Market Basket Employees greeting customers at the door today with this breaking news!!!
Author: Sista Felicia
St. Johns Prep Students Lend a Helping Hand at The Open Door
From Left to right~ BJ Mohan, Aidan Breen, Daniel Powers
The Open-Door staff greeted the students and I with open arms today. This truly is an amazing place. Everyone who walks through the door, patrons and volunteers, are greeted and cared for with respect and love. They have an amazing team of dedicated people working year round to keep things running smoothly. Upon our arrival, a short list of jobs awaited the boys and an apron for me!
The boys quickly began working together unloading shipments of food and restocking shelves. As I prepared a light afternoon snack for school children and assisted patrons at today’s open market. It was such a pleasure to have the opportunity to share a few quick recipes using todays market ingredients with shoppers! Thank you, Sarah Grow, Julie Hazen Lafontaine, and Beth Klinefelter for the last minute arrangements. It was nice to SJP students working together as a team helping others on a day they and their school community felt helpless themselves. I highly recommend volunteering some time to The Open Door. At this pantry there can never to many hands in the kitchen!
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Chicken Stir Fry
The men in the family requested chicken stir fry for dinner a few days ago. When ever I think of Chicken Stir Fry I think of cooking with my roommates during my college years at Merrimack. Chicken Stir Fry is an affordable meal that can easily be stretched to feed a small army of people. It was a meal we prepared at least once per week for everyone in our apartment building!
Chicken Stir Fry
Rice Ingredients
3 cups water
3 tablespoon salted butter
3 cups white rice (brown rice may be substituted and cooked to your liking)
Chicken Stir Fry Ingredients
8-10 chicken tenders
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 heaping tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup warm water
6 tablespoons chili oil
3 tablespoons pure sesame oil
1 red pepper; cut into bite-size pieces
1 orange pepper; cut into bite-size pieces
6 scallions; White parts diced; green parts reserve
2 cloves garlic; thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
3 cups fresh snow peas
1 large can pineapple rings with juices; cut into pieces
Sauce Ingredients
3 tablespoons fish sauce
2 heaping tablespoons ketchup
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon chili paste
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
3 heaping tablespoons dark brown sugar
3 garlic cloves; roughly chopped
1 tablespoon ground Ginger
reserved chicken marinade
Step-by-Step
1 bring 3 cups water and 3 tablespoons unsalted butter to rolling boil; add dried white rice; stir; cover pan tightly with lid and turn off heat
2 Combine soy sauce and cornstarch in Ziploc bag; shake and mix well until light brown marinade mixture comes together; add chicken tender pieces to bag; seal bag; refrigerate at least one hour
3 combine 3 tablespoons chili oil and sesame oil in large fry pan; heat over high setting
4 add chicken tenders; cook 3 minutes; (reserve marinade in a Ziploc bag) turn chicken tender pieces; cook additional 3 minutes; remove chicken from pan; cut into bite-size pieces
5 in small mini chopper combine all sauce ingredients; add reserved leftover marinade from Ziploc bag; Blend well; reserve
5 add 3 tablespoons chili oil; peppers, white scallion pieces, garlic slices and freshly ground pepper to fry pan sauté four minutes
6 add reserved sauce to pan; mix well; cook four minutes; scrape ingredients from bottom of pan with metal spatula if necessary
7 add snow peas, pineapple and pineapple juices to pan; mix well; continue to scrape bottom of pan loosening any ingredients; cook four minutes over high heat
8 arrange cooked rice in large serving bowl; top with stir fry mixture
9 roughly chop reserved green parts of scallions and sprinkle over top of stir fry; serve
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Sista Felica’s Extends an Invitation To All SJP Students Tomorrow
By now everyone has heard the media reports about the bomb threat made earlier this week at St. John’s Preparatory School in Danvers Ma, for tomorrow’s school day. School administration has worked closely with authorities all week and has successfully implemented precautionary guidelines for the school community to follow. The decision to send our sons to school tomorrow has been the topic of discussion all week. We were notified today that tomorrow classes remain as scheduled, but they will be allowing an excused absence to any student not attending tomorrow’s classes.
