Monday, September 30, 2013

Gone to the Big Bruno Sand Dune in the Sky

Who knew that today would be his last?
We got kitty over 10 years ago and named him after a state park in Idaho.
He was already about 7 years old and a little tubby.
So mellow and easy going. You could pile anything on him.
Great with little kids.
And Westies.
And Scotties.
He loved the sun (but really--who doesn't?).
And hot concrete.
Hanging with a posse
can get you into trouble.
He liked snow.
There's nothing cuter than kitty paws.
Sweet dreams kitty!

Sunday, September 22, 2013

Todd Wilbur's Top Secret Restaurant Recipes: I Thai-ed to Get It Right

Our 800 mile round trip pilgrimages to IKEA in Schaumburg in the late 90s always included a stop at California Pizza Kitchen. Here's my mom and my daughter there in the year 2000.
My favorite pizza to get there was Thai Chicken Pizza. It contains every element of eating: salty, sweet, crunchy, soft, sticky, hot, fresh, etc. Without a CPK in Minnesota, how could I duplicate that at home? Todd Wilbur to the rescue. Oprah had done a segment on him and I bought his new cookbook.
It contained many of my favorites.
Todd illustrated the book himself in a drafting-like style.
I've only made this pizza recipe twice. 
I heard people say they either love or hate cilantro. Looks like I'm a convert.
I gave it another try in 2012. Marinate AND saute chicken AND make a sweet sauce.
You could just stop there and eat the chicken. Tasty!
Clean and chop the many toppings. I used the As Seen On TV's quick chop for the peanuts.
I used two kinds of cheese for the topping.
You'll kneed dough also. Ha ha. I purchased fresh dough from the Wedge Co-op's deli.
Turned out some of us liked it and some didn't. Was it worth it? Not really, when you consider time and expense. Just go have it at the restaurant. Well, not so fast. We just learned the last remaining CPK in Minnesota is closing today.

PS Wondering why the recipe is not on my blog? I respect copyrights. Be a grown up and pay for the  book. Support the author and the publishing industry.

PPS  Wondering what the secret ingredient to Olive Garden's Salad Dressing is? Pectin. Another tip? You can buy dressing at the grocery store.




Thursday, September 12, 2013

Seaside Sadness

Scenes from Seaside Heights, New Jersey last summer.

 

It got destroyed by water, but it seemed to be back in business.
They say the fire started at Kohr's. 

Hope it didn't get this:
From the reality TV show.

Yes, what happens at Sally's stays at Aunt Sally's.

This happy photo seems kind of out of place.