Labor Day, Football Tailgating: Check Out Some New Drinks, Appetizer Cheesy Zucchini No-Fry Fries with Smoked Paprika Dip Sauce

Photo:  Matthew Mead/AP

From Denny:  Ready to try something new for the Labor Day weekend and tailgating season?  Audition it on Labor Day and check out your reviews, and, if all goes well, you have some winners for the tailgating season.  I know.  I know.  The conventional wisdom is that you are not supposed to audition something new on your guests but my crowd likes to review.  Come on; put a little risk into your life!  

I usually cook up standards I know most people enjoy and then introduce a couple of new things for review and comment.  It's a conversation starter and since my friends tend to be as opinionated as myself, well, they enjoy weighing in.  They even make suggestions to kick it up, tone it down or variations that I might not have considered.  Since I value their input it's all done in good fun.  For my guests to take home I also make copies of the new recipes with space for them to make notes while we discuss the food.
 
The first two drinks up for consideration are old standards with new twists:  a Planter's Punch and a Bloody Mary.  The new twist for the Planter's Punch is that it has some added Camus Cognac with the apple cider, apple juice and pineapple juice.  The new twist for the Bloody Mary is the addition of Lucid Absinthe with the spicy bloody mary mix, worchestershire sauce, horseradish, black pepper, celery salt and garlic salt.  These two drinks come from  Niccole Trzaska at The Liberty Bar in New York City.

This appetizer recipe is from Chef Sara Moulton, one of the busiest TV chefs.  Check out this link to her site for online cooking classes, links to her TV shows and awesome easy recipes.  Sara has enjoyed a long career:  a 25-year stint at Gourmet magazine (which had a run from 1941 - 2009), hosted several Food Network shows for a decade, hosts public TV's "Sara's Weeknight Meals" and has written three cookbooks, one of which is "Sara Moulton's Everyday Family Dinners."  Whew! All while raising her own family.  It's no wonder she specializes in quick and easy food.

Sara developed this tasty zucchini fries recipe as a way to use up all those crazy zucchini multiplying in your garden and on the grocer's shelves at the end of summer.  Sara says, "What if I told you there's a way to transform the whole lot of them [zucchini] into a delicious dish resembling french fries, but without all the calories?"  Well, she has my attention.  How about you?  Sara continues, "The secret involves cutting your zucchini into fry-like sticks, then cooking them in a way that delivers that signature crunch but without the deep-frying."

To get that toasted taste and golden color for the breaded zucchini without deep frying, you start by toasting up some panko breadcrumbs in a dry skillet.  Sara also advises to pay attention to which cheese grater you use:  a fine wand-style grater has two-thirds more volume than if you grate the cheese on the fine side of a box grater.  Sara used a wand-style cheese grater that produced 5 Tablespoons of grated cheese in this recipe.  If you use the box grater you will only need 1 1/2 to 2 Tablespoons of grated cheese.  Who knew?

The usual basic breading technique is employed to get the crumb mixture glued to the zucchini sticks:  dip first in flour, then the beaten egg, then the breadcrumbs.  Sara advises that if you skip the flour then the crumbs have a tendency to fall off.  Stick to the recipe and don't deviate on this step.

For entertaining this recipe is a good one because you can stop at the breading stage an hour ahead of time, parking the breaded zucchini on a cookie cooling rack just before dinner or when you want to serve at the party.  The cooling rack keeps air circulating around the zucchini sticks so they don't get soggy.  When you are ready to bake, transfer the zucchini sticks to a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 8 minutes.

The dipping sauce is a kicked up aioli, a garlic mayonnaise.  Sara added extra lemon juice to cut the sweetness of the commercial mayonnaise and some smoked paprika.  Who doesn't love smoked paprika?  It's definitely a standard at our house.  I can get downright cranky if my local grocer is found to have an empty space on that spice shelf.  Of course, the remedy I've used many times, as I am not one to be denied - is to buy regular paprika and mix it in with what's left of the smoked paprika.  It doesn't take but a couple of days for the small amount of smoked paprika to influence and infuse the regular paprika for a lighter smoked taste.  It's also a way to cut the price of smoked paprika if you are on a budget but still want to enjoy.

