Catch Up on This Weeks 51 Posts At Dennys Blogs 17 Nov 2009

From Denny: After a year of blogging, I turned around and suddenly realized I've been producing a lot of content. Nor am I silly enough to think you check in every day with every blog. :) So, in case you missed anything this week, here's a menu of various posts all in one place for an easy read - and bookmark - so you can read when you feel like it:

From The Social Poets:

Roundup of Sunday Funnies 16 Nov 2009

Life Advice Poem by Rudyard Kipling

This Weeks Editorial Cartoons 14 Nov 2009

Reflections of That Moment - Libations Friday! 13 Nov 2009

5 Powerful Soul Affirmations, Soul Journey Poem

Funny Money Advice - Cheeky Quote Day! 11 Nov 2009

Musicians Are Territorial Animals, Funny Post by David Thomas

Roundup of Late Night Funnies, Cartoons 9 Nov 2009

From the funny posts at Dennys Funny Quotes and Ouch Outrageous Obnoxious And Odd:


From Dennys Funny Quotes:

Funny Secret to Longevity Photo and Story

10 Funny Love Quotes, Funny Cat Photo

Funny Money Advice, Cheeky Quote Day at The Social Poets

Video: Weirdest American Gluttony Foods

3 Paradoxically Funny Head Scratching Quotes

Awww, 7 Funny Dog Photos to Make You Laugh

What's stupidly popular at Dennys Funny Quotes these days:

42 Monday Morning Funny Coffee Quotes, Coffee Cartoon

25 Weird Coffee Trivia to Astound and Amuse You

10 Funny Work Quotes for Monday Morning

5 Monday Morning Posts to Get You Laughing!

From Ouch Outrageous Obnoxious And Odd:

9 Funny Socially Inappropriate Store Signs - what gets lost in translation from Chinese or Japanese into English, some really tacky ones!

Ouch! Best Love Story in Three Pictures: Prez Bush and Sec Condi Rice - a bit silly.

Outrageous Video: Overview of World Censorship on the Web - serious look at how content is heavily censored and in which countries, interesting overview.

First Lady Michelle Obama on Leno Show - how the Obamas don't take themselves too seriously.

Odd News Video: Liquor Warehouse Implodes in Russia

Weird News: Man in Breathalizer Costume Arrested by Police

10 Outrageous Glenn Beck Quotes That Prove Insanity

From the food blogs, Romancing The Chocolate and Comfort Food From Louisiana:

From Romancing The Chocolate:

Savory Chocolate Recipe: Mini Hamburger Sliders with Sauce

Chocolate Trivia from Horror Director Hitchcock

Video: Cool Food Gifts for the Holidays, Southern Sweet Chocolate Coconut Pie Recipe

3 Quick Awesome Chocolate Recipes for the Holidays

Chocolate Trivia - Who Are the Biggest Chocolate Gluttons on the Planet?

Warm Chocolate Pudding Cake

From Comfort Food From Louisiana:

Video and Recipes: Holiday Challah and Ciabatta Stuffings, Vegetarian and Sausage

Cajun Joke: Boat For Sale by Beaudreaux and Thibodeaux

Video and Recipes: 3 Fabulous New Orleans Sweets

Cajun Joke: Boudreaux and Thibodeaux Fix Destroyed New Orleans Levee

Video: Unbelievable, OK, Weird, Foods and Recipes

Cajun Joke: Boudreaux and Thibodeaux Play Golf

Video and Recipes: Lobster Grits Polenta, Turkey Andouille Sausage Grits Casserole

Coca-Cola Glazed Baby Back Ribs

From Beautiful Illustrated Quotations:

Life is a Gift!

Whats Your Attitude Toward Life?

Veterans Day Quote, Links to Memorial Poems, Peace Quotes

3 Wonderful Quotes About Joy

5 Powerful Soul Affirmations, Soul Journey Poem

How Do You Know If You Have a Weak Mind?

When Something Inside You Dies, Do You Know How to Renew Your Life?

Do You Sell Your Soul For Others Admiration?

From The Healing Waters:

Video: Tim McGraw Making a Difference

Video: Halle Berry Making a Difference for Battered Women

The Perfect Work Quote to Keep Your Head Straight on Monday Mornings

Video: Awareness, and Gibran Quote

*** Thanks for visiting and come back often! :)

Savory Chocolate Recipe: Mini Hamburger Sliders with Sauce

Photo of a similar slider by Yogma @ flickr

From Denny: Savory recipes using chocolate as an ingredient are not exactly prolific, so when I stumble across one it gets bookmarked immediately! :) Found this a couple of days ago. They actually use cocoa powder as a "spice" in with the ground meat!

