I guess we're hosed on these gift certificates!....

Sad news on the doorstep.....

25 Center Street Restaurant closes

Record-Journal article about lost gift certificates here

Aaron's Toffee Crunch Grahams...

Ingredients:

12 whole graham crackers

1.5 cups butter (no substitutes; if you do, we will know and we'll have to kill you)

1 cup packed brown sugar (how come you dance so good, girl!)

2 cups sliced almonds/walnuts/pecans (your choice, but choose wisely, because the wrong choice could screw up the entire batch!)

Got 'em all? Okay, let's go!
Line a 10x15 pan with foil. Place graham crackers on foil. In saucepan, combine butter and brown sugar. Bring to boil, stirring constantly (if YOU are also stirring constantly, check for fleas). Pour over crackers on pan. Sprinkle with nuts. Bake at 400F for 5 minutes. Transfer to rack (nice rack, btw!) to cool completely. Voilà!!!

Per songfacts.com, regarding the Stones' Brown Sugar: Mick Jagger wrote the lyrics. They were inspired by Claudia Lennear, one of Ike Turner's backup singers (Ikettes) who he had an affair with. They met when The Stones toured with Turner in 1969.

Reet Says Cookies (for the family Christmas party)...

Strict orders from Mary: MAKE TWO DOZEN COOKIES!

So The Reet scratches around furiously to find two cookie recipes that are (1) fast/easy to make and (2) at least edible. She found the following that meet test number one, but we must wait for the latter results.

Meringue Rounds...

Ingredients:

2 egg whites

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon salt

12 oz chocolate baby bits

Beat egg whites in bowl (pause).

Just beat it, beat it
No one wants to be defeated
Showin' how funky and strong is your fight
It doesn't matter who's wrong or right
Just beat it, beat it (go ON wit yo funky self!)

Once recomposed, gradually add the sugar, Sugar. Beat 'til stiff (oh, grow UP!). Add vanilla, salt and baby bits. Dab small spoonfuls (perhaps lovin' spoonfuls) of batter onto cookie sheet. Pre-heat oven to 370 degrees. Place sheets in oven and turn oven off! Let cookies stay in oven for 5 hours/overnight (or forever, for all I care!).

Reet says remove from oven (oh, god, it's been so long I almost forgot these suckers were in there!), eat and enjoy. If you are adventurous (or you can't really spell all that great and think you're insanely clever), you can Salsa merengue dance while you eat the Meringue Rounds.

Lemon Squares (very pretty and the lemon flour is sweet, but the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat)...

Gather crust ingredients (while humming along to Peter, Paul & Mary):

1/2 cup butter/margarine

1/4 cup confectionery sugar

1 cup flour

Let's do this!
Mix butter/margarine, confectionery sugar and flour in a bowl (Reet suggests the Rose Bowl, the granddaddy of them all). Place mixture into 9-inch square pan. Do NOT grease pan! Oh, you already did? My bad, I should have told you earlier. Deal with it. Build up the pan (it's good for the pan's self-esteem). Bake at 325 degrees for 15 minutes.

While the crust is baking...
Assemble:

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

rind of one lemon

juice of one lemon

first offspring of one lemon (okay, okay, just kidding)

Hurry, we only have 15 minutes!
Beat all of the above in another bowl (you've already used the Rose, so I'd go for the prestigious Meineke Car Care Bowl) and then pour over crust. Put back into oven and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. (VERY IMPORTANT! Be CAREFUL not to let oven get to 360 degrees, because you will be right back where you started!)

You're done! Cut into squares, serve and volley.

Gimme six, loaded...

Many trips in the early 70's to this great spot from our first house in the west end of Cheshire. We were young 'n buffed; we are currently not young. Reet, wanna go to Blackie's for lunch, today?

Blackie's: A Hot Dog Stand To Relish by Robin Stansbury (Htfd Courant)

I'm not usually a fan of hot dogs, consuming perhaps one a year at a Fourth of July barbecue or Rock Cats baseball game. At least, that was true until my husband introduced me to Blackie's Hot Dog Stand, a funky and fabulous restaurant in Cheshire. Everything works right with these dogs, from the soft buns, the split-top cooking of the Hummel Brothers hot dogs and, of course, that magical spicy relish doled out with a plastic spoon.

The look: It's a hot dog stand (a slightly misleading label because the restaurant has two small octagon-shaped dining rooms), so it doesn't get fancy here. Clearly, Blackie's, which was founded in 1928, isn't a secret, as the crowded parking lot during our lunch visit revealed. Maybe that's why Blackie's went through an extensive renovation last year when — gasp — the eatery was closed for seven weeks to expand the kitchen and storage areas. But the remodeling didn't alter the look of the interior of the two wood-paneled dining rooms or the long counter and stools. Ketchup, mustard and relish is serve-yourself.

The vibe: No fuss. Blackie's is a place where construction workers sit side-by-side with folks in suits, kids and grandparents. On a warm day, the two garage-style doors open to let in the breeze. The food is served on paper plates, or in a box to go.

The eats: It's all basic food at Blackie's. Besides hot dogs, hamburgers and cheeseburgers are also on the menu, but we didn't hear any orders for burgers during our visit. The dogs are so popular that most who were ordering at the counter didn't even use the word "hot dog," instead just calling out the desired number.
"Three."
"Five."
And — this was true during our visit — "Eighteen."
There are no fancy toppings like chili or sauerkraut, only the divine spicy relish, which the owners say is a family secret. The relish is made of peppers, not pickles, but that is as much as the owners will reveal. You can add a drink and a bag of chips to your order, but why bother? Just order another hot dog, instead.

The prices: Dirt cheap. The dogs are $1.75. Hamburgers cost $2, and a small soda is $1. Our party of five ate a giant lunch for just more than $20.

The verdict: Dog-gone good. - blackieshotdogs.com

I'll have 27 bottles of the Romanee Conti...

Put it on my tab:

12 bottles of 1978

two bottles of the 1961, 1966, 1996 and 2003

single bottles of the 1981, 1990, 1992, 1995, 1999, 2001 and 2002

The tab, you ask? $500,000

Record $500,000 paid for 27 bottles of red wine (Reuters)

While the global credit crunch has forced many consumers to rein in spending, one Beijing-based billionaire has splashed out a record $500,000 on 27 bottles of red wine, London-based Antique Wine Company said on Saturday. The anonymous Chinese entrepreneur bought a mix of vintages of Romanee Conti, a Burgundy wine and considered to be among the world's most exclusive with only 450 cases produced each year. - complete article