So, check out some new cocktails for entertaining and a new appetizer twist on the humble but plentiful zucchini!  Be sure to check at the end of the post for links to more recipe posts...

Louisiana Seafood Reusable Shopping Bag

Check out awesome Louisiana eating: oysters, shrimp, crawfish, gumbo, jambalaya

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Super Simple Breakfast: Texas Hash, Sausage and Egg Casserole, More Casserole Links

Photo: Sausage Egg Casserole from AllRecipes.com

From Denny:  Going to the beach for Labor Day?  Company coming and you are wondering what is easy to cook up for a hungry crowd?  Here are a couple of easy recipes for breakfast any time of the day.  They are also the kind of flexible recipes that you can add some of your favorite ingredients or seasonings to your taste.

Texas Hash is so simple for breakfast, lunch or a quick dinner.  It's a great recipe for using up pre-cooked rice.  This recipe calls for cooking the rice ahead of time.  If you are going to the beach you could easily pre-cook the rice, package it up to make the dish later so it would not take long to complete the cooking.  This Texas Hash is made with ground beef instead of the traditional leftover roast beef or chuck roast which is also quite tasty.

Just brown up the ground beef - how about ground sirloin for extra awesome flavor? - add a chopped onion to saute.  This recipe calls for browning the onion which I'm no fan of because it tends to give off a really strong burned taste to the dish.  It's better to first brown the meat, turn down the heat and then slower saute the onion until soft and sweet.

Add the can of diced tomato - or take the time to add diced fresh beefsteak tomato.  Season with a packet of taco seasoning.  Of course, I would add extra garlic powder, smoked paprika, cumin and some dried ginger to taste.  We like a lot of spices in this part of the South.  Serve with loads of shredded cheddar cheese or your favorite cheese like maybe some Parmesan or Romano or Asiago or Monterey Jack or even fresh Mexican cheese.

The Sausage and Egg Casserole is a safe bet for company visits when everyone is a bit tired from the trip.  You can make this ahead of their arrival and bake the next morning.  How simple and effortless is that? ...

Funny Dont Bug Me Coffee Travel Mug

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Summer Food: Raspberry Almond Cheesecake Tartlets

       Photo by Helana Brigman

From Denny:  Do you enjoy cheesecake but want an easier way to make it?  Then this recipe is for you.  I like cheesecake too but find it too large for just two of us to eat and too time consuming to make unless I plan on entertaining a hungry crowd.  

A springform pan is an absolute must to make a proper cheesecake - and the patience of a saint to leave the oven door cracked open as it slowly cools down for hours so you can hopefully avoid it cracking straight down the middle like an ugly scar.  Usually, I've been pretty lucky over the years.  Of course, when I wasn't lucky it was evident that a wonderful fruit topping like blueberry or strawberry could hide a multitude of sins just like gravy on a screwed up dinner. :)

Well, this recipe from food writer Helana Brigman is for the cheesecake challenged and the impatient.  You make this cheesecake in mini tartlets pans that are individual portions in just bite sized pieces rather than a huge honking slice of 6,000 calories like you get served at the Cheesecake Bistro.

What's involved in this recipe is to first make a simple graham cracker crust you crush up in your food processor or blender.  If you don't have that available then resort to the manual method of crushing graham crackers between two pieces of waxed paper using a pastry rolling pin.  

If you are really desperate just use a heavy jar of applesauce or canned "something" to roll over the waxed paper.  Yes, I have been wildly creative over the years, especially when the weather was too yucky to run out and get an ingredient that was missing or the electricity went out.  During hurricanes it's easy to get bored so you start working on what you can for a meal until the electricity comes back on to finish it.

The cheese filling could not be simpler:  cream cheese, vanilla, sugar and lemon zest.