Tonight every SJP Parent needs to make a decision that they feel comfortable with. This is not a time to cast stones and make judgment on others and their decisions. But I thought I ‘d extend an open invitation to those who have decided not to attend classes tomorrow.
This afternoon, I reached out to The Open-Door Food Pantry to make arrangements for an afternoon of service for any St. John’s Preparatory student who has decided to not attend classes tomorrow.
All are Welcome to participate. Please help me spread the word to SJP students who may be interested in helping others tomorrow
Details:
PLEASE IN BOX ME YOUR SONS NAME IF PLANNING TO ATTEND~ the open door can accommodate small and large groups, I just need to provide a head count before noon time tomorrow.
Details:
The boys are scheduled to begin at 12:00 pm tomorrow (I will Chaperone)
Dress: in comfortable work clothes
Address:
The Open-Door Food Pantry
28 Emerson Avenue
Gloucester Massachusetts 01930
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A Cooks Dream!
Ruffoni Hammered Stainless Steel 7-qt. Braiser……I am in love!
It’s a new year and I am especially looking forward to two big milestone celebrations in 2014! In a few days I will kick off the year by celebrating my 45 Birthday, six months later, my husband and I will be celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary, and a month after that our twins celebrate their Sweet 16 th Birthday! Time truly flies by when you’re having fun!!
I have joked for years with friends and family that every woman needs to be given a bridal shower every 10-15 years to replace and/or update broken or worn out kitchen gadgets and appliances. How many times have you secretly wished for this? It amazes me that marketing companies haven’t presented this idea to the thousands of companies out there that provide kitchen items.
There seems to be a tunnel-vision focus on targeting newlywed brides. Married women (who actually have kitchen experience) and 10 or more years of kitchen experience under their belts have been pushed aside and placed on the back burner. It doesn’t seem possible that I could be the only one who would love to have another bridal shower! There must be others with this same dream?
Hundreds of thousands of women/ men/ cooks would be thrilled to be the recipients of a 10-15 year bridal shower party, don’t you think? If only one person stepped up to the plate and pitched this idea to the world, everyone would team up and follow with the same game plan. It would be a home run for everyone. Cooking equipment sales would increase and American kitchens would be updated with the newest cutting edge culinary technology!
Most of the time over the past three years was spent writing my first cookbook “Gifts of Gold and a Sicilian Kitchen with Sister Felicia, Harvest”. Last year was spent in full-blown production mode, meeting deadlines to get the cookbook to print. In the process of production my kitchen gadgets and appliances have taken a beating. Many are either broken or on their last leg!
I’ve loved every moment of the journey. From compiling, writing, editing, creating, photographing, re-photographing, and actually making the recipes to the marketing and shipping of the book it was all an exhilarating experience and I am so grateful to my family and team for their integral roles in making this dream a reality!
WITH ALL THAT SAID….
I recently took a stroll through one of my favorite stores, Williams-Sonoma and spotted the most gorgeous pan I have seen. I was there to return my broken pepper mill. Just another casualty left behind in the wake of making that cookbook dream a reality. If you have never been to a Williams-Sonoma store before and you enjoy cooking, you simply must find a location near you and make a special visit. This stores wide range of products, will trigger all your senses!
There are amusement park destinations for children…and there are William-Sonoma stores for cooks!
What is important in my kitchen might not be important to you in yours. But Williams-Sonoma is a place every cook (good, bad, experienced or not) can dream. On this particular visit I spotted dozens of items I dream of buying some day. Some items that need replacing and other items that in creating a dish warrant a specific new tool.
Every time I visit William-Sonoma I think about that “10 year married woman bridal shower concept” for long time married brides that I have been joking about with my friends and family for years.