This recipe is great for tail-gating season or any other informal gathering. The sauce sounds awesome and is made out of garlic, bacon, vinegar, tomatoes, brown sugar, honey, cinnamon, red pepper flakes and Zinfandel wine.

Zinfandel Sliders With Tomato-Bacon Jam

From: Randy Lewis, burger boss and owner of Best-O-Burger Restaurants from San Francisco, California

Makes: 12 minislider burgers

Ingredients:

Jam:

1 cup diced bacon
2 garlic cloves, grated
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 piece cinnamon stick
2 cups canned Italian tomatoes, drained, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 cup Rancho Zabaco Zinfandel
1 tsp. honey
Kosher salt, to taste

Sliders:

2-1/4 lbs. lean ground chuck
2 tsps. kosher salt
1 tsp. cocoa powder
1 tsp. smoked paprika
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
12 slices Jack cheese
12 miniburger or brioche buns

Directions:

For the Tomato-Bacon Jam:

1. In a heavy saucepan over medium-low heat, add bacon and cook until crispy, stirring often, about 7 to 8 minutes.

2. Add garlic and cook over medium-high heat, stirring often, until fragrant, about 1 minute.

3. Add the vinegar and cinnamon stick and cook until the liquid is reduced to a glaze, about 1 minute.

4. Stir in tomatoes, brown sugar, pepper flakes and Zinfandel. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is completely evaporated, about 1-1/2 hours.

5. Stir in the honey and season with salt. Discard cinnamon stick and serve jam at room temperature. The cooked and cooled Tomato-Bacon Jam can be refrigerated for up to 1 week.

For Zinfandel Sliders:

1. Break up ground chuck in medium bowl.

2. In a separate bowl, add salt, cocoa powder, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder and cinnamon. Mix to combine evenly and sprinkle over meat. Toss to distribute seasonings.

3. Divide seasoned meat into 12 equal portions. Gently toss one portion of meat back and forth between hands to form loose ball.

4. Lightly flatten into patty 1/4-inch thick and about 2-1/2 inches in diameter. Repeat with remaining meat.

5. Grill or pan cook burger patties over medium-high heat to your desired degree of doneness, about 1 minute each.

6. Top each with cheese slice. Grill or toast burger buns and spread Tomato-Bacon Jam on burger.

*** As I was looking for the photo to go with this recipe (site was down for maintenance so not available) I found this cool site called Menu Pages - where you stash online all those menus from restaurants you enjoy and don't have to hold onto the paper version in some messy drawer at home!

*** Thanks for visiting and come back often! :)

Video and Recipes: Holiday Challah and Ciabatta Stuffings, Vegetarian and Sausage

From Denny: The race is on to find and try new twists on holiday favorites and stuffings are right there at the top of the list!

The first recipe is for vegetarians which is a welcome sight on the holiday table for relatives who are vegetarians. Easy to make for the cook too, a real win-win. It's made with buttery challah bread and tasty cremini mushrooms, sure to win over the carnivores too! I'd use clarified butter in this both for health reasons and flavor.

This second recipe is calling my name this season too: ciabatta bread with chorizo sausage (I might substitute a local brand, Richard's (Ree-chards), that does a wonderful turkey sausage), shitake mushrooms and sweet potatoes. What a great way to incorporate sweet potatoes in a new way! The seasonings are olive oil, rosemary (so fragrant!) and loads of garlic (awesome!).

While you can use these to stuff a turkey, I don't advise it. Why? Too much bacteria to worry about and it also slows down the cooking time - and it's also too gooey as a finished product. What we like at our house is to bake the stuffing as a casserole in a thin layer so you get lots of crusty topping!

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

THE RECIPES from food52.com

Challah, mushroom and celery stuffing

From: Chefs Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs

Serves: 12

INGREDIENTS

• 1 large loaf of challah or brioche
• 2 cup celery, diced
• 2 cup onion, diced
• 2 cup cremini mushroom, diced
• 8-10 sprigs thyme, chopped
• 3 sprig rosemary, chopped
• 0.25 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
• 3 cup vegetable stock, preferably homemade
• 3 ounce butter
• 4 ounce melted butter
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground

DIRECTIONS

1. Cut the challah into 1-inch cubes. Leave the cubes out on a parchment lined sheet pan on the counter to get stale, at least overnight, and preferably 2 days.

2. Melt 3 oz. of butter in a large heavy saute pan. Saute the onions until wilted, add the herbs, celery and mushrooms and cook until just slightly cooked through.

