Cowgirl Chocolates

First, let me apologize for these awful pictures. I left my camera somewhere, my daughter's camera had a dead battery and she can't find her charger, so I was relegated to use my husband's SLR camera that I know nothing about and could not figure out how to take a picture without the blur.

I am participating in the Tastemaster program with Foodbuzz. Foodbuzz sends products for me to try out and I write about them. From time to time I will blog about a product they send and this is one of those times. Don't run away because you may find some really neat products you will be interested in trying yourself.

We sampled Cowgirl Chocolates yesterday. By we I am talking about Kaitlin and I. Cowgirl Chocolates are sweet, spicy gourmet chocolates. We could not wait to dive into this box of confections. The packaging of this product is fantastic. The round sticker is a sepia tone with a woman aiming a pistol. You know at this point this chocolate is going to be better than good.

Once we peeled off the red tissue wrap, this cute little red box was tied with a black ribbon. The ribbon was embellished with a silver cowboy hat button. When I spend money to send someone a gift, I really appreciate a company that pays attention to detail like Cowgirl Chocolates.

Each chocolate, well mainly chocolate truffles was individually wrapped in cellophane/foil. Each one was amazing. The assortment in this box was phenomenal. Kaitlin and I did get into a bit of trouble. Lauren came in the room and caught us and demanded her fair share.

If you order these for yourself, all I can tell you is yes, you do want to share how extremely wonderful these candies taste and no you don't want to share because they are that wonderful.

All of the flavors got two thumbs up, my favorite is the habanero caramel.

Red - raspberry and dark chocolate

Gold - Double dark chocolate

Dark Blue - Hazelnut Milk Chocolate

Copper - Cappuccino

Brown Pillow - Habanero dark chocolate

Clear - Habanero caramel

Aqua - Double dark chocolate

Silver - Milk chocolate

Orange - Ivory Orange

Fuchsia Red - Raspberry Lemon

Check out Cowgirl Chocolates!

Brie en Croute

Several weeks ago, I saw Wee Brie on one of the blogs I read. I just can't remember which one and I have gone to several blogs search through several posts and can't find it.


When I first saw Wee Brie, I knew there had to be many fun and unique munchies to make with this wonderful cheese and being so close to the holidays, I didn't need any coaxing. I usually make a Brien en Croute to munch on before Christmas dinner and I thought I would play around and see if I could make individual Brie en Croute with the Wee Brie. This wasn't a slam dunk and is still a work in progress. Most of my blogosphere friends are far more talented and creative than I am so many together we can knock this out of the park.

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a sauce pan over medium heat. When butter is melted add 1 cup of chopped pecans. Brown the pecans in the melted butter for 3 to4 minutes, being careful not to burn the butter.

On a whole brie wheel, I use a sheet of puff pastry. With the Wee Brie, I started off using crescent rolls because they are buttery and I thought the shape would work well with the brie. This wound up being too small to wrap around the brie.

We moved on to the larger crescent rolls in a can and the size was much better. Top the brie with the buttery pecans, a little sprinkle of cinnamon and a little sprinkle of brown sugar.

Wrap the dough around the brie. On a brie wheel I pull the dough up to make it look like a bundle. The bundle wrapping did not work with the triangle shape of the dough. As you can see, the wrapping didn't come out real pretty. Bake at 375 degrees in a greased baking sheet for 13 to 15 minutes.

The little bundles browned very nicely.

I think when I make these for Christmas, I am going to top them with fig preserves. Fig preserves would put this over the top. These were still amazing.

Suggest a topping you would like to see on the Wee Brie bundles.

My thanks go out to Duckie for awarding me with the Proximity Blog Award. Duckie is the most fantasitc, taleneted writer next to John Grisham that I have ever read. She's whimsical and imaginative and makes me think I can Twirl. This award means: "This blog invests and believes the PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships! These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers!



Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."I'd like to pass it on to these fine folks:



1) Michele
2) Ralonda
3) First, Make a Roux
4) Aggie
5) Margie
6) Gigi
7) Lisa
8) Greg



Susan at Yum Ninja tagged me to mention 7 random things about myself. If Susan's blog is on your daily stops, you need to check out her blog. She is an amazing cook and baker; so very talented. I've done this tag once before, but instead of passing it on to 7 people, if anyone who stops by would like to continue this tag, please feel free to be tagged by me...it's the holidays not pressure. Ok, there's pressure because my mind is blank..I've asked the homegirlz for help, here they go....


