Recipes

Mom found this recipe on the inside of a box of Philadelphia cream cheese back in the 70's and we think it has stood the test of time. It was tradition in our family to make it for President's Day (if you add cherries) or Fourth of July, but really it's good all year round. It only uses a few ingredients and very little baking (the graham cracker crust needs to be baked for 10 minutes), so it's perfect as a refreshing summer dessert. The lemon juice added to the cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk gives it a perfect balance of sweet and tart flavors. If you are making it for a crowd, you can double everything and use a rectangular Pyrex pan. For the record, Bossy thinks the pie pan is more democratic since there's no fighting over corner pieces.

You can always tell the quality of a recipe by the number of splatters on the page and Aunt Annie's fudge is no exception! We think that the secret ingredient might be the marshmallows, due to the corn syrup which keeps the sugar from crystalizing and the gelatin which gives it a smooth texture. Add nuts at the end if you wish or add whatever toppings you like to the top of the fudge before it sets. We love this recipe for the versatility too. As long as you come up with 26 ounces of chocolate (of course the better quality chocolate you use, the better your fudge will be). For the chocolate, Bossy used Callebaut for the sweet chocolate and Ghiradelli for the baking chocolate. Bootie used Trader Joe's Pound plus Belgian chocolate for the sweet chocolate and Guittard for the baking chocolate. We both used Nestle Toll House for the chocolate chips.

We make this every Thanksgiving and frankly, it’s not Thanksgiving without it. Equally important is to make the cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning.

This is one of Bootie's son's favorite recipe and he said it's the secret to his height. We can't guarantee results in that arena but we do find this recipe meets a lot of Bootie and Bossy criteria: one pan, versatile, and no waste, using up a whopping three overripe bananas! Plus you can whip it up really fast. Add coconut shavings on top, chocolate chips, nuts, or all three--no judgement here!

This is the drink that Bootie and Bossy turned to when things went awry (get it?) during Bossy's last visit to Washington. Bootie first discovered this drink at the wonderful Whidbey Island Distillery where they have the best tasting room experience ever. If you are local, you must try their berry liqueurs (the blackberry is Bootie's favorite but they're all great). You can get the liqueurs at Total Wine in case you don't want to schlep out to Whidbey Island (although if you're making a day of it, a trip to Whidbey Island, and the distillery in particular, is definitely worth the visit). Sometimes you can also get the Bunker Rye Whiskey at Total Wine.

When Mom was in the hospital again, we decided it was time for another cocktail! Update: she's back home! So cheers to that! Bootie first learned about the Bobby Burns cocktail from Darcy Cameron, the owner of Shibui yarn. Unfortunately, Shibui closed during the pandemic, however, MadelineTosh is now carrying some of the yarn. Meanwhile, Darcy has pivoted to writing a life blog called Shibui Life. One of her first installments was about the five types of whiskey (Scottish, Irish, Japanese, Canadian, and Bourbon). For her blog on Scottish whisky or Scotch, she included the delicious Bobby Burns Cocktail. Bootie and Bossy did not have the required Scotch (or Benedictine, or Absinthe, well, ok, Bootie had the absinthe but is keeping the bottle purely for aesthetic reasons), so they used what they had on hand, and it was delicious.

​As for Robert Burns, a.k.a. Bobby or Rabbie, he is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and an early promoter of the Romantic movement. When he wasn't farming and writing poetry, he was quite busy fathering children (12!). His birthday is celebrated on January 25th, and many toast him with this cocktail. In addition to writing the New Year's classic, "Auld Lang Syne", he wrote this gem, "The Answer" (can't you just here the Scottish brogue?):

​Ev’n thena wish (I mind its power)
A wish, that to my latest hour
Shall strongly heave my breast;
That I for poor auld Scotland’s sake
Some useful plan, or book could make,
Or sing a sang at least.

This cocktail is so delicious that you won't mind being stranded on the lake during your Colonial lazy river experience! It starts with a simple syrup infused with ginger, mint and lime. Rum, ginger beer, lime and mint round out the flavors and give it fizz. It also makes a great mocktail. Just leave out the rum!

