Friday Friend Recipe #213 -- Tom and Jerrys

Come with me as I continue to countdown my Friday Friend Cookbook!

What is it, you may ask?

In a nutshell...
About 19 years ago, 50 of my closest friends and family, who had been on an e-mail forum with me, sent in recipes in different categories and we compiled a cookbook.
I decided to count those down!
Why?

Because  one night I was looking thru the cookbook and I said, "I should make every recipe in here for my blog"
The Handyman--who thinks he knows me better than I know myself, said,  "you'll never EVER do that."
Well,  maybe I will!  Maybe I'll show him!

Which brings me to recipe #213

My Cousin Linda's Tom and Jerry Mix

(which comes to her by way of my grandmother, Merle Hambelton)

Well finally I get a recipe in the right place!  What I mean is that I made this last Christmas time and here I am just finally posting about it.  Sometimes I have posted holiday recipes in the middle of the summer--it's just how it works out-- but finally I am in the theme of things!

(even tho, the picture doesn't portray it, because I took the photo last January--it is normally a staple during holidays)

This is a Tom and Jerry.

My paternal grandparents always had Tom and  Jerry's at Christmas time.

My maternal grandparents always had Hot Buttered Rums at Christmas time.

 I usually make Hot Buttered Rum mix because it's easier, but I love to drink them both.  I am not one to turn down Christmas Cheer of any kind---and something hot and warm? Mmmmm!

Last year I made both the HBrum and the T&J's ---we had lots of Christmas cheer around our house--- as I had a recipe in the countdown I needed to cross off my list!

 I was under the impression that the Tom and Jerry batter involved a lot of steps and  a lot of work. It wasn't nearly as hard as I had made it out to be, which makes me wonder why I waited so long to give this recipe a try.

As I mentioned, I love them both and now that I know it wasn't a huge endeavor, I'll be making Tom and Jerry's for the holidays from here on out.

The Hot Buttered Rum batter is on top and 

The Tom and Jerry batter is on the bottom.

You can see the difference in color due to brown sugar and butter vs whipping cream and eggs.

They are both rich and delicious and full of calories!

So, Soo, sooooo  full of calories.

I hope you can read this recipe.  It is the original one that my grandmother made.  I added some vanilla and some nutmeg and a touch of ground cloves to it.   I've also read where you can use 2 jars of marshmallow cream instead of the whipping cream. That might be worth a try sometime too.

My cousin Linda turned this recipe into the cookbook and usually this is where I write a story or tell a memory of the author of the recipe, BUT with more than 150 recipes to go, of which I'm sure Linda is going to be showing up more than once, I'm going to tell a short story about our Friday Night Friends --  John specifically, BECAUSE every year I give him Hot Buttered Rum batter in December and he loves it.  Last year I gave him both Hot Buttered Rum mix and Tom and Jerry Batter.  He too, loved them both!

One time last summer.....

Why are the Handyman and friends making faces? 

Because they thought they were getting some really good champagne.

Some Dom Perignon.

And.... um, you can tell by their faces.... it wasn't very good.

In fact, we didn't finish it.

But it was fun giving it a try!

It was given to my friend Robbie by a good friend of hers for their anniversary ---or birthday or something--whatever it was, it was a celebration!

This great vintage of 1995.....or is it 1985?

The bottle didn't match the box.

Maybe it was re-gifted?

Every Friday night we have dinner with our friends, The Miltons.  Unless one of us is busy of course.

We've known them for 30 years but  for the past 18 years we've been getting together on Friday nights for dinner.

Sometimes our kids join us, sometimes they don't.   This night at their house, their son Mike and his girl friend  Tami were there to help us taste the spoils.  ( spoils! Ha! That's almost not a joke!)

We always have a great time.

All we do is have dinner---sometimes we/they have even gone home before 9pm.

We just eat and have great discussions around a beautiful table.

The guys play cribbage before dinner and drink beer.  In December they play cribbage and drink Tom and Jerrys or Hot Buttered Rums!

This is recipe #213 only 154 left to go!

Friday Friend Recipe #212 - Salami Rolls

My Friday Friend Cookbook Countdown #212

(#willreallyfinishthissomeday)

Salami Rolls

and you know all the whys and wherefores of this countdown, right? Homemade cookbook, friends contributed, Handyman said I couldn't/wouldn't do it, I'll show him, yadda yadda yadda....

...and the rest is cookbook history!

This is embarrassing!  Besides the Jell-O, this might be the most embarrassing recipe I turned in. Because,  yes, this one is mine.