The fruit glaze is made with fresh ripe strawberries, sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice that you heat up in a nonstick pan.  If you don't like nonstick pans like I don't then use a double boiler.  Just place medium high heated water in bottom pot that is turned down to a slow simmer and place a smaller pot or even a pasta bowl on top to heat your ingredients.  Just be careful as you remove the cooked fruit glaze from the bottom pot because the steam can burn you.

Assemble by lightly spraying your tartlet pans with oil or rub with a little soft butter.  Press the crushed graham cracker crumb mixture until you line the sides well.  Bake the crust.  Make your cheese filling and spread over the cooled crusts.  Make your fruit glaze, cool it, and then spread onto the tartlets.  There will be leftover fruit glaze you can enjoy on your pancakes or ice cream.  Rinse your raspberries and arrange in the center of the tartlets with sprinkles of sliced almonds all along the outside edges in a ring.

Now contain yourself and any sticky fingers in the house!  Chill the assembled tartlets for three hours before serving.  If you plan to keep them overnight - or if they survive that long at your house - then be sure to cover with plastic wrap to prevent them from losing moisture or absorbing any possible refrigerator odors.

Yes, you can enjoy making cheesecake at home with this easy recipe!  Try it with different fruits like blueberry or peaches...

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Keep Calm Really? Queen Duvet

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Breakfast: Easy Simple French Toast Casserole

        The Advocate photo: HEATHER MCCLELLAND 

From Denny:  Whether it's the holidays, a busy summer when the kids are out of school or company came to visit, we all need something fast and simple to put together that's a crowd pleaser.  This simple easy to assemble breakfast casserole fits that bill!

All the ingredients required are a loaf of good French bread, a full 8 ounces of your favorite brand of cream cheese, milk, maple syrup, butter, sugar and eggs.  Add fresh fruit to serve and it's that easy!

Usually when a recipe calls for sugar I often substitute agave syrup or brown rice syrup or even molasses.  If you don't like or can enjoy cow's milk why not substitute almond milk?  When butter is in a recipe I choose to clarify it just because we love the extra boost of flavor at our house from browning and filtering out the milk solids - as well as the added health benefits.  You could use margarine in this recipe as a substitute too.  And, to gild the lily, why not add a few shakes of nutmeg and/or cinnamon, some chopped pecans or walnuts before baking?  Yeah, Flavor Town is the name at our house...

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Sports Blue Soccer Woven Throw Pillow

A blue abstract background with bold lettering declaring your love of the sport from Louisiana artist Denny Lyon.  Available on other products too!

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Summer Food: Blueberry Yum Yum Cake Says It All

From Denny:  This sheet pan cake of creamy goodness only requires two cups of fresh blueberries.  First you make a simple syrup of water and sugar, add cornstarch to thicken, then add the blueberries.  Set the blueberry topping aside to cool while you create the crust.

The crust is a yummy combination of finely chopped pecans, butter and flour that you pat into the sheet pan and bake for about 10 to 20 minutes to make your tasty crust.  Set aside to cool.

To make your filling you combine the cream cheese and powdered sugar together and when that is well combined you add in the whipped topping, pouring it into the cooled crust.

After the blueberry topping has cooled then pour over the cream cheese-powdered sugar-whipping topping mixture.  Now set the sheet pan of blueberry goodness into the fridge to chill well.  Serve to screams of total delight!

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Summer Food: Cream Cheese Pastry Blueberry-Apple Cobbler and Traditional Blueberry Cobbler

        The Advocate photo: HEATHER MCCLELLAND 

From Denny:  Blueberries.  The awesome blue food we all love.  So, I went hunting for something interesting in the cobbler department for us this week.  The first recipe is from our local newspaper, a blueberry cobbler made with a cream cheese pastry and a filling that consists of a combination of blueberries, apple and lemon.  A cream cheese pastry always tastes great with a fruit filling, especially blueberries!  It's a simple and straightforward pastry recipe with flour, salt and butter but also with cream cheese and a bit of orange juice added to the pastry to spike up the flavor.