3. In a large bowl, combine bread cubes, vegetables, melted butter and vegetable stock, and salt and pepper. Test for seasoning and adjust.

4. Press stuffing into a large buttered baking dish. Cover with buttered parchment, and then foil. At this point, the stuffing can be held for several hours, but should be at room temperature before baking.

5. Bake at 350 for 45-55 minutes, the last 10-15 minutes without the foil and parchment to crisp the surface.



Ciabatta stuffing with chorizo, sweet potato and mushrooms

From: Chefs Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs

Serves: 6 to 8

INGREDIENTS

• 9 cup Ciabatta bread, cubed into 1-inch pieces
• 14 sage leaves, divided into 4 and 10, chopped
• 2 tablespoon rosemary
• 1 medium red onion, diced
• 3 cup sweet potato, small dice (about 1 large potato)
• 5 cup shitake mushrooms (or your favorite mix), sliced
• 1 cup dried chorizo, small dice
• 2 - 2.5 cups chicken or turkey stock (or broth)
• 1 egg
• 4 tablespoon melted fat - butter, schmaltz, or turkey drippings
• salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the over to 375 degrees.

2. Toss the bread cubes with 4 sage leaves, rosemary, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread on baking sheet and bake until golden and toasty. Remove from oven and put in large bowl or container. (They are great for a little snack as you continue with the recipe.)

3. In a large pan, saute the chorizo in a little olive oil until golden. The chorizo is already cooked but it's nice to render the fat and get it a little crispy. Remove chorizo with a slotted soup to the bowl with the bread.

4. Next, saute the mushrooms in the chorizo fat (adding a little olive oil if necessary) and add salt and pepper to taste. Remove to bowl with bread.

5. Next, add some olive oil as the mushrooms most definitely sucked up all the fat. Saute the onion until soft and golden and add salt and pepper to taste. Add to the bowl with the bread.

6. Lastly, saute the sweet potato (adding oil as necessary) and salt and pepper to taste. You don't need to cook the potato through as it will cook in the oven but it's good to get a little color on it.

7. Whisk 2 cups of stock or broth with the egg and salt and pepper. Pour into the bowl of bread, etc., add the remaining sage, 2 tablespoons of the fat, and toss thoroughly until evenly moistened. You may need to add up to an additional 1/2 cup of stock but don't overdo it. You have been seasoning all along but you may want to taste for seasoning and adjust the salt and pepper.

8. Pour into a baking dish — a 9x13 or an oval gratin pan. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour. This allows the bread to really absorb the stock and makes for a moist interior and crunchy top.

9. Bake covered for 30 minutes. Remove foil, brush top with remaining 2 tablespoons of fat, and bake for 15 more minutes. You may want to broil the top for the last few minutes so the top gets nice and crispy but be sure to watch it carefully.

*** Thanks for visiting and come back often! :)

5 Powerful Soul Affirmations, Soul Journey Poem

5 Powerful Soul Affirmations, Soul Journey Poem

"Soul affirmations are a way to look at nourishing your patient ancient soul and convincing your ego to play nice, cooperate and learn to share with others while letting your soul out to play. It’s a way to blend the wise with the younger part of self still in the learning stage.

Our egos are trained and shaped and often defeated by the family and national culture into which we are born. Once we become adults it is up to us to parent those parts of ourselves that have been undernourished, neglected. Often we have been denied acceptance, understanding and love."

By Denny Lyon @ HubPages

From Denny: As we go into the holiday season and the cooling weather to prepare for winter when Nature sleeps and rests, our thoughts turn inward to reexamine our lives and meditate upon inner healing.

Though I choose to be a mystical Christian, this article can really apply to any religion or life philosophy based upon self-improvement so we can understand better the Life around us. There are wonderful art photos for the poem too, enjoy!

5 Powerful Soul Affirmations, Soul Journey Poem

*** Thanks for visiting and come back often! :)

This Weeks Roundup Posts on Romancing The Chocolate

From Denny: In case you missed out on any of the posts this week, here's a roundup - so you don't have to mind-numbingly go page load after page load to find out - can you tell I'm ever so patient myself for that action? :)

Video: Halle Berry Making a Difference for Battered Women

3 Quick Awesome Chocolate Recipes for the Holidays

Chocolate Trivia - Who Are the Biggest Chocolate Gluttons on the Planet?

Funny Money Advice, Cheeky Quote Day at The Social Poets

Video: Cool Food Gifts for the Holidays, Southern Sweet Chocolate Coconut Pie Recipe

Chocolate Trivia from Horror Director Hitchcock

Awww, 7 Funny Dog Photos to Make You Laugh

Warm Chocolate Pudding Cake