In which I capitulate to his insanity

My dear friend Stephen - you all remember the post about him - is at it again. The poor thing really cannot contemplate why one would find specific uses for mayo vs. Miracle Whip and vice versa. I can see that he is starting to escalate publicly about Miracle Whip. Now it's on Facebook. The innocent posters have merely responded to his MW post and he is restarting the cycle. This is like the stealth virus so I must warn you. Any emails with the word miracle or whip, placed alone or together, spelled backwards or forwards, or any letters appearing in the two words in the subject line of the email MUST I repeat MUST be deleted from your inbox. If you mistakenly open this email a virus will unfold in your computer spewing creamy, off white, tangy fatty whiteness all over your motherboard and central processing unit. It will render your computer useless unless you can remove the substance and serve it with a BLT or in a potato salad.

I understand there is a galaxy wide movement forming to interrupt the supply of MW to the stratosphere for one day. You can support this worthwhile endeavor by going to www.miraclewhip.com and selecting an item from the file of unique recipes. Please purchase necessary items, and prepare the recipe completing the selected dish no later than 11:55 p.m. on March 31, 2009. At one second after midnight the world will lift the dish to their mouths and consume the dish in unison with all other planetary participants. This action will interrupt the flow of MW thus creating a world devoid of the product for a 24 hour period.

For those of you too lazy to go to the site, I offer this classic. Note: To meet the 11:55 p.m. deadline on March 31, you must complete the cooking process several hours before time of consumption to allow for chilling and assembling the dish in a bread bowl.

Broccoli Dip in a Bread Bowl

1 cup MIRACLE WHIP Dressing
1 cup BREAKSTONE'S or KNUDSEN Sour Cream
1 env. GOOD SEASONS Italian Dressing Mix
1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen chopped broccoli, thawed, well drained
1 can (8 oz.) water chestnuts, drained, chopped
1/2 cup chopped red pepper
1 loaf round sourdough bread (1 lb.)
MIX dressing, sour cream and dressing mix in large bowl until well blended. Add broccoli, water chestnuts and red pepper; mix well. Cover. Refrigerate several hours or until chilled.
CUT slice from top of bread loaf; remove center, leaving 1-inch-thick shell. Cut removed bread into bite-sized pieces.
SPOON dip into bread loaf just before serving. Serve with bread pieces, NABISCO Crackers and assorted cut-up vegetables.

From Stephen

so ms. henry.... i am sooo curioius. what would be on the menu if you were asked to create YOUR favorites. and any stories that go with them...

appetizer
soup
salad
entree
sides
dessert

That was a post from my dear friend Stephen. Stephen is a very special friend who brings out the extremes in me - a dangerous place. He loves to be bad. He loves to torment and tease. He is that little brother that drove you nuts who is still acting that way 40 years later. Oh jeez! He reads every post and has a comment or a rant. That leads to an explanation to him of the point I was trying to make which I give in the most descriptive prose I can. This invariably leads to his accusing me of snobbiness and madness and then the gloves come off. I respond to him in a cynical manner and then he dismisses me by saying he will not particpate in my madness or offers to use professional skills as a psychologist to help me with my "issues". Then I read his blog - his soul's journey which is his most vulnerable, and then his Facebook page which is his patchwork quilt of what he's doing, tormenting his friends, musical selections that are gifts from his heart and a recap of his days. He has 11 different personae that he uses to quickly switch and present a new path of thoughts. This is his means of being anything he ever wanted to be no matter how bad or good! He is also a person I trust to tell me the truth - when he is being Stephen- Stephen and not one of his other hyphenated characters. I am so glad he wasn't my little brother. He would have worn me out. At my mature age I can laugh, rant and enjoy him as a true friend. Thank you Stephen for being my friend and being who you are with me.

So I will try to answer Stephen's post.

Appetizer - Mediterranean antipasto platter, guacamole
Soup - Italian Sausage Soup
Salad - something with nuts, fruit, cheese over greens with a homemade dressing
Entree - Pork, Barbecue, My Dad or Tom's Grilled food, Ethnic, Vegetarian, Pasta, Beef, Chicken
Sides - Cottage Potatoes, Corn on the Cob, Eggplant, Any vegetable - prefered cooking method roasted
Sandwich - I added this Reuben (Huge story here!) Burger Grilled, flat, on a homemade bun with pickle, onion , mustard
Dessert - I am not a big chocolate lover except for Theo's Chocolate confections, frosted sugar cookies, molasses cookies, golfballs, fruit tart, if I had to eat a cake it would be a white cake with vanilla frosting

These are not the only things I like but they are the things I can think of at this moment.I would name as a favorite anything cooked for me by a family member or a friend just because they cared enough to want to make something to share with me. I eat seasonally as a rule much to the chagrin of Lee and others who shall remain nameless. It's part of the experience. A crazy thought: I would like to have a meal cooked by me for me but I would like to taste it not as my own cooking but as someone I cooked for. I know that makes no sense at all but I am convinced a cook cannot taste her own cooking the way a guest might.

Stay tuned. Stories and recipes to follow.