The filling calls for fresh blueberries, an apple and lemon juice and lemon zest.  While this recipe calls for sugar I often substitute brown rice syrup or agave syrup in its place for a lower glycemic index than refined white sugar.  Try it half sugar and half agave as an idea, whatever you like at your house, just try experimenting until you find that sweet spot Goldilocks zone for your taste buds!

The second recipe is a traditional blueberry cobbler made in a 9-inch square baking pan like you do for brownies and is from a local Louisiana blueberry grower.  When a recipe calls for margarine, well, I'm no fan of margarine, so I use clarified butter.  If you don't have the time to make your own clarified butter it's now available in grocery stores as I saw a jar in Trader Joe's just last week.

Also note that I use "Tablespoon" and "teaspoon" as an easier read so you don't get confused by small type - by writing it out instead of an abbreviation and also capitalizing Tablespoon.  There have been those moments when I was busy and scan read a recipe only to make a mistake with too much or too little of an ingredient so I changed all my recipes to reflect what I do here on my food blogs.  The whole point is to enjoy a good food experience!

Oh, and the Denny Lyon Gifts ads are from my Cafe Press store.  The profits go to my two favorite charities:  the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank that feeds half of Louisiana and St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital that has helped thousands of children on the Gulf Coast.  After all, should anyone go hungry in America?  Should any parent have to emotionally stress and experience financial ruin because their child got sick?  Thank you to those of you supporting my gift store effort!...

Maggie Name Dog Tags

Human or pet Ms. Maggie deserves her own personalized jewelry too!

Loads of other products and names available so check back often as new ones added.

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Maggie Name Woven Throw Pillow

Human or pet Ms. Maggie is in the house and deserves her own special pillow!

Loads of other products and names available so check back often as new ones added.

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Summer Food: Deliciously Easy Small Blueberry Cake

                                                                         Photo: The Advocate/HEATHER MCCLELLAND

 

From Denny:  This is an easy to assemble cake, practically a dump cake after you add together the dry ingredients and milk.  You pour the melted butter over the batter without stirring and layer loads of blueberries on top and then bake to get this marbling effect.

Make sure you are using aluminum free baking powder, an easy find at most grocery stores these days and always at health food stores like Trader Joe's.  You could also substitute agave syrup for the white sugar to lower the glycemic index.  I'm considering trying it with brown rice syrup to see how it performs so I'll let you know later how that turns out.  (First we have to finish off my experiment with a rice pudding recipe that came out quite well.)

While this recipe calls for Louisiana blueberries there are plenty of other blueberry growers with very delicious berries in Texas, Mississippi and California and other states too.  Since blueberries have grown in popularity more farmers have turned to growing them.  Get what is local to you so the berries will be fresh.  Buy USA berries which supports workers and farmers in America.

This is a small pan cake (9" x 9") so it is suitable for just a snack for a few friends or a couple of people who regularly cook for two - with leftovers.  Oh, that's too bad, you mean there might be more to enjoy for breakfast?  This would be wonderful at tea time or a coffee break snack at the office or home as this little cake will travel well for picnics and gatherings too.  It would even taste great chilled for the hot summer weather.  Blueberries are awesome and healthy!

Oh, and a big thank you to those of you supporting Denny Lyon Gifts by purchasing products like aprons, t-shirts, pillows, bedding and mugs.  My profits (paid by Cafe Press) go to the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank here in Louisiana that basically feeds half of the state and also to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, two of my favorite charities that help a lot of children.  Who should go hungry in America?  Who should experience financial ruin because your child gets sick?  So, I started up my small store at Cafe Press for some creative fun of designing and to give to these charities.  So, again, thank you for your support.  You guys rock!...

Lucy Name Mug

Is your fav person, dog or cat named Lucy? Check out fun products for her! "Lucy is in the house!" Loads of other names available so check back often as new ones added.