Bossy's granola is the perfect blend of healthy grains and delicious fruits. She recently discovered, thanks to her husband's not so stellar physical, that you can cut the sugar by quite a bit and not even miss it! For this recipe, you do not have to respect the proportions (you can add more or less fruit, substitute different grains and seeds, etc.) but you do need to respect the process!

Bootie and the rest of the family look forward to receiving the granola every year in her Xmas and birthday packages and now that she knows how easy it is to make, she looks forward to making it herself. Wait a second, this is exactly what happened when Bootie encouraged Bossy to knit! Bootie has been had! Oh well, she can now console herself with a bowl of granola and it makes so much that she might even share with her friends. Seen here as part of a complete breakfast.

"Here comes Janet with her damn brownies."--Janet
The famous and sometimes infamous brownie recipe! It was truly a delight having our Mom, aka "Mom the Bomb" on our podcast to talk about her brownie recipe.

This cocktail is perfect for Fall. Caramel vodka--who knew? It combines with the cider to create a caramel apple flavor, without the sticky mess!

Bootie and Bossy both love this recipe for its ease of preparation, and the wonderful mix of flavors it produces. The flavors of those salty olives and capers mixed with sweet prunes, plus the tangy, moist chicken just sings. We recommend serving it over a scoop of rice to soak up those wonderful juices.

Who doesn't love a bowl of chili on a cold blustery day? Our Mom made us this chili recipe often and we couldn't survive the winter without it. Her recipe came from the booklet that was packaged with her electric frying pan, a wedding gift from 1957. We have modified it slightly--both Bootie and Bossy add extra beans. Bootie makes hers without meat. Bossy makes her with ground turkey (or whatever is on sale at the grocery store). Feel free to make it your own and tell us how it goes!

Christina says you need to make this drink TODAY and we agree!!

The combination of the cucumber, fresh lime and basil make this delicious concoction so refreshing. Perfect for the summer or any season. Bootie served Jade Gimlets at Thanksgiving and they were a big hit and also at the Superbowl! Christina is right, you can't go wrong with fresh basil, and fresh lime juice of course.

Got zucchini? Our recipe for this episode will take care of 8-10 zucchini if you pick them at the right time or 2 zucchini if you let them grow to be the size of baseball bats like Bossy did! This recipe comes from Connie Morrison, and it meets all of our criteria--it's delicious, can be made in one pot, feeds a crowd and keeps well!

We had many (ok, one) requests for our cornbread recipe that goes with the Portuguese Bean Soup from Episode 20. As children, we were content with the Jiffy cornbread from a box (or two). But then Bossy learned to make corn bread (and fend off rats) at The White Dog Cafe in Philadelphia. In the rats' and White Dog Cafe's defense, there was construction at the time and this was in 1983 or thereabouts. Bossy still recommends the restaurant. The secret ingredient in this recipe is a cup of creamed corn which gives it a rich texture. The recipe from the Kokee lodge is more cake-like but also delicious and super easy. Try both and tell us which one you prefer!

"A cocktail is not meant to be a melange. At its best, a cocktail should be crisp, elegant, sincere--and limited to two ingredients." --Richard from the novel Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

Don't listen to the American in a Gentleman in Moscow who says that a cocktail should be limited to just two ingredients! This delicious cranberry cocktail has many elements which complement each other beautifully. It starts with a cranberry slurry made from your own cranberry sauce leftover from Thanksgiving (and if you ate it all, see our recipe for cranberry sauce). You can put the cranberry slurry in a quart mason jar which makes it hooch, an excellent host gift! Or keep it for yourself and enjoy it whenever you need a little help to make it through the holidaze. Just add an equal part of ginger beer and the juice of a lime, plus of course magical ice spheres.

Our Mom discovered this recipe from the Seattle Times years ago and it has been a staple at Bootie's Thanksgiving table ever since! You can use this to make a delicious cranberry cocktail recipe.