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Sista Felicia’s Recipe For Feeding Your Backyard Birds
There always seems to be a plentiful assortment of birds feeding and playing in our backyard. For years, I have been drawing our little friends to visit with my used cooking oil, day old loafs of bread, stale cereal and crackers. After hearing this weeks predicted weather forecast, I decided to do a little research on homemade bird suet, and learned that with a little creativity and time, I could treat our backyard birds to an ample supply of nourishing goodness! With in 5 minutes of hanging, 3 Red Cardinal, 3 Blue Jay, 2 Yellow Finch, 1 Sparrow, and a woodpecker appeared. My brother Joey ran to grab his camera and we both I sat on the bench in my my breakfast nook peering out the window… As we watched this saying came to mind…”If you build it they will come!”
A fun project to do with the kids …take some photos and send them to me…I will post them with our growing list of GMG Cooks!
Ingredients
1 3.5 lbs. bag Classic Wild Bird Feed
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup peanuts
2 cups cornmeal
1 3/4 cups leftover cooked meat fat, cut in small pieces
2 cups lard, Cut into pieces
1 3/4 cups leftover/used La Spagnola vegetable olive oil blend cooking oil
Supplies
30 inch plastic tube fish netting(can be found at fishing supply stores, an onion bag can also be used)
4 12 inch lengths twine
1 plastic saucer shaped container(I like to use the bottom section of my cherry tomato container)
waxed paper
6-8 red berry branch pieces
2 zip tie
Step-by-Step
1 combine first six ingredients in large mixing bowl; mix well
2 add fat pieces; mix well
3 add lard pieces and oil; mix well using hands
4 line cookie sheet with aluminum foil; spread mixture evenly into prepared pan; chill overnight in refrigerator
5 spread 3 cups birdseed on cookie sheet
6 remove mixture from refrigerator; shape mixture into one 18×12 inch log shaped piece
7 transfer log to cookie sheet with birdseed; roll cover outer surface of log with seeds; transfer to wax paper; wrap
8 Tie and secure knot at one of fish netting; open netting pouch using your hands; slide waxed paper wrapped log into tube of netting; Remove wax paper; Secure tight knot; fix one zip tie to the top end of fishing net bird feeder
9 fix 4 holes evenly spaced on sides of plastic saucer shaped container; knot and secure one twine length to each hole; Gather four lengths together and knot; Secure to bottom knot of bird feeder
10 position red berry branches into holes of fishing net feeder
11 secure feeder to tree branch or hook to section cup window hook holder; fill saucer with birdseed; sit back and watch the birds feed!
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Busy Days and Light Lunches
Much of today was spent packing up my daughter’s belongs and checking off items on her list needed before heading back to school latter tonight. So focused on laundry earns and packing we forgot to stop and eat lunch….oops! After a quick scan of the refrigerator and the clock ticking, we took a few moments to enjoy a light lunch together! It reminded me of lunch time with my Aunt Gina in my grandfather store growing up… a story I share in my cookbook on page 185…
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The Gift That Keeps On Giving…This weeks GMG Cooks!
This Weeks GMG Cooks…..Thank you for taking the time to share your comments, and photos of dishes that you created from my easy Step-by-Step tutorials. They warm my heart and bring a smile to face every day…keep them coming!
Lia Rix From Lexington Ma. writes~ Eating one of Sista Felicia recipes. Lia made it.
Lia, your Pasta Gorgonzola looks delicious, and I’m thrilled your enjoying my “Gifts Of Gold In A Sicilian Kitchen With Sista Felicia, Harvest” cookbook….your holly berry dinner plates are beautiful! Happy New Year and Happy Cooking! Thank you for sharing your photo.
Michelle Lewis-Nasser writes~ Pumpkin Caramel coffee cake…so good! I’ve made it before but today seemed like the perfect morning for it!
