For Joel.

Key Lime Pie

Crust:

1 sleeve graham crackers (you will want Nabisco grahams in the red box)

2 T sugar

5 T butter (if you use unsalted, or you really like salt, you also need to add a pinch of salt)

Run the crackers and sugar through a food processor until they look crumbly, but not to the point of dust.  Melt the butter and pour over the cracker mixture until everything sticks together, then add the coconut.  Press into a pie pan and bake for 8 minutes at 350.

Filling:

1 can eagle brand sweetened condensed milk (the lowfat kind really tastes no different, but if you’re trying to be health conscious, you really shouldn’t be eating pie in the first place…)

1 bag of key limes.

4 egg yolks

1 husband, brother, or combination of the two who don’t pick at their cuticles.

Cut the key limes in half and have someone else handle juicing them.  This task is arduous, boring, and really stings if you have any sort of wound on your finger.  You can use the pre-squeezed stuff, but it really isn’t good.  You want between a half cup and a full cup of juice, which is about 20 key limes or one bag of them.  Mix this with the Eagle brand and the egg yolks until smooth.  Then pour it all into the pie crust and bake it for 20 more minutes at 350.  Refrigerate for a few hours before you serve and, once it’s chilled top with whipped cream.  I’m a bit of a whipped cream snob (it’s homemade or it doesn’t touch my pie).  For that, you just take one small carton of whipping cream and whip it with some vanilla and about a tablespoon of sugar until it’s fluffy and holds its shape, but don’t go too far or it will be sweet butter.

Overall, I am not a fan of superfluous and superlative recipe titles. I hate the word “zesty”, I think it’s bold to claim your own recipe is “perfect” or “the best”, and I don’t know who your Memaw is so I don’t know if I can trust that her coleslaw is the best (and it’s not, this coleslaw is the best).

That said, this cornbread is pretty much perfect and is allegedly attributed to Waylon Jennings, but in our family it’s just “the cornbread recipe” because it’s so good there is only need for one. There are no bells and whistles, though certainly you can add some extras if you’re so inclined. It’s not overly sweet, but Jay has requested it as a birthday cake more than once. I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t like this cornbread, and I’m finally putting it up here so I don’t have to text a terrible photo of an old cookbook of my mom’s with a bunch of handwritten notes to people whenever they ask for the recipe. Heating the oil in the cast iron skillet while the oven is preheating makes a superb crispy crust, a step that you should not skip.

Cornbread

makes enough to serve about 8

2 cups buttermilk

2 eggs

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 cup cornmeal

1 cup flour

1 TBSP baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter

olive or vegetable oil

Pour enough oil in a 10-inch cast iron skillet to cover the bottom of the skillet and place the oiled skillet in oven while it preheats to 425.

Whisk the eggs, buttermilk, and sugar together in a small bowl or glass measuring cup. In a large bowl, stir together the cornmeal, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir together until blended and smooth. Melt the butter and gently stir it into the batter.

Using an oven mitt (from experience), remove the hot skillet from the oven and carefully pour the batter in. This will make a satisfying sizzling sound, and some of the oil might displace and move to the top of the cornbread, but it’s ok. Return the skillet to the oven and bake for about 20 minutes, until the top starts to turn golden brown. Invert the cornbread after about 5 minutes and serve it warm with a little butter.

Scent is supposed to be the sense most tied to memory and I completely believe it. A sniff of Armani Diamonds (my signature scent in 2007) puts me right back in my first classroom at age 22 at Friendswood High School. The smell of my high school (not a particularly positive scent) brings back a flood of memories when I catch a whiff on my dad’s jacket. Wet polarfleece reminds me of skiing, funnel cake and beer reminds me of the State Fair, and gardenia reminds me of swimming at my grandma’s house.

The briny smell of a jar of muffaletta puts me at a beach on Lake Ouachita with my family and best friends, eating sandwiches our moms made on the top of a cooler with slightly damp bread, Pringles (they don’t get smashed), seasonal fruit, and an iced down Fresca. My best friend’s dad always made the best olive salad for muffaletta and even still I love happening upon a gifted jar in their fridge. He shared his recipe a few years ago and I’ve tweaked it a little to fit my taste (he’s a green olive purist, I’m all about the black olives mixed in). So, for the sake of my one loyal reader, my brother Joel, here’s the best muffaletta recipe of all time (and I know, I’ve tried them all). I hope you one day get to eat a muffaletta lakeside, in a swimsuit, followed by a boat nap and, if you’re lucky, a trip to the marina for a dip cone.