1. Her favorite color is red.
2. She won't stop singing Christmas songs (she can't sing, really she can't please help us stop her).
3. She buys us pajamas every year for Christmas because you have to sleep in new pajamas on Christmas Eve.
4. She quit smoking in July! We are happy about that and so is our dad.
5. She drinks two glasses of red wine every night when she's cooking.
6. She likes to look at trees in the fall.
7. She always kisses us twice at bedtime and before she leaves for work and pretends like she forgot she kissed and hugged us all ready; we play along.


I'll be under floor dying of embarrassment but ya'll have a wonderful weekend.

Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

I'm running really late this morning getting this posted. I have been inundated with telephone calls from family in New Orleans. It's snowing there and they are very excited. My niece measured five inches of snow on the ground and my mother said it's coming down and looks very pretty. I think that weather is moving this way and we might get some of the white stuff tomorrow.

It's funny in Knoxville, and I don't know why, but when snowy weather is on it's way, people mob the grocery stores for white milk and white bread and I don't understand why. I have asked and asked and all everyone does is shrug their shoulders. Do people sit in a circle and eat white bread and drink white milk or what? I'm clueless since I'm not a snow bunny by birth. If anyone knows, drop me a line.

Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes -

Before you start boiling potatoes we need to get the garlic roasted. For this recipe, I roasted three heads of garlic. If you haven't roasted garlic before and want to learn how, click here

My family, especially my oldest daughter and me, love garlic and mashed potatoes, so I boiled 3 lbs. of peeled russet potatoes in salted water.

Drain the cooked potatoes and dump them back into the pot. Squeeze the 3 heads of roasted garlic into the pot with the potatoes.

Add 1 cup of low fat sour cream, I'm trying to keep this somewhat healthy, 2 tablespoons butter, 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (optional, I just like this in my taters), salt and black pepper to taste. Get out the hand mixer and put it on low to break up the potatoes. You'll need about 4 ounces of evaporated milk now. While the hand mixer is running, stream in a little evaporated milk at a time and raise the mixer speed up one notch. Keep streaming in the milk until you achieve the consistency of the mashed potatoes you like.






This goes great with meatloaf and roasted asparagus!

I've had several requests for red gravy and brown gravy. I wasn't thinking completely yesterday wherein I constantly mentioned red gravy. In New Orleans, spaghetti sauce is called red gravy. So if you make a meatloaf and you prefer non-brown gravy that's not ketchup use your favorite home made or jar spaghetti sauce. No offense because I am a ketchup lover from way back put putting plain ol' ketchup on a meatloaf kind of makes my tummy cringe. I've added ketchup to a sauce for meatloaf and it was good, but it wasn't brown and got a thumbs down from Mr. Katherine.

Here's how I make a brown gravy:

Make a medium brown roux - pour 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil into a pot and heat over medium high heat. Once the oil is heated add 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour and stir constantly with a wooden spoon. Do figure 8's, but keep it moving. BE VERY careful not to splash or you will burn yourself. The mixture will gradually turn brown, you want to to be about a caramel color for this gravy. This will take about 10 minutes, but wow, the roux will get a nutty smell to it, it's heavenly.

Now add 1/2 onion chopped, 1/2 green bell pepper chopped to the roux, wow now your kitchen is really smelling good and people will come from every room in your home as will your neighbors, to see what you're cooking, seriously, they will.

Saute the onions and bell pepper until they begin to wilt. Add 1 teaspoon of minced garlic and saute for another minute. Lower heat to medium and add 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce, 1 dried bay leaf, 1 teaspoon dried thyme, salt and pepper to taste. Add 1-1/2 cup of beef broth 1/2 cup at a time and combine with a whisk. The mixture will be thick. Whisk in 1 cup of water 1/2 cup at a time until you get the desired thickness. Add more beef broth for more gravy volume. Lower heat to low and let simmer covered until you are ready to make a volcano with your taters!

Basic Meatloaf

When I was growing up, we had meatloaf a few times a year and my Mother always made it with a red gravy. My friends' moms also made meatloaf with a red gravy. Before I was married, I lived on my own for a while and once or twice I duplicated and tweaked my Mother's meatloaf serving it of course with the red gravy.

