlier in the week for the Insalata Rustica, so I had the most important ingredient already.

[a side note: when I was a kid, we had a pear tree in our backyard. My grandpa cut it down one day (he was senile) and there went our pears. But boy, it was great to have them when the tree was there].

We're almost never without ice cream, so that was there, too [though trying to keep everyone's paws off the ice cream long enough to make this dessert was a challenge unto itself].

The recipe is here, but basically you peel the pears, cut them in half and scoop out the core. Place them facedown in a baking dish, then drizzle a mixture of half apricot preserves and half orange juice (I used fresh; just squeezed an orange) over the pears. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or so. The recipe says 20-25. I found my pears (and they were just average size, nothing huge) needed about 30, 35 minutes to be totally softened.

When they're done, you serve the pear with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, then drizzle the apricot sauce from the pan on top. The recipe says to sprinkle with cinnamon--I found that was too harsh, and used a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar instead.

These were a hit with the whole family. It looks really pretty, too, so I'd recommend this for a dessert for guests, too. Another one of those "great presentation" kind of desserts.

Heck, anything with ice cream on it has great presentation, if you ask me ;-)

Shirley

The Anatomy of an Idea...and Raspberry Mojito Lemonade

If you ever wondered exactly HOW the Wedding Planners idea came about and how six authors managed to brainstorm and make a story work, here's the details of our collaboration! It was so much fun and such an energetic experience! I'd do it again in a heartbeat :-)

The other day, I talked about posting my Raspberry Mojito Lemonade recipe. When I was at Red Robin, I had something similar, and it was SO SO SO GOOD, I wanted to make the same thing at home. They offer it in both an alcoholic and non-alcoholic version (and I've made it at home both ways). It's great either way:

Raspberry Mojito Lemonade

3 raspberries
1 sprig mint
1 slice lime
1 jigger Rose's grenadine (at Red Robin they call it Raspberry Syrup...try finding that in a store. I finally figured out what it was. Duh)
8 ounces Minute Maid Lemonade (the low-cal version works well too; you can get this in the soda aisle)
1 jigger Vodka or Rum, whichever you use for your Mojitos (optional)

Put raspberries and mint in 12-ounce glass. Mush raspberries with spoon, with mint (don't break the mint, just press it enough to release the fragrance and flavor). Break up the raspberries all the way so they'll be little enough to drink. Squeeze lime juice into glass, and leave the lime slice in glass. Add all liquid and stir. Done...drink!

Shirley

Holidays are over...back to life

Well, I had THOUGHT I would keep up with everything during the holidays, but then we went out of town to see my family and I ended up spending...oh, zero time online, so that meant no blogging, and no e-mailing.

Then I came home with the cold from Night of the Living Dead and spent two and a half days in bed.

Now I'm on deadline, a book and a novella due this month, and whoa, that's a lot of words to write really fast :-). At the same time, I'm teaching an online class that's pretty intensive, so there's a lot of material to prepare. Every time I had tried to prep ahead of time...well, had another book to write, LOL.

But that's okay. I'm always happier busier than not. And we had a fabulous holiday. I LOVED the holiday with my family. It was so...Christmas-y. Singalongs, church, a trip to Edaville Railroad, and then when we came home, a New Year's Eve party with friends (and candy cane martinis).

I bet you want that recipe, huh? Those Candy Cane Martinis ROCKED but they will knock you on your butt, I'm warning you, so it's like a one-per person thing :-)

Candy Cane Martinis

1 1/2 ounces vodka
1/2 ounce peppermint schnapps
1/2 ounce white creme de cacoa
1 candy cane

Mix alcohol in a shaker with lots of ice and shake 15 to 20 times, until it's really cold, then drain into a martini glass. Garnish with a candy cane, letting the long part lay inside the glass (so the candy cane melts into the drink as it warms up).

I do love martinis and cosmos, but can't have a lot of them because they are pretty powerful things. And you know writing with a hangover is no fun ;-).

Tomorrow, I'll try to get a chance to do the thing Patrysha posted.

And Terra -- thank you for reading! Glad you enjoyed the book! Carolyn, thanks for the sweet words!

Brandy, I have to find the bread recipe, and when I do, I'll post it. I went looking for it the other day and couldn't find it. One of these days I'll actually have some kind of SENSIBLE system for my recipes, LOL.

Shirley
reading: One Door Away from Heaven by Dean Koontz
Just finished and LOVED: Gone Baby Gone by Dennis Lehane and Gone for Good by Harlan Coben (also very good).