Muffaletta

makes a ton, like enough for the season and to share with your best friends

40 oz. jarred green olives with pimientos (a little more is fine)

1 jar giardiniera (it’s next to the olives)

1 can black olives

3 stalks celery

1 bag frozen pearl onions, thawed OR 1 onion

10 cloves garlic

1 1/2 cups fresh-squeezed lemon juice, about 12 lemons

1 1/2 cups olive oil

1 TBSP dried oregano

1/4 cup finely grated romano cheese

Drain and finely chop all of the olives, giardiniera, celery, onions, and garlic, reserve the jars the olives came in. You can do this by hand, but I use a food processor and do small batches and pulse about 5 times. You want finely chopped, but not baby food. Mix all of the chopped veg together in a large bowl.

Juice the lemons and whisk with the olive oil. Stir in the romano and oregano until everything is well-distributed. Pack the mixture into the reserved jars (and you might need an extra jar or two), and top them with the remaining juices. Refrigerate and let it all sit together for a few days before you first use it. I prefer it on a sourdough or ciabatta bread with provolone, salami, and capicola, preferably lakeside with a Fresca.

I take New Year’s Resolutions very seriously. I love goal setting and the idea of a fresh year to make changes, but I try to steer my resolutions to be more practical and specific – usually a small life change that I can maintain. Past resolutions have included not hitting the snooze button, giving up diet soda, trying new restaurants, and using a turn signal.

So, my 2017 resolution was to read more books. I also paired it with a focus word of PRESENT – because my goal was to read more and spend less time mindless on the internet. After a few weeks, I evolved my goal into reading 52 books for the year -averaging a book a week.

I’m proud to say that as of yesterday, December 30th, I finished my 52nd book. Because I read a lot, people often ask for book recommendations, so I thought I’d share my “best of” for 2017 – with a few caveats. First, I didn’t purchase any books, I only read from the library overdrive on my Kindle – so I tend to run my maximum amount of holds and sometimes don’t get new releases for a while. Second, I love nonfiction and some of my books were weirdly specific (a book on sibling rivalry, 3 books on dog training, etc.). Third, I like serious books, but I also read for entertainment and that often comes in the form of Elin Hilderbrand. It’s kind of like when you need to watch House Hunters or Friends reruns after you watch the PBS Vietnam documentary – balance, yo. So I’ve given you a few categories.

Finally, as embarrassed as I am to admit it, until this year I hadn’t read any of the Harry Potter books. I don’t typically like fantasy, I was just a little too old when they came out, and then by the time I thought I should try, 7 books just seemed really daunting (particularly in the years I was teaching and had babies). So this year, once I’d established that I’d be reading a lot, I gave them a try and convinced my husband to do the same. We both absolutely love the series – I’m through the first 5 books and waitlisted at the library for the Half-Blood Prince. I can’t really rank them because you need to read them in order, and I think most people have already read the series, but if you haven’t, I would highly recommend starting. It’s beautifully written, character-driven, and I’ve stayed awake late at night with each book unable to put it down.

Best “Light” Reads:

1. The Crazy Rich Asians series, by Kevin Kwan – It’s a 3-book series and if you want to be entertained, it’s your best bet. I’ve heard there’s a movie coming, too, which I can see being fabulous.
2. Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty – I read it before I watched the HBO series and both are excellent. I also read Truly Madly Guilty, and it was good, but I didn’t like it as much.
3. One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid – A quick, easy read, but I couldn’t put it down and thought about it long after I’d finished.
4. I love Elin Hilderbrand because she comes out with new books all the time and they’re light, easy reads with interesting characters, but some are better than others. The Identicals and The Rumor were the best two I read this year. I also read the 4-part Winter Street series and it’s great if you need a heartwarming Christmas read.
5. The Royal We by Heather Cocks – if you’re counting down the days to Prince Harry’s wedding, you’ll love it.