Michelle, I agree it is so good! It’s one of my favorite coffee cakes to make…hum… you have me thinking…This week I have been on a roll of making things with extra pantry items left over from the holidays…I think I remember seeing a can of pumpkin in my pantry…I’m going to check……
Yes… Jackpot! Looks like I’ll be making one this week for my family!
All “Sista Felicia Recipe” photos sent to GMG, Twitter @ Sista Felicia or my personal Facebook page will be posted once per week… send your photos in and join the GMG Cooks Club!
I put a twist on my Pasta Gorgonzola recipe tonight … I received a huge wedge of Stilton Gorgonzola as a gift for my New Years Year celebtration last week, from our dear family friend Toby Pett … AKA “The One and only all around great guy Toby Pett and GMG co-podcast host.” We have enjoyed snacking on it with cured olives, roasted red peppers and assorted crackers all week. I had only a small piece saved to make Pasta Gorgonzola for my daughter Amanda before her return to school, her favorite and a recipe featured on page 208 in my cookbook “Gifts of Gold.” Tonight I decided to served it over a bed of baby spinach and few toasted pecans… It was simply Delicious!
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Italian Sausage Pepper and Onion Frittata
The past few days I have been preparing dishes for my family using extra ingredients in my pantry and refrigerator left over from our holiday cooking and baking extravaganza! Thursday evening we decided to have one of our favorite theme dinners we call “Dippy Dippy Night!” AKA… Breakfast/brunch food for dinner night. With a day old loaf of sandwich bread, 4 extra homemade Italian Sausage links, and a few ripe vegetables a delicious Dippy Dippy Dinner, of Italian Sausage Pepper and Onion Frittata and Baked Brown Sugar French Toast was quickly prepared and on the table. Dinner was enjoyed by all, served and cleaned up in less then an hour, just in time to have movie night in the living room as the storm moved in on Cape Ann.
Italian Sausage Pepper and Onion Frittata
Ingredients
4 large Italian sausage link ( I prefer to use my homemade tomato cheese & parsley sausage)
1/4 cup olive oil; plus 4 tablespoons
8 large eggs
2/3 cups Romano or Parmesan cheese
1 cup Fontina cheese; shredded or cut into thin pieces (Mozzarella cheeses can be substituted and both can be purchased at “The Cave”)
3/4 cups diced red pepper
1/2 cup sweet onion; diced
3/4 cup green pepper; diced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
3/4 cup vine ripened tomato; diced
Note ~ The Cave on Main Street in Gloucester carries Trupiano Sausage, tomato cheese and parsley sausage is available through special order)
Step-by-Step
1 place sausage links in medium size frying pan; fill pan with enough water to submerge sausage halfway up the side of likns; bring to rolling boil; cook five minutes; turn links; cook additional five minutes
2 drain water from frying pan; place 2 tablespoons olive oil in frying pan, fry sausage over high heat until top and bottom sides of sausage links are golden brown; remove from fry pan; slice sausage links into 1/4 inch -1/2 inch thick pieces; reserve
3 combine eggs and grated cheese in mixing bowl; whisk well; add Fontina cheese; mix well; reserve
4 in separate oven proof frying pan heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over high heat; add peppers onions, salt and pepper; sauté three minutes; add ¼ cup olive oil, tomatoes and sliced sausage; mix well
5 pour egg/cheese mixture into frying pan; using spatula pull cooked eggs from outer edge of pan towards center allowing loose uncooked eggs to fall towards edge of pan (only do this process one time); allow eggs to set 2 to 3 minutes over high heat; remove pan from heat
6 place oven proof frying pan in preheated 375° oven; bake 7-10 minutes or until eggs are fully cooked evenly throughout Frittata
7 cut Frittata into wedges
8 serve with fresh garden salad, warm or chill several hours in refrigerator and serve cold
Note ~ this is one of many combinations of frittata ingredients I make for my family, this recipe can be easily adjusted to your liking by simply adding your favorite vegetables, meats and cheese. I remember my grandmother Felicia making hot dog Frittata on Saturdays using leftover hot dogs from her Friday night hot dog and beans dinners…. get creative and have some fun! If you’re an asparagus fan, I encourage you to try making an asparagus frittata it’s one of my all-time favorites!