Curry Chicken West Indian Style - think Jamaican, Trinidadian. This recipe is courtesy of Kim Davis, our guest for Episode 39.   She typically uses chicken thighs to make this hearty dish. Replace potatoes with cauliflower, add some canned chickpeas and you have a healthy, satisfying meal that's high in protein and low in carbs. Bootie made hers vegetarian by omitting the chicken and frying up some tofu coated in the same Jamaican curry mix. We also thought this would be really good with sweet potatoes, carrots, or peas. If making it with cauliflower, you might want to sauté the cauliflower separately so it doesn't get mushy. Unless you like mushy cauliflower. You definitely want to cook the tofu separately or it will disintegrate. You could substitute the chicken for beef or pork. Add some currants or raisins for a touch of sweetness. It's a very versatile dish! Add a dollop of yogurt or sour cream, some cilantro for garnish and serve it with some rice or cous cous or crusty bread. As Kim would say, "Chef's kiss!"

This is definitely killer! Bootie felt the brandy really kicked it up a notch--you can add less if you want to make a less potent version. It's a super adaptable recipe--use whatever juice, brandy or cabernet that floats your boat (but of course like all things in life, the better your ingredients, the better the outcome).

We present Fanny's (aka Bootie's mother in law) recipe for ratatouille. This delicious vegetable dish always reminds Bootie of relaxing summer visits to Fanny's house in the country.

This family favorite recipe comes from the cookbook our mom (Hi Mom!) made for us. Our mom got it from her sorority sister, Margaret Batson, when she was living in Fort Collins. Margaret was the dietician for the Poudre R-1 school district and it is thanks to her that the children enjoyed delicious sweet rolls with their chili every Thursday (and dill pickles, go figure).

Our brother used to request this every year for his birthday and one year, after our sister's recent return from an exchange trip to France, my mom asked Melissa how to it would be pronounced in French. Melissa replied "Chocolat Pee" with a French accent, and guess what? The name stuck.

Our recipe for this episode is a summer classic: Gazpacho! Here's the clip of Marjorie Taylor Greene saying gazpacho instead of gestapo. You're welcome. For the record, when Bootie says Crypton instead of crouton, this is charming and not horrifying. Bossy has been making this recipe from the Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook for many years, as evidenced by all the splatters in her cookbook. It meets all of our criteria: makes a lot, uses one pot, and you have most of the ingredients in your larder. And it's versatile! It's perfect for a hot summer day.

Bootie and Bossy each thought they had the best ginger snap recipe. It turns out that their recipes are virtually identical! Bootie's came from her wonderful friend, Mary Ellen Haley, who is well known for her delicious baking. Bossy's came from Marion Cunningham's cookbook, The Breakfast Book. Bossy has been luring her coworkers into attending meetings with these cookies, along with the accompanied lemon curd, for many years. One of her coworkers said he goes to bed dreaming of them. The recipe for the lemon curd comes from Ina Garten who ingeniously has you peeling the lemons for the zest and then pulverizing the peels with sugar. This method may use a few more bowls than we would like but it's so easy.

This episode is all about the one and only, Ina Garten. We start off with Ina's carrot ginger soup. This recipe is amazingly easy, delicious and healthy. It's the perfect way to start your new year if you're like us and may have overindulged over the holidays. Bootie originally had carrot ginger soup when our mom (Hi Mom!) took her (and not Bossy :-) to the Cosmopolitan Club in Philadelphia. Ina has two methods for preparing the carrots: Roasted (which Bossy prefers) or on the stovetop (which Bootie prefers). Bossy scrubs her carrots, Bootie peels them. We agree on the addition of fresh ginger which you can keep in your freezer and grate right into the soup, without having to peel it. ​

It was snowing in colonial Massachusetts and threatening to snow (mostly large drifts of paranoia) out in the Pacific Northwest so we offered Ina's Winter Minestrone to warm the cockles of your soul, and your belly. It meets all of our criteria: one pot, it makes a lot, and uses mostly ingredients from your larder. Bossy keeps a stash of frozen pesto cubes in her freezer larder, along with the turkey stock from Thanksgiving. Bootie reveals that she buys the squash already peeled and cubed, and sometimes the mirepoix which is French for diced onions, celery, and carrots. As usual, we made a few modifications. We are also sharing our recipes for homemade pesto, garlic bread, and croutons.

