Eat Drink Man Woman

Hello Again,

At our last meeting Jenny suggested the movie "Eat Drink Man Woman." As you all know I Google almost everything we talk about. Here is a little clip of the movie. It looks like a really good story. Can you say movie night?!? :)

Addicted to Knives

I had a wonderful time with all of your last night. I am glad our secret Santa exchange allowed us to get to know each other little more.

After our discussion about Damascus knives, I thought it would be fun to check out Bob Kramer's website. I found a wonderful video and like Doug mentioned he can cut through rope, water bottles, and bolts with his knives. I would definitely take a peak at this video.

I am hoping that we will all love and adore My Life from Scratch. I am sorry about How to Cook a Dragon, but if you are still interested in Chinese cuisine I would highly recommend reading The Last Chinese Chef by Nicole Mones.

Hangzhou Dongpo Pork

Good Morning!

I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday! Book club is tomorrow and I have been prolonging the annoucement of our demonstration. I was hoping to build hype and suspense :)

Doug and I met last week to discuss our demonstration and we decided on Hangzhou dongpo Pork. Dongpo pork is a Haungzhou dish which is made by pan-frying and then red cooking pork belly. The pork is cut to around 2 inches square in dimensions, consisting of half fat and half lean meat.

According our dear friend Wikipedia, "Su Dongo was banished to Huangzhou, in a life of poverty, he made an improvement of the traditional process. He first braised the pork, added Chinese fermented wine and made red-braised pork, then slowly stewed it on a low heat. This dish was first launched in Huangzhou, then spread to Hangzhou, the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty, flourished, and then became one of Huangzhou's most famous dishes." Please keep in mind that Wikipedia is not always 100% accurate, but it was the best history I could find to offer you. I am sure Doug will offer additional insight and history for you. I personally got to sample some braised pork from Forza and it was truly mouthwatering. In addition to braised pork, Doug will be demonstrating stir-fry and how to fry cucumbers.

Also, please remember to bring your secret Santa gift. Thank you for everyone who was wiling to be involved.

Recipes!

Hello Again,

Teresa and Madison sent me two wonderful recipes that I think we all should try! Teresa's recipe is for Alabama sweet potatoes and Madison's recipe is nut Fudge. Enjoy!

ALABAMA SWEET POTATOES

1 lg. can of Bruce’s Canned yams – (open, drain and mash)

¾ cup melted butter

2/3 cup sugar

2 tsp vanilla

4 eggs beaten

½ cup milk

Mix well. Spread in 9X13 baking dish

Spread with the following topping before baking.

1-1/2 cup brown sugar

½ cup of flour

½ cup butter melted

1 to 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Mix well. Sprinkle on sweet potatoes and bake at 350 degrees

For 25 to 30 minutes – make sure they are bubbling.

Jacques Grandma's Nut fudge

1. In a heavy 2 quart saucepan mix 2 1/4 cups of sugar, 1/4 cup butter or margarine, 16 regular sized marshmallows, 1/4 teasp. salt and 1 cup evaporated milk. (not condensed)

2. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture boils and is bubbly all over top. Boil and stir over medium heat for 6 minutes more. Remove from heat.

3. Stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1 cup Nestles semi sweet chocolate morsels until melted. Stir in 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans. Spread in a buttered 8 x 8 inch square pan. Let cool. Cut when firm. (30 pieces)

Christmas=Food

Hello Everyone,

5 days until Christmas! Are slaving over the oven? If you have any pictures of your culinary masterpieces I would love to see them! Or if you have a favorite family recipe that you would like to share I would be thrilled to post it here. We could turn our blog into a holiday expose :) In fact, I am looking for the perfect holiday baking recipe...do you have any suggestions?

Secret Santa

Hello Everyone,

I have revealed your secret Santa to you! Check your e-mail :) We will be exchanging gifts at our December 29th meeting. Remember $10 is the limit and it doesn't have to be anything extravagant. If anything it should be super easy because we all love food :) If you have any questions about your secret Santa such as likes and dislikes, etc let me know :)

Blog That Will Make Your Mouth Water

Hi Again,

I missed blogging so I thought I would write another post for you right away. I visited Gesine Bullock-Prado blog today and oh man is it jam packaged with recipes! I am seriously glad I picked this book!

If you have a minute I would visit her Blog. She has another book coming out in April called Sugar Baby. Here is a link where you can preview parts of the book. Everything looks so delicious and beautiful!

Thanks for all of your quick replies about Secret Santa. It should be fun! No gag gifts! :)