Note ~Steam Asparagus before adding to fry pan with olive oil
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Noon time Live 2014 Storm
Pleasant Street Tea Shop is open!!!
Dunkin Donuts Roger Street Open!!
Sent from Xfinity Mobile App
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Mixed Berry and Peach Cobbler
Snow Storms and cooking go hand and hand in my world!. While my family is all cozied up by the fireplace watching funny videos, I am only a room away in my own little world cooking up a storm in the kitchen concocting dishes from left over grocery supplies from the holidays! First outta the oven is Mixed Berry & Peach Cobbler…A Yummy treat on a cold winters day like this! I just love when a magically delicious recipe is developed from using a little of this and a little of that….and oops I don’t have that but I do have this!!!
Mixed Berry & Peach Cobbler
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1 tablespoon lemon zest
2 cups fresh strawberries;quartered
2 cups sliced skinless peaches; cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup flour
2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons softened salted butter (used to butter ramekin cups)
1/2 cup granulated sugar (see note below)
Note~ I prefer to use vanilla infused sugar, recipe on page 126 of “Gifts Of Gold In A Sicilian Kitchen With Sista Felicia, Harvest” to order copies clink link below
Crumble Topping Ingredients
1 cup flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 stick unsalted butter cut into bite-size pieces
1 packet instant apple cinnamon oatmeal
Step-by-Step
1 butter six Ramekins cups; arrange on parchment lined cookie sheet
2 place blueberries, strawberries, peaches, and lemon zest in large mixing bowl; mix well
3 add sugar, cornstarch and flour; mix well
4 spoon approximately one cup berry mixture into each prepared ramekin
5 combine first 6 ingredients of crumble topping in medium size mixing bowl; using pastry cutter, cut butter into dry ingredients until mixture is crumbly; add instant oatmeal; mix well
6 top each with crumbled mixture; bake in preheated 350° oven 40-50 minutes; or until crumble is golden and fruit mixture is bubbly
7 cool 10 minutes; top with the vanilla bean ice cream or whipped cream
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2014 Rocky Neck Polar Plunge
The Look Here On BJ’s Face About Sums It Up!!!
Anyone that bailed on it this year because of the arctic temps can just erase themselves from the past few years of mild Polar Plunge’s. This Year’s Plungers Earned It!
Huge Thanks To Coastal Dog For Sponsoring 5 of their Killer Compression?Dry Swimsuits. No sooner was I out of the water with a little waggle and the suit was practically dry. No sand stuck in my butt crack due to the inner compression short lining and I’ve never ever ever worn such comfortable swim trunks. I won’t ever wear anything else but Coastal Dog Apparel Swim trunks. Check them out here- www.coastaldogapparel.com
Morrison and Rubber Duck Went with The Red Trunks
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A Question For Sista Felicia
Heather Smidt Writes….
Hey Sista Felicia,
Any chance you have a recipe for gluten free pasta that actually tastes good? Most of the ones that you find in the grocery store are poor substitutes. I married into an Italian family and this would save me from getting sick when I eat at the inlaws. Thanks!
Sista Felicia Response…
Heather, recently I spotted a sizable display of “Felicia Bio” Gluten Free pasta for sale while shopping at J. Pace & Sons in Saugus Ma. just off Rt. 1. I personally have not tasted “Felicia Bio’s” products, but I’m willing to go out on a limb would guess it to be a testy alternative to traditional pasta for individuals who share your Gluten allergy. My guess is solely based on the size of their display, imagine they would only allot that amount of retail space to a product with a high demand.