Best Serious Fiction:

1. Along the Infinite Sea by Beatriz Williams – I’m not sure whether it would fall more under historical fiction or a love story, but I couldn’t put it down. I have several more Beatriz Williams books on hold for 2018.
2. The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman – Beautifully written and conflicting – my mom and I discussed the outcome for days.
3. Me Before You by Jojo Moyes – Look, I was totally turned off by this because the movie looked lame, but I needed something to read late one night and it was on the front page of the library page, so I tried it and I loved it. The sequel was just OK, I didn’t love it.
4. The Alice Network by Kate Quinn – We read this for book club and I was totally into it. It’s historical fiction, but based on actual female spies during WWII.
5. Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult – A really hard read, but in our current socio-political landscape, it’s an important, perspective-changing read.

Best Nonfiction:

1. When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi – It’s hard to recommend a book that makes you ugly cry, but I think it was the best book I read this year.
2. Born a Crime by Trevor Noah – I’ve heard the audiobook is even better as it’s narrated by Trevor Noah. This is not a “how he became famous” autobiography, but rather a dark, honest look at growing up in South Africa post-apartheid.
3. A Year of Yes by Shonda Rimes – lighter, but if you’re looking to get inspired and Oprahed, this is your best bet.
4. Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari – Do the audiobook. Unexpectedly, this is a well-researched look at modern dating culture around the world, but it’s also funny. If you love Master of None, you’ll love the book.
5. I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzi – You truly can’t imagine that such a person exists in our time. The book is a bit dense with Pakistani and Taliban history, but her spirit and drive is remarkable.

I also loved My One Word, Bread and Wine, Love Warrior, Siblings Without Rivalry, and Instant Mom.

Don’t waste your time:

1. The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher – I think she’s an interesting person, but this particular book was terrible.
2. Love, Loss, and What We Ate by Padma Lakshmi – I always liked her until I read this book.
3. Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly – A fantastic story, but honestly, the movie is much better.
4. The Vacationers by Emma Straub – a book with no point.
5. Class Mom by Laurie Gelman – meh.

So there you go, 15+ books to read this year and 5 to not. Happy reading!

I used to hate salmon. Back when it was “in” and every restaurant served the same boring, overcooked, dry, underseasoned salmon over a bed of wild rice. It was just so not my thing. Plus, I’m kind of a fish snob so I already don’t eat tilapia or catfish and it was pretty easy just to lump salmon in with other inferior fishes and move on.

But then, of course, things changed. Beef became outrageously expensive, we got older and realized we couldn’t eat Taco Bell twice a week and not gain weight, and my grocery store started putting salmon on sale nearly every Monday. So, I gave it another chance. As far as meals with a high deliciousness to work ratio, this is a true winner. The leftover marinade makes the sauce and really all you need is a salad on the side and you have a complete, healthy meal.

I use frozen salmon because I live in Texas and 2 pounds is generally enough to feed 4-5 adults in my home provided I have a hearty salad. If you have more fish, just adjust the marinade accordingly – you don’t want to run out of the sauce.

Super Easy OJ Salmon
2 lbs salmon fillets, thawed, de-boned, skin on or off

1 cup orange juice

1/2 cup soy sauce 

1 T honey (no need to use a measuring spoon, a hearty squeeze will do)

cooking oil of choice – I’ve used olive oil spray and coconut oil spray.

1. In a gallon-sized ziplock bag or a nonporous bowl, whisk together the OJ, soy sauce, and honey until well combined. Place the fish into the marinade, ensuring that all of the fish is covered. Allow to sit for 20-30 minutes, but no longer than that.
2. Set your oven to “warm” and place a cookie sheet inside (lined with foil if you don’t like scrubbing fishy pans). Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat, spray with oil and place 3-4 fillets on hot pan to cook. Cook the fish for about 3 minutes on each side until it flakes. Transfer cooked fish to the warm oven and continue until all of the fish are cooked. DO NOT THROW THE MARINADE AWAY!
3. Turn the heat up to high and pour the remaining marinade into the skillet. Deglaze the pan, scraping up all of the leftover fish bits.  Stir and cook over high heat until the marinade has reduced by about 75% and becomes thick and dark.
4. Remove the fish from the warm oven and serve with the sauce.