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Lucy Name Canvas Lunch Tote

Lucy - whether human or beloved pet - deserves her own special tote for her yummy treats!

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Summer Food: Easy Blueberry Heaven Trifle

Advocate photo/HEATHER MCCLELLAND

From Denny:   Could this week get any hotter?  With 100 degree highs and a 115 degree heat index this summer is turning out to be a real scorcher.  It brings to mind a Downton Abbey episode when Lord Grantham was arm-twisted by the women of the family to quit drinking for six months until his health issue was confirmed or denied: "Good God, man! Steady on!"  Any time we don't like something or want to complain at our house that's our new go-to phrase for laughs.

Cooling summer desserts come to mind when the weather is uncooperatively too hot.  In fact, before the age of air conditioning it was custom to never eat a hot meal.  The vegetables were as cold as the meats on the plate.  You still see some of that mindset in places like Greece where the concept of a hot vegetable is considered strange.  They boil their vegetables and then chill them before even considering offering them to a guest or family.  With this kind of outrageous weather the idea sounds good!  It certainly takes the stress off the body for getting too hot.

What?! You've heard enough about the ridiculous hot weather and Greek culture?  How about this easy recipe that is kid friendly too that the family could help with this one.  This one is easy to assemble as it involves a purchased angel food cake torn into chunks, cream cheese (whipped or not), sweetened condensed milk, a box of Jell-O vanilla pudding, whipping cream, toasted pecans (Louisiana pecans, if you can get them, because they sure are wonderful) and a honking huge quart of fresh blueberries.  Remember, this trifle does serve 10 to 12 people.  Enjoy!...

Lucy Name Mug

Is your fav person, dog or cat named Lucy? Check out fun products for her! "Lucy is in the house!"  Loads of other names available so check back often as new ones added.

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Lucy Name Canvas Lunch Tote

Lucy - whether human or beloved pet - deserves her own special tote for her yummy treats!

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Summer Food: Blueberry Lemonade To Beat The Heat

2TheAdvocate photo: HEATHER MCCLELLAND

From Denny:  Blue food.  It's pretty to look at and cooling in this summer heat.  Blueberries are the very essence of summer.  Did you know the silvery bloom on blueberries is a naturally protective waxy coating?  

Most people don't wash them until just when ready to eat.  Well, that doesn't work in our house so I pour a large bowl of water, add about 2 Tablespoons of white vinegar and let the entire plastic box and blueberries soak for about 5 minutes to kill bacteria.  Drain the entire box well, dry off a bit with a towel and throw back into the fridge.  Usually, a reputable grocery store - and even from the farm - they give the berries a quick vinegar wash to brush off leaves and bugs.

We all like to dine on blueberries by the handfuls as snacks, toss them on to the breakfast cereal or yogurt and make breakfast muffins. Here's a new twist: how about blueberries in your homemade lemonade?

This interesting recipe (from our local newspaper food writer) combines two fruit syrups:  a blueberry syrup and a lemon syrup.  You only use the blueberry syrup to color the lemonade to your preference.  The remaining blueberry syrup can be used on pancakes, waffles, toast or even in salad dressings.  OK, you got me, this lemonade is so doggone pretty!  Great idea for summer entertaining...

Lucy Name Mug

Is your fav person, dog or cat named Lucy? Check out fun products for her! "Lucy is in the house!"  Loads of other names available so check back often as new ones added.

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Lucy Name Canvas Lunch Tote

Lucy - whether human or beloved pet - deserves her own special tote for her yummy treats!

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BBQ Grilling: 3 Tasty Compound Butters To Complement Your Recipes

AP photo/Matthew Mead -- Compound Butters

From Denny:  Whether you are grilling or baking in the oven specially infused butters offer wonderful flavor choices to celebrate your food!  Chef Sara Moulton is known for easy recipes that can be done at home with a minimum of fuss.  She's also one of my favorite food teachers as she is so relaxed, giving even the novice cook a boost of confidence.