Clink link below for more information on Felicia Bio products
http://glutenfreefelicia.com/i-nostri-prodotti?lang=en
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Blue Cheese Dip
Blue Cheese Dip
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 cups sliced shallots
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
3/4 cup mayonnaise
3/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups blue cheese; crumbled
Step-by-Step
1 heat olive oil in medium size frying pan; add sliced shallots; cook 15-20 minutes on medium/ low heat until shallots caramelize
2 whisk together mayonnaise and sour cream; add crumbled blue cheese; season with salt and pepper; mix well with hand mixer
3 add and mix three quarters of caramelized shallots to mixture; mix well
4 transfer to serving bowl; top with remaining caramelized shallots; serve with potato chips
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Spring Mix Salad With Mango/Ginger Stilton Cheese & Crispy Bacon
Spring Mix Salad With Mango/Ginger Stilton Cheese & Crispy Bacon
Ingredients
8 cups spring mix baby red and green leaf lettuce
1 1/4 cup Mango/Ginger Stilton Cheese (sold at The Cave, Main Street Gloucester)
3/4 cup dried cherries
3/4 cup whole pecans
8 slices bacon; crisply cooked; crumbled
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Step–by-Step
1 arrange greens in serving bowl; top with dried cherries and pecans
2 cut wedge of cheese into bite-size pieces; add cheese pieces and toss
3 vigorously whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper 1 minute; pour dressing over top; toss and mix well
4 top with bacon pieces; serve
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Gingerbread Muffin Tops With Mascarpone Frosting
Gingerbread Muffin Tops With Mascarpone Frosting
My daughter Amanda and I have had a craving for a Gingerbread Muffin from the Gingerbread Confection Bakery chain out of town for over a week…every once in while my husband (AKA “St Barry”) will surprises us with a box of muffins from this yummy bakery located near his work. Yesterday, while doing some after Christmas shopping with my kids, I spotted a muffin top pan on clearance for $9.99 at Marshalls…there was no way I was leaving the store without it. For the reminder of the day my mission was to get home and whip up a batch of our favorite muffins and cure our carving!
Muffin Ingredients
1 stick salted butter
½ cup dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup molasses
1 1/3 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground mace
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 six section muffin top pan
Mascarpone Frosting Ingredients
4 ounces cream cheese
8 ounces mascarpone cheese
4 tablespoons salted butter softened
3 cups confectioners’ sugar; (plus 1/4 cup for final dusting)
2 tablespoons buttermilk
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 large pastry bag & decorative frosting tip
Muffin Step-by-Step
1 combine butter and brown sugar in bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment; on medium speed, cream butter and sugar two minutes or until fluffy
2 add egg, buttermilk , vanilla bean paste, and molasses; mix on low speed until all ingredients come together (mixture will be wet & lumpy)
3 in separate mixing bowl, sift all dry ingredients together
4 add dry ingredients to wet ingredients in bowl of stand mixer; mix on low speed until thick batter is formed
4 lightly spray muffin top pan with cooking spray
5 fill each muffin section with 2/3 cup batter
6 in preheated 350° oven bake 15 minutes or until cake tester is inserted and removed cleanly
7 cool 10 minutes on wire rack before frosting
Frosting Step-by-Step
1 place all frosting ingredients in bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment
2 mix on low speed until frosting begins to form and confectioners sugar is incorporated; increase mixer speed to medium; beat mixture until smooth and creamy
3 transfer creamy frosting to large pastry bag fitted with a decorative frosting tip (I like to use my Wilton 6B tip); pipe frosting in center of each muffin top
4 finish with light dusting of confectioners’ sugar
Mission Complete!
Yields 6 Muffin Tops
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Sista Felicia Got Flocked By The Carls!
Last night while cleaning up the kitchen after dinner, my husband Barry heard a ruckus outside and peeked out the window…to find a sea of pink flamingos hanging out on our front lawn…. Flocking Hilarious!
