Monday, Monday...

Hi, All - If you had a Monday like I had, you might feel like partaking of an adult beverage (What's that song by the Mamas & the Papas about Monday, Monday? Sorry, I digress, and I'm showing my age.) Anyway, instead of reaching for the same old tried and true, I encourage you to pull out the martini glasses, your juicer, and the rimming sugar. You're in for a treat if you're willing to squeeze a little citrus.

As I mentioned in my last post, I have Barefoot Contessa's latest cookbook, Back to Basics, and thankfully, she stuck to her guns on using the "basic" ingredients when whipping up these libations called "Juice of a Few Flowers." For 4 drinks you'll need to use all fresh citrus. Don't try to be chinchy or lazy, because that stuff in the bottle doesn't yield the same results:

• 1/2 cup OJ (2 oranges)
• 1/2 cup fresh pink grapefruit juice (1 grapefruit)
• 1/4 cup lemon juice (1 lemon)
• 1/4 cup lime juice (2 limes)
• 1 cup good vodka, like Grey Goose
• extra lemon juice for rimming
• regular table sugar
• fresh mint springs (come on, make it prissy!)

Mix the juices (OJ, grapefruit, lemon and lime) with the vodka in a pitcher. *Note: After juicing the citrus, I strain the juice through a fine sieve so the small bits don't clog my cocktail shaker holes. If you don't, it could become an even more stressful Monday...

Dip the rims of the 4 martini glasses in a dish of lemon juice, then in a dish with the table sugar. Set them aside to dry (in the fridge is even better).

Place some ice cubes in a cocktail shaker, and fill the shaker 3/4 full with the juice/vodka mix. Shake it for about 30 seconds. Evenly divide the drinks between the 4 glasses and garnish with a sprig of mint.

Beautiful and delicious, and sure to cure your Monday blues!

- KiKi

Good Weekend = Good Food

Hi, All - What a great weekend:)

Yesterday my daughters and I went to our favorite mall, where we made the usual pitstops: Barnes & Noble (got Mastering the Art of French Cooking after seeing Julie & Julia at the movies on Friday), Williams-Sonoma to get a list of the upcoming cooking classes, and Crate & Barrel to get replacement martini glasses for making Barefoot Contessa's 'Juice of a Few Flowers' cocktail (in her latest book, Back to Basics...yum-my!). Of course, we had to check out what was new at the Hello, Kitty! store, and we enjoyed some fine dining in the food court with Chick-fil-A.

This evening, I made one of my (frequent) trips to the grocery store to get black walnuts for making banana bread. While I was there, I saw some great looking lamb stew meat, so I took the plunge and bought it. However, I have not a clue what to do with it, as I have never tried cooking lamb. So what did I do when I got home, but consulted Mrs. Child's book and found a whole section on lamb stew, the different cuts of meat, and some great recipes. I threw the lamb in the freezer but plan to pull it out next weekend when I have time to experiment. I'll let you know how it turns out.

By the way, the banana bread was delicious...a toasty top crust and a terrific blend of sweet, ripe bananas, crunchy black walnuts, and fresh coconut. With a glass of cold milk, it was the perfect bedtime snack.

- KiKi

Cooking: Love It!

Hi, I'm KiKi, and I LOVE to cook. And I'm curious if there are others out there who, like me, get a thrill out of going to the grocery store (the selection part, not the paying part), cooking with super-handy gadgets and pots and pans (I have my favorites), and serving up food so good, it makes people's eyes roll back in their heads.

There's nothing like watching people plate up, wouldn't you agree? You can almost feel their hearts beat faster and their mouths water as that first bite of your culinary creation touches the tongue. For me, the instant gratification comes when I hear the, "OMG, that is unbelievable!" It makes all my efforts at the stove (or the oven or the grill) totally worthwhile.

However, there's this one little issue: TIME, or more specifically, the lack thereof! On the one hand, I'd love to be the Barefoot Contessa, Martha Stewart, and Julia Child (yes, I saw her movie - fabulous, isn't it?) all rolled into one. And on the other hand, I'm trying to be SuperMom to two beautiful girls, an A+ wife to my fabulous husband, and a really good PR professional to boot. Now the question is, how exactly am I supposed to get it all done? I guess I'm like millions of other women out there who want it all - a happy family, a lovely home, and a satisfying career - and we only have 24 hours in a day to cram in all that good stuff!

So why don't you join me in the kitchen, which is the heart of my home? It's where the kids do their homework, my husband makes the coffee, and I pursue my passion: cooking up whatever happens to be in the fridge or the pantry - when I have the time!