Recipes

Mayonnaise Nuts

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Photo of plate of roasted almonds

 

This is an easy snack, just two cups of raw almonds, one tablespoon of mayonnaise, and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper. Put the nuts in a bowl, stir in the mayonnaise and pepper until they’re all well-coated, then spread them on a baking sheet, and bake at 350 degrees. When they begin to brown, and smell a little like french fries, they’re done.

 

Today’s story is about TV movies, back when the movie-of-the-week was a big deal.  

 

My sister Tracy and her friends were older, so they always had something they were into that came to me, the little sister trailing along, as sort of mysterious, since I was never there at the first discovery of it. Tracy was in middle school two years before I was, and in high school two years before I was.

So her gang knew this movie was going to be on TV, or they had all read that particular book. They were involved in Ohio University theater for a few years, as something like junior groupies. I don’t know who it was that opened the door for them; probably one of the sisters of her best friend from those days. One year the musical Carousel was a fascination, and the “older” man playing Billy Bigelow (a college student in his twenties) was a big crush. I think I saw him once (I picture him looking like Hugh Laurie with the hair of Art Garfunkel), but I don’t remember if I saw the show.

We were all singing “If I Loved You” and “What’s the Use of Wondering”, around the house.

A TV movie we were excited about seeing was called “A Howling in the Woods”. It aired in 1971, and starred Barbara Eden and Larry Hagman, also John Rubenstein, who I thought was very cute (look up his youthful pictures and you’ll agree), when he was in the TV show “Family”. I think, as to “Howling”, I never saw the whole thing, probably due to bedtime, but I remember the ads for this one, with Barbara Eden getting out of a car wearing a red hat, very glamorous.

“Brian’s Song”, also 1971, the football/cancer story starring Billy Dee Williams and James Caan. Truly a weeper, and we girls loved all the poignant things of the era, like the song “Honey” by Bobby Goldsboro, (1968), or “Seasons in the Sun”, Terry Jacks (1974).

And below, that famous theme music:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Simple Simple

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Yogurt Pie

 

Almost Good for You, and Much Lighter than Cheesecake

 

This pie is made with Greek zero-fat yogurt, and does a convincing cheesecake imitation.

You’ll need a 32oz container of yogurt. Make sure it’s the zero-fat kind. I use vanilla, which has some sweetening, and a little extra flavor. Next, get a large mixing bowl, and add two cups of confectioners sugar, plus one-half cup of cocoa. Sift these together well, then add the yogurt. The dry and wet ingredients should blend together smoothly.

Crack five eggs and scramble them; pour them into your bowl and stir thoroughly into the mix.

Use a deep dish pie plate, and pour the filling over any crust you prefer. I use almonds I grind in my blender, but Graham cracker or Oreo would do well too.

I put the oven at 350, and advise checking for the surface to show uniformly matte, as to doneness. This is basically a custard, so if a small part in the center looks shiny, turn off the oven anyway before the sides get over-baked, and the residual heat will finish it.

And that’s it! Cool on the counter, and refrigerate when the pie is close enough to room temperature that it won’t “weep” under plastic wrap.

 

 

 

 

 

More Sweet Stuff

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Chocolate Chunk Blondies

Chocolate Chunk Blondies recipe
See Recipes page

1/3 cup butter, melted                                                                

1/3 cup sour cream                                                                        

4 eggs                                                                                                  

1 tsp vanilla

2/3 cup white sugar

2/3 cup brown sugar

1 cup flour

1 cup walnuts ground into meal

24 pcs Hershey Nuggets

1 cup white chocolate chips

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

***

Instructions:

Mix butter, sour cream, eggs, vanilla, and sugar. 

Make walnut meal by coarsely grinding English walnuts in the blender.

Add flour, baking powder, salt and walnut meal.

Pulse Hershey nuggets to various size chunks about 4 or 5 times, processing a handful at a time.  Add to batter.

Add white chocolate chips. 

Butter and flour a 13 x 9 baking pan and spread batter into it.

Bake at 350 degrees.  Because ovens vary, begin checking for doneness at about 20 minutes.  When golden brown and when a toothpick comes cleanly out of the center, remove from oven.

Cookies for you

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Cocoa Walnut Cookies

1 ¾ cups confectioner’s sugar

2/3 cups butter, unsalted

Blend these together first, to the consistency of frosting

Add 2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

Blend until smoothly incorporated

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

½ cup cocoa

½ tsp salt

½ tsp baking soda

Blend all until the consistency is sticky, ingredients fully mixed

Add 1 cup walnut pieces

Refrigerate 15 minutes minimum

Roll chilled cookie dough into balls, roll balls in granulated sugar

Space about 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheet

Bake at 350 degrees, and watch for the tops to turn matte and split open

Remove from oven

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