Tag Archives: guest post

VERONIKA GOWAN, THE MACARON QUEEN!

Posted in macarons by

I am absolutely excited to invite you to visit my cookie blog, aka For the Love of Cookies, as I have a very special guest blogger featured today. I have admired Veronika’s work for such a long time, she takes the concept of decorated macarons to the highest possible level. They are pure art. And she is not just about what they look like. Her fillings are very carefully crafted to be the perfect match for each design. She is a source of inspiration like no other! It is a huge honor to have her contribute to my cookie blog sharing how she designed and brought to life a box full of chocolates, all in macaron format. Please stop by to see it, clicking here. Below I share some of her creations. And to follow her, visit Instagram with a click here.

SUFFERING BASTARDS AT TRADER VIC’S

Posted in Drinks by

This is a guest post by my best friend, husband, and eminently satisfactory co-worker!

Their heyday passed a few decades ago, but if you had the good fortune to visit one of Trader Vic Bergeron’s restaurants, then you probably enjoyed a memorable meal of Polynesian appetizers, drinks and exotic Asian dishes. Delicious beef “cho cho” or crab Rangoon or cheese bings or crispy prawns… YUM, YUM! Or, perhaps you drank a Mai Tai or two in a tiki bar on a tropical beach in Hawaii …. Trader Vic created that classic libation.  It all started in 1934, in Oakland, CA, but  during the 2nd half of the 20th century Trader Vic’s franchise operated > 30 locations in all the major American cities.    They were places to go and celebrate something … special, fun places to relax and laugh with best friends and family.  I experienced the restaurants in Chicago, SF, Atlanta, Emeryville and Beverly Hills; just remembering my companions and those occasions puts a smile on my face.  Now only two US restaurants remain, the original Trader Vic’s, now on the SF East Bay waterfront (in Emeryville), and a second in Atlanta.

This fond memory recalls my Uncle Bill and Aunt Mildred Sladek, who lived in Riverside, IL. Uncle Bill was a renowned Chicago proctologist, and consequently, a very popular man.  I was a pre‐med major at Notre Dame, 80 miles away in S. Bend, IN. I spent many excellent weekends with my favorite aunt and uncle, who were guiding me toward a medical career. When I arrived on the South Shore train on Friday night we were off to one of Chicago’s fine restaurants. Uncle Bill was so well-respected that when he and Mildred a entered a Loop restaurant the Maitre d’ and wait-staff began to bow and curtsey as if Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn had just walked in. Such was the case at Trader Vic’s in the Palmer House in Chicago. It was where I had my first oyster on the half‐shell, and the site of fine meals with the Sladek family (my cousins Bill Jr., Bob and Barbara), including one dinner preceding the Chicago performance of “Hair” in 1972. We loved all the tropical drinks, but especially the Suffering Bastard, that Trader Vic also concocted.

The recipe was a secret, but Uncle Bill managed to get it from the Maitre d’, and passed it to me in a handwritten note that I saved in a lockbox until now. When you search for the recipe of a Suffering Bastard, you will find some drinks that originated at the Cairo Hotel, made from bourbon and gin.  But that’s not the same thing we drank at Trader Vic’s.  If you’re looking for a refreshing drink on a hot summer day, then you’ve found it!

 

THE SUFFERING BASTARD
(from Trader Vic’s)

1 measure white rum
2 measures dark rum (Light Burns or Mount Gay Barbados rum)
1 measure Mai Tai mix (Trader Vic’s is best … available at Amazon.com)
1.5 ‐ 2  measures fresh lime juice
for garnish:
fresh pineapple
Maraschino cherries,
cucumber
fresh mint

Give the components a quick shake, pour over cracked ice, and garnish.  Be forewarned, it packs a (delightful) punch!

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments from Sally: This was one of the first drinks Phil made for us when we started dating. Sweet memories! Well, let me point out it is actually not a sweet drink at all. We love tart flavors, so it’s perfect for us. If you prefer a sweeter concoction, consider adding a half ounce of simple syrup or agave nectar. It’s not authentic, but we won’t hold grudges.

I hope you enjoyed one more guest post by my beloved! I actually feel very lucky he did not go to medical school, or we probably would have never met…

 

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ONE YEAR AGO: Aloha!

TWO YEARS AGO: Fab Choc Chip Cookies

THREE YEARS AGO: Pumpkin-Chipotle and Kale Pizza

FOUR YEARS AGO: Enchiladas Suizas a la Marcela Valladolid

FIVE YEARS AGO: The Little Apple

SIX YEARS AGO: Majestic Sedona

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Watermelon-induced Daze

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PIMP YOUR VEG, A GUEST POST!

Posted in Guest Posts, Veggies by

Today I have a very exciting post to share!  Do you know the blog Foodbod hosted by Elaine? Great site for vegetarian recipes with an upscale gourmet flair. I’ve been following her blog for a while, and I can tell you that pretty much everything she blogs about makes me dream about being a guest in her dining room. She lives far away from me, we have half a continent and a huge ocean separating us, but the fun thing of the food blog world is that we can have virtual events that join us. Recently Elaine started a series on her blog entitled “Pimp your veg.” Her goal is to come up with ways to make veggie dishes more interesting and fun, and she does that like nobody’s business! I was thrilled when she invited me to contribute with a post for this series using the spiralizer, which is one of my favorite gadgets these days.  So, if you’d like to see what I came up to pimp my veggies, stop by Foodbod, and…. ENJOY!

This is the spiralizer I love…. Paderno, 4 blades…

Cucumber Carrot Salad2

Elaine, I had a lot of fun composing the post for your blog!
Thank you so much for the invitation….

 

MY SECOND GUEST BLOG FEAST!

Posted in General, Pork by

A while ago I was invited to write a guest post over at Feastie, and I chose a sourdough bread for the occasion.  To my delight, I recently got a second invitation to do a guest feature.  My Mom has always told me that if you are invited twice to go to someone’s house, it must mean they like you, so I hope it works the same for food blogging!  😉  Jessica asked me to blog on any type of meat recipe.  We are meat lovers here, so that was not a problem.   But I don’t face any challenge without some hyperventilation (and a little drama), so my poor husband had to endure me walking in circles around the kitchen, talking to myself, talking to the dogs, trying to pick the perfect recipe. That odd behavior lasted for about a week. It can be unsettling after a while.  My Mom got it right twice:  I married a saint.

So, if you are wondering what all my hyperventilation led to, jump right over to Feastie and find out!  Two words for you: pork and spinach.  Three: feta. Four: delicious!