Sally Walker's holiday beef tenderloin...

Ingredients:

• 6-8 lb whole tenderloin
• 2 lb mushrooms
• butter
• burgundy wine

Prepare:

• sprinkle with rosemary; rub garlic on top of roast
• tuck narrow end under (the roast's, not yours); remove connective tissue (fat)
• place tenderloin on wire rack in large roasting pan and stick a meat thermometer into the thickest part.
• roast at 450 degrees for about 45 minutes or to 140 degrees on the thermometer
• take out of oven and pour 1 cup (or more) burgundy wine over beef to make drippings
• slice into 1/2 inch thick portions
• saute' 2 lbs or more mushrooms in 1/2 cup butter; arrange around meat on festive platter and serve the starving masses. ENJOY!

important note: check meat sooner if you like it rare (we like it medium-rare) and don't forget that the roast will continue to cook for 10 minutes after you take it out; also, sometimes I have turned the oven down a bit towards the end.

Suggested music: Try a Little Tenderness by Otis Redding - (oh, she may be weary, young girls they do get weary, wearing that same old funky dress): 

Broccoli Casserole Side Dish (from the Evelyn McGowan Collection)

Ingredients (yeah, you gotz ta go get this stuff first):
3 bags of chopped broccoli  (while chuckling, thinking of Dana Carver's "Choppin' Broccoli" skit)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup milk
4 oz cheddar cheese
1 cup Helman's mayonaisse (like a Bat Out of Helman's)

Prepare (pre-game is over, it's crunch time!  YOU CAN DO THIS! ( always look on the bright side of life!):
butter up the baking dish (tell it it's the best looking baking dish ever!)
mix/melt the mushroom soup; then, mix in all other ingredients
top with toasted bread crumbs
bake (the casserole) in oven @ 350 degrees for 45 minutes

Done! Seriously, how easy was that!  Grab a Dos Equis, you were fantastic!

Serve as side dish (double/triple recipe if nothing else served).

Suggested music: Black Broccoli by Godzik Pink

Irene Flynn's American Goulash...

Special request of Andy McGowan

Ingredients:

2 lbs. ground beef
peppers/onions in quantities of your taste
2 large cans of tomato soup
1 large can of whole tomatos
1 lb. of elbow macaroni
salt/pepa

Prepare:

• brown beef in skillet; set aside
•  saute onions/peppers in butter; set aside
• cook macaroni
• add 1/2 can water per can of tomato soup; warm mixture
• drain elbows and put into large pan
• mix in beef, peppers onions; slice whole tomatos into mix
• pour soup over top
• bake in oven @ 350 degrees for 1/2 hour

Pour a cold beer or a cheap chianti and dive in! 

Suggested music: American Woman by Guess Who (unless you prefer the updated Lenny Kravitz version)

 

Whew, George the Lobster, that was a close one!...

NYC eatery grants freedom to lobster centenarian (AP)

NEW YORK – A 140-year-old lobster once destined for a dinner plate received the gift of life Friday from a Park Avenue seafood restaurant. George, the 20-pound supercentenarian crustacean, was freed by City Crab and Seafood in New York City. "We applaud the folks at City Crab and Seafood for their compassionate decision to allow this noble old-timer to live out his days in freedom and peace," said Ingrid E. Newkirk, president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

PETA spokesman Michael McGraw said the group asked City Crab to return George to the Atlantic Ocean after a diner saw him at the restaurant, where steamed Maine lobster sells for $27 per pound. George had been caught off Newfoundland, Canada and lived in the tank for about 10 days before his release. Some scientists estimate lobsters can live to be more than 100 years old. PETA and the restaurant guessed George's age at about 140, using a rule of thumb based on the creature's weight. He was to be released Saturday near Kennebunkport, Maine, in an area where lobster trapping is forbidden.

Tribute to George:

Sharon Mirisola's Chicken 'N Rice 'N Broccoli

Ingredients:

2 boxes frozen chopped broccoli

2 cups Success Rice (I guess Minute Rice doesn't make it!)

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 stick butter or margarine

1 16 oz jar Cheez Whiz

1 can Durkee fried onions

2 cups of of cooked chicken (cubed)

Prepare:

cook/strain broccoli

cook rice (not sure how long?)

mix cheez whiz, soup & softened butter (using a mixer)

add cooked chicken, broccoli and rice, mix with a spoon

bake mixture in oven @ 350 degrees

top with the fried onions and bake additional 15 minutes

Spicy Garden Pasta from Rozella Bogasian

Ingredients:
1 lb. penne or pasta
4 ripe plum tomatos (approx 3/4 lb.) cut into half-inch dice (go for snake eyes)
1/3 cup virgin olive oil (discuss definition of virgin)
1/4 cup of chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 teaspoons of chopped mint
1/4 cup of basil, cut in chiffonade
1 clove of minced garlic (1 teaspoon)
1 teaspoon of capers
1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper
1/4 cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese
salt to taste

Prepare:
Boil water to cook pasta; when boiling, add salt to water and cook pasta according to package directions
Dice tomatos and place in a large, heat-resistant bowl.
Add oil, herbs, capers, peppers and garlic. Stir to combine.
Drain pasta when cooked and add to bowl of ingredients. Stir to combine.
Add the cheese and mix thoroughly.
May be served warm or cold.