Then I got married and tweaked it some more and when I served meatloaf for the first time to my husband (which included red gravy), he stared at it like I was serving him swill. My new husband asked me, why did you "try" this with red gravy instead of brown? Long story short, he's always had meatloaf with brown gravy, a fact which after almost 17 years of marriage I need to remember to verify with his mom. I mean it's not like he and I were from different parts of the country; we lived in the same metro area and in our metro area meatloaf was served with red gravy which is my gravy of choice for meatloaf.

In the spirit of compromise, I normally serve meatloaf with brown gravy to keep my groom happy. The kicker is, when I get attitude and decide to make the meatloaf with red gravy since I do all of the cooking and I feel from time to time I should be able to cook what I want in my own kitchen, he has the cheek to say, "You know I like brown gravy on meatloaf, why do you ALWAYS make it with red gravy?".

So any way I now have proof that I don't always make meatloaf with red gravy.

Basic Meatloaf -

1lb. lean ground sirloin, 1/2 lb. regular breakfast sausage, 1/2 ground veal, 1 egg beaten, 1 tablespoon yellow mustard, 2 tablespoons freshly chopped flat leaf parsley, 2 tablespoons milk, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire, 2 cloves of garlic minced, 1 teaspoon dried thyme, salt and pepper to taste. Mix all of the ingredients together in a large bowl using your hands. This mixture will be very mushy, be careful not to overwork the meat or your meatloaf will be tough. Add Italian bread crumbs 1/2 cup at a time until your meat mixture become firm enough to hold shape. Form the meat mixture into a loaf and place in a high-sided roasting pan. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 45 minutes.

Baste the meatloaf with your gravy of choice and bake for 10 more minutes. Remove meatloaf from oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes before moving it to a serving platter.

The picture doesn't show it but the slices are moist and light.

I get all warmed up look at the picture and think that red would just make this picture pop. Oh well, I know the yellow mustard makes the taste pop.

Holiday Eating Tips

I wouldn't be your friend if I didn't stop and take a deep breath and offer up the following Holiday Eating Tips. Many of you have read these before but with so much going on in everyone's lives these days, I thought it was my duty and my honor to bring these time honored tips to my friends in the blogosphere.

HOLIDAY EATING TIPS -

1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls.

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. It's rare. You can't find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an eggnog-alcoholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas!

3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.

4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.

5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello?

6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.

7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again.

8. Same for pies. Apple. Pumpkin. Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?

9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory, celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards.

10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Re-read tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner. Remember this motto to live by:


"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, glass of wine in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming, "WOO HOO, what a ride!"

Have a Great Holiday Season!!!

Roasted Asparagus

I have a strange obsession with asparagus, I could eat it everyday. Using a few simple ingredients asparagus can be turned into a delicious side dish fit for a holiday table.

Wash and drain about 1 lb. of fresh asparagus.

Break the ends off the asparagus, You only want the tender taste part of this veggie. Gently take each end of the asparagus and bend it until it...

...snaps in half. Toss the stem or us it to make a cream of asparagus soup and keep the tender top half of the asparagus. Pile the asparagus in the center of a baking sheet season with salt, black pepper, 2 scallions thinly sliced, 4 cloves of garlic smashed. Toss the asparagus and seasonings with your hands and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil making sure to coat each spear.

Spread the asparagus in an even layer on the baking sheet and bake in a 375 degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes. You'll discover a whole new asparagus taste sensation.

Buttermilk Pralines

Pralines (Praw-leans) are a staple at Christmas time in New Orleans. During the holidays you will see a basket of these wax paper wrapped delights next to just about any cash register of any business you enter.

Pralines can be difficult to make at Christmas time because of the heat and humidity, but I guarantee, just like red beans and rice everyone has their own version, and they are all good.

I found this little gem in an old cookbook that was given to me a couple of years ago. This cookbook, called "Cooking Up a Storm' was put together by Katy Caire from Pass Christian, MS after Hurricane Camile devastated the Mississippi Gulf Coast in 1968. Katy obtained this recipe from a local New Orleans midday television personality Terry Flettrich.

Great Gramma Flettrich's buttermilk Pecan Pralines

1 cup buttermilk
2 cups sugar
Large pinch salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/8 pound butter (1/2 stick, or 4 tablespoons)
2 cups pecans

Stir the buttermilk and sugar together plus soda and salt, and cook in deep pot, stirring all the time until mahogany brown in color. Add vanilla, butter and beat till almost thick. Add nuts and drop by spoonfuls on marble slab.