Prize-Winning Deliciousness!!!

 CHICXULUB SURVIVORS CLUB VICTORIOUS!!!!!!!

So, this week in celebration of St. Patrick's Day, our Spring League director decided to host a contest for the best St. Patrick's themed desserts and drinks, to be held at halftime during league nights.  Each team would submit a drink and a dessert, and the winning entry from each category would win a prize.

Somehow I got it in my head that I wanted to make a drink out of mint chocolate chip ice cream, so it would be both green and yummy, so I volunteered to make our team's drink.  I found a recipe on the internet that sounded like it might be good, then went on a mission to find the ingredients.  Later, I made a test batch to make sure the drink would win the prize, and ended up tweaking the recipe just a little for maximum yumminess.  Of course, I also ended up intoxicated from tasting about 4 tiny sips of the drink while testing the recipe... yeah, it's pretty strong!

On game day, I came home early to make the drinks, and I was on the phone with my mom, telling her what I was doing, and that there was going to be a prize for the best drink.  She said "The prize is probably stuff to help you drink some more."  HOW DID SHE KNOW????  She's so wise.

My mom was right.  The prize pack included party hats, big and small, shot glasses, party shades, party ducks (?), party antennas, and party bracelets.  That was some incentive, but the bigger prize was a victory for our team and bragging rights for the next year.

What can I say?  The drink was delicious, the judges cast their votes, and the Chicxulub Survivors Club came away victorious in the drink division!

MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP ICE CREAM SHOTS (or Prize-Winning Deliciousness!):

1 shot Green Creme de Menthe
1 shot Goldschlager
1 shot Irish Cream
1 shot Golden Rum
1 cup of Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream (the green kind)
Dark Chocolate Candy - shaved into little shavings (optional)

Put the liquor and the ice cream into the blender and blend it up for a few seconds until it's smooth.  Add the chocolate shavings and briefly mix them in.  Serve ice cold!

For the contest, I made 8x the recipe so that everyone who wanted some could partake.  My blender could hold 4x the recipe at a time (4 shots of each liquor, 4 cups of ice cream, and 1 candy bar), so that was 2 batches.  I packed it on ice and it held up pretty well.  Make sure you shake it before pouring so you get some chocolate in each shot!  Enjoy!  But don't overdo it!  That's a lot of liquor!

Nobby's Table

Noble Jonathan David was one of six brothers and sisters, the American-born children of Syrian immigrants who settled in Jacksonville, Florida.  Nobby raised his family in Miami, Florida, and eventually became my sister's father-in-law when my sister married his son.  Soon after that, he became the grandfather of my neices and nephew.

Nobby was a brilliant neuro-ophthalmologist, but I knew him as a devoted family member, a gifted cook, and a passionate cello player.  Every Tuesday evening for years, Nobby had his kids and grandkids over (plus extended family such as me, my brothers and sisters and my mom), to have dinner together and play music.  Nobby always cooked, and every Tuesday, his table was stacked with plenty of food for everyone.

Every summer, Nobby returned to Jacksonville Beach and rented a beach house for 2 weeks, where all his brothers and sisters, their children, grandchildren, and ALL the cousins could come from far and wide, relax and enjoy the beach, the food, and the music.  Such a musical family too!  Guitar players, singers, recorders, french horns, violinists, piano players -- somebody was always playing music somewhere around the house or the yard.  One summer, I was blessed to be able to join the family in Jacksonville Beach, and even I joined in on the piano for duets, trios, quartets, whatever sheet music people brought to play.  We weren't quite ready for Carnegie Hall, but it was fun, and music is definitely a strong bond within this family.

That summer, I also tag-teamed with Nobby in the kitchen.  He was actually intrigued by some of my diner-style recipes such as patty melts, reubens, corn beef hash.  Of course, Nobby's specialties were the Syrian dishes: hummous, baba ganouj, tabouli, falafels, kibby, baklava, etc.  He shared his recipes with me, although the 3 dishes I make the most often are hummus, baba ganouj, and occasionally tabouli.  I would make falafels, but you actually have to start the day before, soaking the fava and garbanzo beans in water.  I never think about it in time..

I'll do my best on the measurements, since Nobby and I both had the habit of cooking without measuring our ingredients.  As always, you may adjust the amounts to your own taste.  Also, it's always nice to have other goodies on the side, such as cheeses, olives, roasted red peppers, wine, beer...  :-)

HUMMOUS:

1 15-ounce can of garbanzo beans (also called chick peas)
3 Tablespoons tahini
2 cloves of garlic
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 Tablespoons of olive oil (2+2)

Put the garbanzo beans, tahini, garlic, lemon juice, salt, and 2 tablespoons olive oil in the blender or food processer.  Blend until it is smooth.  Put it in a serving bowl and flatten out the top.  Pour the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil over the top in a circle.  Serve with warm pita bread.

BABA GHANOUJ:

1 large eggplant, grilled and peeled
3 Tablespoons tahini
1 clove of garlic
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2-3 Tablespoons of olive oil

Grill the eggplant over a low flame, turning it so that all sides are charred and the eggplant gets shriveled.  You can do this on your stove, even over electric coils by placing a metal rack over the elements.  Grilling the eggplant is critical because this step gives the baba ghanouj its signature smoky flavor.  Let the eggplant cool a little and then peel it.

Next you have a choice whether you want your baba ghanouj to be smooth or a little bit chunky.  If you want it to be chunky, place all the ingredients into a bowl and mash them together.  You'll have to chop the garlic first for this method.  I use 2 knives to chop the eggplant up into little bits, then add everything else.

If you want your baba ghanouj to be smooth, place all the ingredients into a blender or food processer.  Blend it up for a few seconds until it's smooth.  Enjoy your baba ghanouj with warm pita bread!

Thank you Nobby for everything.  You were a good guy and I'm blessed to have known you.