Her first recipe is for an herb butter.  Do you have some favorite herbs that you just can't cook without?  This recipe is all about your favorite combination of herbs, though she does suggest a few to get you started.  While you could substitute a Vidalia sweet onion in place of shallots, well, shallots are that much sweeter, and, oh, so wonderfully flavorful so try to find them in your area.  Shallots, a favorite of classically trained chefs, are usually in plentiful supply in the spring and summer months, often into autumn.

Are you more in the mood for a citrus butter?  Chef Moulton combines the zest and juice of lemons and limes for a sublime summer taste that everyone will enjoy.

How about something more substantial for those manly men who enjoy a great grilled steak?  Oh, this recipe is for you!  Combine this steak butter with Dijon mustard, a fresh finely minced garlic clove and Worchestershire sauce (we prefer Lea & Perrins at our house though you could use the brand you like),  

If you can't grill outside just use a grill pan on the stovetop to get those prized grill marks, turn it over and place it in the oven to finish.  When ready to plate make sure the steak plate has been heating in the oven. Place a large slice of this steak butter onto the plate and then place the steak on top of the butter.  Talk about awesome taste as the butter melts on the very hot plate, spilling out like a gravy for your steak!  That's the method all the old steakhouses of the 1940's and 1950's used before restaurants went to open charcoal or wood fired grilling.

The beauty of all these butters is that all you have to do is roll them into logs and wrap in plastic wrap and aluminum foil and freeze until ready to use.  Just slice off the amount you need and return it to the freezer.  How simple is that?  You can make these up way ahead of when you will need them.

Funny Friday Weekend Mug

Tell the world how you really feel about coming back to work.

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BBQ Grilling: Try Grilled Summer Cooling Puttanesca Gazpacho

  AP photo/Matthew Mead

From Denny:  Fancy a cold soup to counter the ridiculous hot heat of the summer?  Gazpacho is everyone's favorite, especially when entertaining for large groups.  This version involves grilling all those delicious veggies like red bell peppers, poblano peppers, tomatoes, onions, cucumbers and a head of fresh garlic.  

Let the charred peppers cool before removing the skins and the inside seeds and membranes. Squeeze the cooled soft garlic cloves out of their papery skins and into the food processor.  Add the delicious flavors of capers, Kalamata olives, anchovies, olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Make the soup as chunky or as smooth as you like.  Chill well before serving.  To serve, garnish with yummy ricotta cheese and fresh torn herbs like cilantro and basil.  Then sit back and wait for the compliments to arrive!

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BBQ Grilling: Goat Cheese Stuffed Grilled Sweet Potatoes

                    AP photo: Matthew Mead -- Goat Cheese-Stuffed Grilled Sweet Potatoes

From Denny:  This is a delicious unusual recipe twist for the popular sweet potato.  We all know that goat cheese is a low salt and low fat alternative to the regular highly salted - OK, totally yummy - cheeses.  

I've tried goat cheese as the soft melting quality cheese in my omelets and found it a bit sour in comparison to  my favorite cheddar cheese but eventually created a medley of white cheddar, fontina or mozzarella in addition to just a touch of goat cheese for my favorite blending of flavors..  

Yet that slightly tangy sour taste is the perfect healthy complement to the very sugary sticky sweet potato.  This recipe also adds fresh thyme and olive oil for aromatic delight and lots of fresh garlic and butter for robust flavor.  To sweeten it up a bit the zest of an entire orange is added for that citrus brightness that pairs so very well with sweet potato!

It's advised you slice the sweet potato in thick chunks so it is easy for the thick smear of cheese, oils, herbs and citrus zest to adhere better.  If you like your potatoes to have a bit of crispness on the skin, then open up the aluminum foil in the last 10 minutes of grilling to brown and crisp up a bit.  

Also note that you will require a microwave to partially bake the potatoes before placing on the grill.  This recipe is best done at home instead of at some remote fishing camp with no electricity - like we have so many of here on the Gulf Coast, especially Louisiana. :)

This is such an easy recipe it is kid friendly and a good choice to help teach the kids to learn how to grill by helping you with the prep work.  What creative kid would not enjoy smearing a gooey mess onto those sweet potatoes?  I rest my case. :)  Enjoy!

