Ginger Gin & Tonics and Blood Orange Margaritas

I spent Christmas morning eating bacon, eggs, & cream cheese butter braid, watching Julie & Julia (a gift from Jerad), drinking bloody marys, and watching it snow. Big, fluffy flakes floating around. Not a bad way to spend a holiday.

For the love of cooking; Or, why schools need home economics classes

Today was the last day of school for the semester. And, I ended on a high note.

My College English class finished with a unit on food. We watched Food, Inc. (if you haven't seen it yet, go rent it NOW) and wrote response essays, arguing one of the questions the film presents. Before the movie, I asked students to briefly research one of the topics mentioned in the film (things like Monsanto, processed food, E. Coli, etc.) and present their findings to the class. They had a bit of difficulty understanding what processed foods were, so the next day I brought in a bunch of food packages. We discussed whether or not they considered each item "healthy," then we looked at the ingredients in each. We also talked about foods they typically eat, what they're made of, and how good they are (or are not) for you.

Ginger Oatmeal Rum Raisin Cookies

We had our HuLuBu (Humanities Lunch Bunch) holiday party today. Everyone brought food and an ornament for our gift exchange. I tried to find the gaudiest, tackiest ornament I could. Of course, I had quite a selection to choose from at Target. At first, I was going to get this huge lime green ball with hot pink glitter. I finally chose an owl made from nuts. (Ironically, someone else chose that same one to give away!) But, since there were so many tacky ornaments to choose from, I ended up buying one for each person...specifically chosen to match their personality.

Cookie Dough Brownies

When I was teaching in Highland, the teachers on my team would get together once a month or so to socialize outside of school. We'd take turns hosting, and everyone would bring something to eat. Susie, the other English teacher on my team, was notorious for her sweet teeth. The huge bag of chocolate chips (we're talking bulk-sized) that she kept in her freezer to snack on was often a topic of conversation. Surprisingly, she remains one of the thinnest people I know!

Susie would almost always make cookie dough brownies--brownies topped with gooey cookie dough & a layer of melted chocolate--and everyone loved them. Here's her recipe:

Cookie Dough Brownies

1 pan of brownies, baked & cooled

• Use your favorite brownie recipe (or boxed brownies).
• Use a 9x13 pan, or if you want thicker brownies use an 8x8 pan.

For the cookie dough:
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
6 tablespoons milk
2 cups all-purpose flour

• With a stand mixer (paddle attachment), cream the butter & sugars together until well-blended.
• Add the extract & milk, blend until incorporated.
• Slowly add in the flour & stir until combined. Spread on top of the cooled brownies.

For the chocolate topping:
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tablespoon unsalted butter (or vegetable shortening)

• Melt the chocolate with the butter in a double-boiler (or in the microwave).
• Pour over the cookie dough. Let cool to set before serving.

Tuesdays with Dorie: Cafe Volcano Cookies

MacDuff of Lonely Sidecar chose this week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe: Cafe Volcano Cookies.

Basically, these are espresso nut meringues. They are super easy to make...heat sugar, egg whites, espresso powder, & toasted nuts in a saucepan. Scoop by the teaspoon onto a silicone-lined cookie sheet. Bake. Done.

Dorie's recipe calls for almonds & walnuts, but I just used all walnut chips.

Here's what they look like:

Dorie calls them "higgely piggely shaped."