I Love You Recipes

Magic Fuzzy Pink takes the Fuzzy Navel cocktail to the next level. It’s smooth, tart, sweet and very pretty. High quality pink grapefruit juice is the secret to perfecting the flavor and texture.

1 ounce peach schnapps
1 ounce triple filtered vodka
Pink grapefruit juice, “not from concentrate” is best

Fill a hurricane glass or Collins glass with ice cubes. Add the vodka and peach schnapps to the glass, fill nearly to the top with the pink grapefruit juice. Stir lightly and splash the top with peach schnapps to finish.

Tip: it makes sense to use inexpensive vodka when it’s used to mix drinks. The secret to using inexpensive vodka is to use a brand that is triple filtered. Triple filtered vodka is smoother on the palate and a little easier on the head if celebrating is cause for discomfort.

*Magic: this recipe is exclusive to I Love You Recipes. It is from my personal, unpublished collection.

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The munchies came to the house the other night. I was watching reruns of Frazier when they slipped in and took my brain. So I drove to Portland to Voodoo Doughnuts, which is located not just in downtown Portland but in the crotch of Portland’s downtown.

Anthony Bourdain, host of The Travel Channel’s NO RESERVATIONS food show, was introduced to Voodoo Doughnuts via an episode on Pacific Northwest eateries. The camera shows him trying not to wince when handed a maple log doughnut topped with a slab of bacon. The following shot shows him the next afternoon during the only time Voodoo used to close. He’s all but on his knees on the sidewalk, licking the glass in the front door and whining for someone to open up so he can have another, PLEASE SIR. A sad picture of a talented and intelligent man, and proof of the truth in advertising of this place’s name.

Anyway, I just had stepped to the counter when a fat man burst in, eyes wild, lips moist with need. “Please…please, I know what I want and I have to catch a bus! God help me, but I do know to the crumb what I want. Please let me ahead of you so I can catch a bus!” Wisely, I stepped aside. “One Dirty Bastard, One Grape Ape, two Dirty Snowballs, two Cock And Balls….” The names of the confections cracked the air like gunshots, until the girl with the tattoos and blue hair behind the counter became a blur. And then it ended as quickly as it had begun, and he was gone…a burly mass of wild hair and spotted raincoat, two pink cardboard boxes of obscenities clutched tightly to his bosom, bounding for a bus.

I scored a box of munchy killers and left the girl a nice tip, hopefully lessening her travails in a night which, for her, barely had begun.

Beef stew is a great way to use thrifty cuts of meat. Rich with carrots, onions and potatoes, delicious beef stew is simple and easy to prepare.

1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
2 pounds beef, cut into 1 – 1-1/2″ pieces
4 tablespoons shortening (not oil)
5 – 6 cups beef broth
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 large onion, sliced
3 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
4 medium carrots, scrubbed and cut into 2″ pieces
12 small white onions, peeled and trimmed
8 – 10 small potatoes, scrubbed

Mix the flour, salt and pepper. Place 3 tablespoons aside in a small cup. Coat 10 – 15 cubes of the beef in the flour. Melt the shortening in a Dutch oven or large heavy pot over high heat. Lightly shake the excess flour from the beef cubes and brown all sides in the hot shortening. Remove the browned meat; set aside. Brown the remaining beef in batches until all the beef is richly browned.

When the last batch of beef is browned, return all beef to the pot. Add the sliced onions to the pot, stir to coat and add 4 cups of the stock to the pot. Stand back from the pot a bit as the first bit of liquid may sputter as it hits the pot. Give the beef a good stir, and be sure to scrape any bits from the bottom of the pot as you stir. Add the lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, onion, bay leaves and allspice.

Reduce heat to simmer. Stir 1/2 cup of the remaining broth into the 1/4 cup of reserved flour, stir the mixture into the simmering beef along with the remaining broth. Stir for 1 – 2 minutes to avoid lumping. Cover the pot with a tight fitting lid and allow to summer for 1-1/2 – 2 hours, until the beef is very tender.

Add the carrots, onions and potatoes to the pot and cook for 20 – 25 minutes, until vegetables are fork tender. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.

Serve in a warmed bowl with crusty bread to soak up the gravy.

Yield: 4 – 6 servings.

*Magic: this recipe is exclusive to I Love You Recipes. It is from my personal, unpublished collection.

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I encourage everyone to master fresh Hollandaise sauce. It truly is a treat, and one of the quickest ways to take a meal from mundane to sublime.

3 egg yolks
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup butter, melted (no substitutions)
2 tablespoons hot water
1/8 – 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
Salt

The secret to the sauce is to give it 100% of your attention once you’ve started preparation, which only takes about five minutes. You want to have your table set, and side dishes and meat prepared. If cooked eggs are part of the meal, start cooking them when you start your sauce. Keep a close eye on them and remove from heat if they finish ahead of the sauce. Chances are, once you’ve cooked Hollandaise a couple of times, you’ll be able to time the eggs and the sauce to finish at almost the same moment.

Gather your ingredients and utensils to within arm’s length. Prepare a double boiler so the water is very hot, on the verge of simmering. Melt the butter and add the lemon juice. Place the egg yolks over the water and whisk until they’re smooth and warm. In a slow stream, add the lemon and butter to the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Slowly whisk in 1/8 teaspoon of the cayenne, salt and hot water. Taste the sauce and adjust the cayenne. If you like a deeper lemon flavor, now is the time to add another splash of lemon juice. Switch to a rubber spatula and continue mixing and cooking for about a minute.

Fresh Hollandaise sauce is best served immediately, since it requires constant attention to maintain consistency. It changes dramatically as it cools, so be sure your guests are seated by the time you add lemon and butter to the sauce.

Tip: I love multi-use kitchen equipment and I don’t have a traditional double boiler. Instead, I use one of my large metal mixing bowls and a saucepan to get the job done.

*Magic: this recipe is exclusive to I Love You Recipes. It is from my personal, unpublished collection.

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Totally decadent and truly tasty, everyone should experience a Mimosa at breakfast once in their lives.

I like to use a champagne flute or a Collins glass for presentation.

You’ll need:
Champagne, inexpensive stuff is fine
Orange juice, freshly squeezed is best, a carton of “not from concentrate” is my second choice
Triple Sec
Ice, optional

If you want to use ice, fill the glasses 3/4 full with ice. Add champagne until the glass is 3/4 full. Splash the champagne with Triple Sec and finish by filling the glass with orange juice.

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