Let Good Times Roll Stein

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A Truth Journal: Why is Trump Catching on Fire? What Would His Cabinet Look Like? The Hilarious Lowdown

A Truth Journal: Why is Trump Catching on Fire? What Would His Cabinet Look Like? The Hilarious Lowdown: From Denny:  My fellow media are flabbergasted that billionaire Donald Trump is rising so fast in the Republican polls.  The media is so entrenched in their collective bias that they refuse to take his candidacy seriously.  Hold on to your hats, folks, because Trump will survive far beyond the summer flavor of the month.  Come on; we all know that former President Bill Clinton secretly got him to run as a way to help clean house on the Republican candidates, paving the way for Hillary to win.  Well, that strategy just might backfire since Trump is catching on with the disgruntled middle class.

Well, Trump may be stupidly wealthy but he still knows how to talk Middle Class in his brash Brooklyn accent.  In fact, Trump reminds me much of the very bold personality of President Teddy Roosevelt. And, he is every bit as passionate about his views, with plenty of real fire in the belly running for President that the American public likes in a presidential candidate.  We certainly are not seeing any of that fire in the belly with any other Republican candidates and only with one Democrat candidate, Bernie Sanders...

Funny Normal Is Boring Mens Wallet

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BBQ Grilling: Red Onions, Shishito Peppers with Peanut Sauce

AP photo:  Red Onions, Shishito Peppers with Peanut Sauce

From Denny:  When it comes to summer entertaining we all like to fire up the grill.  Well, here's a finger friendly recipe for those chili pepper nibblers and snackers who want to try the latest Shishito pepper sensation in the food world.

The peanut sauce is a medley of awesome flavors: smooth natural peanut butter, red wine vinegar, fresh garlic, fresh ginger, soy sauce and your favorite hot sauce.  All that's left to do is add some other good recipes to your party menu like this grilled chicken dunked in that famous Alabama White Sauce!

BBQ Grilling: Butterflied Barbecue Chicken with Alabama White Sauce

Just Chill Pales Mug

Whether it's cooling off from the sweltering summer heat or a heated situation it's definitely time to "Just Chill!"

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BBQ Grilling: Butterflied Barbecue Chicken with Alabama White Sauce

AP photo: Matthew Mead -- Butterflied Barbecue Chicken With Alabama White Sauce

From Denny:  With all this ridiculous hot weather across the nation we are all left wondering if we are the ones getting grilled!  But wait!  Time to grill that famous summer BBQ chicken, this time with the Alabama White Sauce becoming so popular.  

If you are not familiar with Alabama White Sauce it's based on mayonnaise.  Yucky mayonnaise, you say?  Hey, all that oil delivers the spicy flavor of this unusual sauce and the mayonnaise taste is completely changed by the following:  There is plenty of cider vinegar and lemon juice to cut the oil and the addition of cayenne pepper, black pepper and horseradish definitely spices up the taste.  The recipe for this sauce follows so you can make your own. 

This Alabama White Sauce recipe is from Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q in Decatur, Alabama, the restaurant famous for this sauce.  They have also been featured on the Food Network.  And hey, if you can't travel to Alabama, Big Bob's does sell gift baskets of their famous sauces on their web site.

During the rest of the week I'll be posting these recipes below that would make a great complement for a stellar entertaining menu:

BBQ Grilling: Red Onions, Shishito Peppers with Peanut Sauce

BBQ Grilling: Grilled Puttanesca Gazpacho

BBQ Grilling: Tasty Compound Butters To Compliment Your Recipes

BBQ Grilling: Goat Cheese Stuffed Grilled Sweet Potatoes

Why Get Involved Men's Sleeveless Tee Tank Top

Get Involved: if you don't have a seat at the table you are probably on the menu - Senator Elizabeth Warren

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