Here comes Janet with her damn four bean salad! This is the first recipe our mom (Hi Mom!) included in the recipe book she gave to us. It's perfect for the summer when you don't feel like cooking or if your kitchen is under renovation like Bootie's. We made it a little more gourmet by using fresh green beans and fresh herbs. So let's celebrate the "thousand extra hands" that we get when we open a can of beans!

In celebration of our 30th episode (cue trumpets), we need a drink! And we chose another gem from Laylita.com. She has so many great cocktail recipes, we recommend you try them all--you're welcome. This one is Melon Sangria. First you use a melon baller (or in Bossy's case, a cookie dough scooper) and soak them in a little grappa, honey and lime juice. You let that sit in the fridge, and then you add some wine and chill it for another hour or two. To serve, you add a some seltzer, mint leaves, and lime slices. To be really fancy, you can also make some melon ball ice balls (and you know how we love fancy ice balls ;-)). To make those, you put some melon balls on a tray in the freezer and then once they're frozen (in a couple of hours), you put them in a container in the freezer. And then you're ready to party whenever the mood strikes. Your future self will thank you for balling up the melons, even if ours are not as perfect as Laylita's!

Bootie and Bossy had the honor of interviewing Layla Pujol, the creator of Laylita.com, an Ecuadorian food blog and one of the contributors to the cookbook Yo Cocino Latino (fun fact, after the book was published, Layla was interviewed by Books and Books, one of Bossy and Bootie's father's favorite book stores in Miami). Bootie has had the pleasure of tasting many of Layla's dishes and would recommend these to start your journey into this culinary wonderland. The photos on this page (other than the header and footer) are all courtesy of Laylita herself and available on her blog in English and Spanish!

Whether you have an abundance of tomatoes in your garden like Bossy, or bought them on sale at the market like Bootie, you will love this super simple and amazingly delicious recipe. It's great for those back to school nights when you need something fast. And if you prep everything in the morning (your future you will thank you for that), your kitchen will smell wonderful all day. The recipe comes from the Silver Palate cookbook and we've made a few updates, as always.

Homemade Marshmallows! Who knew this tasty treat was so easy to make and so much better than store bought?

Following our episode on Ina Garten, we watched the Netflix documentary on Martha Stewart. We tried Martha's Lemony White Bean Hummus and it was a hit, especially after imbibing Bossy's new favorite drink: the espresso martini! It's the fresh garlic and lemon juice that really elevate this healthy snack. As Martha would say, "It's perfectly perfect." Bossy added a large garlic clove, Bootie used a small one. We both agree that using the liquid from the can of cannellini beans is unnecessary. You can always add it if the hummus if it's too thick. Add some cumin or smoked paprika for extra flavor.

Melissa said that she first heard this recipe on NPR about 20 years ago during an interview about a new cookbook featuring easy, healthy recipes, but she never found the cookbook. Bossy remembers her making it when she came out for a visit and feeling like it was a revelation. At the time, she didn’t cook with cilantro very much and it was a wonderful combination of super rich tomato and herbs with a creamy and crunchy polenta. She remembers being especially amazed that the tomatoes came from a can; it’s the slow cooking that makes it so delicious. And the longer you cook it, the better.

What Melissa likes about it is that you can throw it in the oven and run around panic-cleaning and maybe put on some make-up—but basically you have at least an hour before your guests come that you don’t have to be in the kitchen cooking.

It smells great too—your guests (or husband and ungrateful children) are greeted by this wonderful, rich smell of roasting tomatoes.