This note was tapped to our front door…
A few days go I dropped off a box of Italian Cookies to my friends “The Carls”, as a thank you for their special treat they had me “Flocked!” Thank Carl & Carl….I very much appreciate your kind gesture, and I’m thrilled to be apart of this wonderful Fundraiser…Hummm…..now who shall I shall I flock?????????????
If you are interested in flocking someone contact Team Hoyt
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Festive Cran Raspeberry Punch
Rest up GMG FOB’s, ther is only five days until we say goodbye to 2013 and hello to 2014! Who is ready to toast the new year in with a delicious adult beverage? Now that the silver, china and crystal are washed and neatly stacked back in the china cabinet, it’s time to switch gears and start planning our New Years Eve Celebrations! Several years ago my girlfriend Kerri served a punch during a holiday party that was dangerously delicious and refreshing! It was and still is a big hit among my friends every time she makes it. Last weekend I snapped this photo of her whipping up a special batch for us during our friend Tanya’s annual Cookie Gala. Kerri’s recipe is easy to prepare, and can be tweaked to your likeness in strength by adding more or less alcohol. I think this festive punch is the perfect adult drink to serve to guests on New Years Eve, while waiting for the Crystal Ball to drop! Cheers to the New Year!
Festive Cran Raspberry Punch
Ingredients
2 cups Stoli Raspberry Flavored Premium Vodka
1 cup Triple Sec
4 cups White Cranberry Juice
2 cups Sprite
2 limes
1 orange
1 12 oz. bag fresh cranberries
Step-by-Step
1 Cut limes and orange into 1/4 inch pieces
2 Transfer cut pieces to large cookie sheet; arrange in single layer
3 Rinsed fresh cranberries under cold water; discard any overripe cranberries; add washed cranberries to cookie sheet with lime and orange pieces; freeze 24 hours
4 Combine all liquid ingredients in large punch bowl; add frozen fruit; mix well; serve
Note~ this is an adult beverage only to be served to adults ages 21 and older
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Sista Felicia Is A Little Tied Up Today
Sorry I have been a” little tied up” today preparing for tonight and tomorrow’s feasts, but wanted to take a moment and wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday form my kitchen to yours Cheers!
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Shrimp Cocktail & Cocktail Sauce
Shrimp & Cocktail Sauce
Ingredients
2 ½ lbs flash frozen 16/20 Cocktail Shrimp tail on (defrosted)
1 fresh bay leaf
½ lemon
Ice bath( in large mixing bowl, combine 8 cups ice cubes and 12 cups cold water)
Cocktail Sauce Ingredients
1 ½ -2 cups ketchup
2 heaping tablespoons horseradish ( sold in a jar in the refrigerated section of the grocery store)
juice of 1 lemon
Shrimp Step-Step
1 Bring 8-10 cups of water to rolling boil in large saucepan; add bay leaf, and juice of ½ lemon; add the squeezed ½ to the pan of boiling water
3 add defrosted shrimp; cook 3-5 minutes until shrimp turn bright white and pink
Note~ shrimp will turn pink almost immediately when they touch the boiling water, allow them to cook until they turn opaque white & pink
4 remove shrimp lemon and bay leaf using a spider spatula; immediately place in ice bath 10 minutes
5 strain shrimp in large colander; transfer to airtight container; keep refrigerated until ready to serve
Cocktail Sauce Step-by-Step
1 combine all ingredients in mixing bowl; mix well; keep refrigerated in airtight container until ready to serve
2 transfer to serving bowl
Notes~
(1) If using a mariposa serving bowl, spray a light coat of kitchen spray in bowl before adding prepared sauce. This will protect the bowl from the acidity in the sauce, preventing Mariposa bowl from pitting
(2) The shrimp used in my photos were purchased from Stavis Seafoods in Boston (1-617-897-1220.) They are 16/20 white shrimp farmed in Indonesia.
Good Morning Gloucester 