I have probably only made these 2 times in my whole life and yet, here we are in publication.  I jest, but here it is for the whole world to see.

Okay,  honestly---they're not very pretty, they are super easy to do, They probably won't make an appearance on every hor d'oeuvres table I set, but they are strangely--good.

Salami  Rolls

1 (8 ounce) package	cream cheese (softened)
18 slices	salami (thinly sliced)
18 slices	pepperoncini peppers (drained, or to taste) spread each salami slice with cream cheese and roll up a pepperoncini inside. Secure with toothpick.  (perhaps slicing them in half lengthwise might give a better presentation) (also taking the stems off? LOL)  (I obviously was not at my best)

So. let me tell you about that time I saw a Marbled Godwit.

I DID! I REALLY DID!

My friend Mitzi said this was very exciting and that I was extremely lucky!

but seriously?  If you are a birder...look at that map...I was in Nevada, where the little yellow part is.  I REALLY WAS LUCKY to see the Marbled Godwit!  He was just migrating thru.

Before you go 'uh, big nerd' and close this blog, let me tell you;  you need to expand your horizons.  I did.  The Marbled Godwit appeared during  my first birding experience.  I had been a backyard birder for some time, but that year I went with my friends (who are experienced birders ) to the Spring Wings Festival in Fallon,  Nevada, as Mitzi is pointing out below.  And I had so much fun!!

It was the spring of 2011

We arrived on Friday at noon, for our 1st tour/class

Mitzi and me with our big cameras!

 Maris and Jolina with their 'little' cameras!

Some HOT CHICKS!

I mean, me,  Jolina and Mitzi---ready for a great birding weekend!

Friday afternoon:  Stillwater shore birds
Friday night:  Rapture Rapture
Saturday morning:  Wood ducks
Saturday afternoon: Birding Hot spots
Sunday morning:  Carson Lake
Sunday noon:  Release of the Golden Eagle ( a rescue bird)

Birding is fun!  And apparently funny!!  They even made a movie all about birding once--called, 'The Big Year' staring Steve Martin, Owen Wilson and Jack Black.

 All I know is that I had a good time.  (and I've had a good time ever since! I love birds!)    We went out to different areas in tour vans and saw all kinds of birds, had a presenter and there were a few presentations thru-out the day. I do have to laugh to myself tho, being a brand new birder, these kinds of conversations made me laugh...
"look over there, is it? "
"I think it is."
"Look, look.....awwww, ahhh, ohhhh, there, there,  a long billed curlew!!"

The Long Billed Curlew 

I was lucky enough to see this one too!  The Godwit was too far away for a good photo, but this guy? He was cooperative.

These were my birding friends that  year....

Mitzi is the teacher's pet---actually she could lead a class all on her own. She knows all the stuff.   We can be sitting on my patio enjoying a summer evening meal and she will hear a bird and say,  "that's the Red Winged Black Bird."    or she will see a bird in flight and say, "that's a Barn Swallow." She can identify birds by their song and their flight patterns. She is amazing!

Jolina is the studious note taker. She was writing down everything the tour guide said.  She was marking off every single bird we saw  (this is how I know we saw over 50 species---and I saw every single one of them too) and I am so glad that she was  keeping track!

Maris fed us and let us sleep in her house.  She and her husband were THE BEST HOSTS  ever.

This is my story....

About a Female Wood Duck. 

On Saturday morning, we went with the biologist to check up on what was happening with the water fowl. They keep stats on Wood Ducks.

We took her out of her box (Wood Ducks are cavity nesters, so they make wooden boxes for the ducks to nest in.  It's easier to study that way)

We checked the wing span.

And measured her.

And we weighed them.  By sticking them head first in a plastic pop bottle  (soda, coke, whatever you call it.  I call it pop.)

It's  just for a moment and she won't fly away while they weigh her.

And then you just throw her in the air. Which is what I'm doing  here.  I was nervous to just throw her, but she just took off flying....

....which left the young biologist to check her eggs....

to make sure the babies are alive and developing and to know when they will hatch.

Just FYI--the Wood Duck population was down that year.  They are not sure why.

I need to check up on those wood ducks and see how they've fared in the past 7 years.

This was so interesting!

We  had a birding weekend every year for 5 years and then life happens and while we've had separate birding experiences, we haven't had that special 'girls' weekend again.  We need to bring it back!

I'll make some salami rolls to much on! 

This is recipe #212 only 155 left to go!