The recipe for this episode is yet another Ina Garten classic: Panzanella. This recipe has many different versions which means it's super adaptable to whatever ingredients you have on hand. You can add chicken or steak for the meat lovers, or serve with shrimp on the side. Ina adds shrimp to her latest version in her cookbook, Go to Dinners. The home made croutons soak up the tantalizing flavors while maintaining their delicious crunch. It's perfect for a summer gathering, lunch, or a meal by itself!

Our recipe for this episode is perfect for busy, back-to-school nights: Pineapple Marinated chicken breasts! It's super easy, tasty and you'll probably have everything you need in your larder except the chicken and the fresh pineapple. The leftovers are fantastic too! Bossy first discovered the recipe in the September 26, 2021 edition of The New York Times:
“The group of enzymes in fresh pineapple, bromelain, excellently breaks down the connective tissues in thick, fibrous chicken breasts. In this brilliant recipe, Eric Kim uses pineapple in two ways: in a cheerful salsa, and as a marinade that transforms breast meat into something closer to tender dark meat. Don’t let the marinade sit for too long, he advises, or the chicken will fall apart during cooking. 15 minutes is the sweet spot for a recipe that clocks in, marinade and all, at 30 minutes.”

This is a great recipe whether you are looking to feed a crowd or you want to have leftovers. The toppings are excellent for customizing it to everyone's tastes. We used Ina's recipe from her cookbook Cook Like a Pro.

Our recipe for this episode is a hearty soup that is perfect for "sweater weather" AND evokes fond memories of our trips to Kauai. The soup is called Portuguese Bean Soup from the Cookbook, Tasting Paradise by Karen Bacon. We would always stop at the Koke'e Lodge and order this after hiking around Waimea Canyon (after visiting the KMart, recycling stations, and all the other "fun" activities our parents planned for us during our visits). Did you know that Kauai is home to the wettest place on Earth? Mount Waialeale receives over 400 inches of rain a year! This is making Bootie and Bossy very grateful that they only see 40 or so inches a year.

This beloved recipe for pumpkin bread comes from Bootie's Kindergarten teacher, Pat Claybour.

This cheesy savory bread makes a great appetizer, or delicious side.

Bossy's tips on spatchcocking

Bootie learned to make this because it is one of her husband's favorite desserts. And it's really not as hard as the impressive results would suggest. You're basically cooking apples in butter and sugar on the stove top, covering it with a pie crust, baking the whole thing in the oven and then flipping it so the apples are on top. The genius is that because the crust gets baked on top of the apples, no more soggy bottom! This recipe is what I use for my Tarte Tatin copper pan which is pretty small (25cm across the top, 20cm across the bottom, it's fluted). If you want to make a larger Tarte Tatin, I use 1 and a half times the ingredients, including the pie dough, and my large saute pan which is 30cm across, not fluted. This is an extremely adaptable recipe so use what you have.

Even though we are not in her demographic, Bossy and Bootie very much enjoy the food porn on Tieghan Gerard's website, Half-Baked Harvest. We tried the chicken tortilla soup and it is a winner, winner, chicken dinner! It's perfect for those nights when you need a little comfort food because you pulled eight ticks off your dog, got poison Ivan (as Bossy's son calls it), and there's a snow storm, all in the same week! It meets our criteria for one pot, and uses ingredients mostly found in your larder. We also appreciate that Tieghan includes instructions for Crockpot, Instant pot, and Stove Top preparation.

​Tieghan was recently interviewed by Martha Stewart on her podcast and Bootie recalled the most excellent episode of Car Talk where they interviewed Martha Stewart (fun fact: our catchphrase, "Don't knit like my sister" is an homage to Car Talk). We love Martha Stewart and we really hope that the line "The point is not for me to lower myself to your standard but for you to raise yourself to mine," that Cybil Shepard said when portraying her in the TV movie is an actual quote from Martha.

Bootie found this recipe for Seafoam "Salad" from Mydelisciousblog.com And ok, she was joking about it on the podcast but she really loved a similar recipe that her mom used to make in the 70's because it has jell-o, cream cheese and fruit, so what's not to like? Bossy actually made it and plated it up so you can choose whether to have it as a salad or dessert ;-)