Suggested music - For this refreshing dish, grab a nice vino and listen to The Manhattan Transfer's Vocalese, a wonderful tribute to Jon Hendricks.

Alligator Sauce Piquante by Michael Gowland

Preparation Time 1-1/2 hours
Serves 8

2 lbs farm-raised alligator tail meat, cleaned
(ed. note: I may be talking out of school here, but once you've wrestled (rassled) and killed the alligator, isn't the rest kinda anti-climactic? Or maybe it's just me. Proceed......)
3-5 t blackened seasoning blend
4 oz butter
2 cups onion, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
2 t garlic, chopped
2 T Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 t dried basil
1/2 dried oregano
1/2 dried thyme
1 T crushed red pepper
5 t Blackened seasoning blend
1 bay leaf
1 t brown sugar
6 oz beer
1 can tomato sauce
6 oz mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup green onions, thinly sliced
1 T corn starch dissolved in a little cold water (optional)

Place a dry cast iron skillet on high heat. Season the cleaned alligator with blackened seasoning and sear on both sides in the very hot iron skillet. You may also prepare the meat on a barbecue grill. When the meat is cool, cut into cubes.

In a 6-qt Dutch oven, melt the butter and sauté the onions, celery, bell pepper and garlic over medium high heat. Add the dry seasonings, Worchester sauce, brown sugar and stir. Add the beer and bring to a boil. Add the tomato sauce and turn down to a simmer for 10 minutes. Add the cubed alligator meat and cook for an additional 40 minutes. Taste to correct the seasonings, add the corn starch slurry (add slowly, stirring constantly to avoid lumps) if needed to thicken the sauce and finish by adding the green onions.

Serve with white rice. Enjoy.

Suggested music: Dr. John from his Gris Gris album would compliment this nicely.

Final comment: It is rumored that deep in the Everglades there exists a comparable recipe for "Unsuspecting Sunbather Sauce Piquante" by Wallace Gator

Super Bowl meatballs in beer sauce

Sauce ingredients:

12 oz Teresa (pronounced Terrraaaaza) Heinz Kerry ketchup (it's a tad bitter)

12 oz chili sauce

12 oz beer (flat, perhaps your favorite right out of the can)

Meatballs ingredients:

3 lb ground beef

1 small onion, chopped and sautied

2 eggs (over easy, wheat toast with little jam thingies, home fries, coffee)

3 slices of bread, soaked in beer

salt 'n pepa
My man is smooth like Barry, and his voice got bass
A body like Arnold with a Denzel face

Prepare:

mix meatball ingredients; roll into bite-size pieces (no jokes, ladies)

bake for 20 minutes, drain

combine sauce ingredients and add meatballs; simmer (if YOU are simmering at this point because significant other is a lazy bastard/bitch, take a deep breath and a sip of that flat beer)

Reet Sez: I use my crockpot to simmer all for several hours. Do not hesitate to use any meatball recipe or prepared meatballs. This can be made ahead and reheated; LEFTOVERS MAKE GREAT MEATBALL GRINDERS!!!

Suggested music: your favorite team's fight song or be groovin' about the kitchen to Whatta Man by Salt 'N Pepa

a great marinating sauce

From the archives of my sister, Evelyn McGowan

Ingredients:

2 packages onion soup mix

8 tablespoons sugar

2 cups ketchup

1 cup vinegar

1 cup oil

4 teaspoons dry mustard

2 cups water

salt/pepper

Prepare:

bring mixture to a boil, then let cool before marinating meat

marinate overnight (or time equivalent thereof)

Suggested music: Soul Sauce by Cal Tjader

penne pasta with broccoli

Recipe compliments of Kathy LaBella

Ingredients:

1 box penne pasta

1/4 cup margarine

1/4 cup flour

2 cups milk

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1/2 cup swiss cheese

1/2 tablespoon salt

1/2 tablespoon garlic powder

3 cups cooked broccoli

Prepare:

cook pasta and drain

melt margarine; stir in flour; add milk, stirring constantly until mixture thickens

stir in 1/8 teaspoon of thyme

stir in 1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg

add salt, garlic powder, pour over pasta, sprinkle both cheeses on top

bake @ 375 degrees for 15 minutes (mine took a little longer)

Serve with a nice loaf and enjoy!

Suggested music: Pennies From Heaven (Kathy suggests the tasty Dinah Washington version)