April 29-May 5, 2022, “Cocktail Hour Buzz,” Brunch, CooksSalon

New Salon every Friday – and you’re invited

C’mon in and help yourself to tasty resources

Hosted by Barbara J Nosek

 Cocktail Hour Buzz

 🌸🌹🌺   Mother’s Day Brunch Edition 🌻🌼🌷

When Happy Hour goes early with snacks, drinks and chat

and maybe related resources & goodies on Amazon

whether for a crew, or for two, or just for you

{links within my items go to the sources shown in red – any links underneath items take you to Amazon unless otherwise indicated, and then only ones with the lock icon}

♦♦♦  I was so happy to find Molly Yeh’s technique for filling roll-ups that makes the process so much easier. By spreading the ingredients on dough and then cutting wedges to be rolled, all the filling is done at once and distributed evenly vs parceling out individually for each piece. In her prep & demo, which we featured in our 03.25.22 Salon, the roll-up was spinach and feta on pie dough. We decided to go brunchy {and no-cook} with smoked salmon, onion & chive cream cheese, red onion, capers, and a sprinkling of dillweed on a slightly softened burrito size tortilla.  CS

Tip: It’s a good idea to do this as close as possible to service so the tortilla stays dry

Molly Yeh’s “Girl Meets Farm” show on Food Network

Molly Yeh cookbooks

♦♦♦   That sunshiny brightness, the tongue-tickling bubbles, the graceful glasses, all make Champagne and orange juice a pluperfect brunch choice. But turns out even here, pairing counts. Or at least that’s the premise of this guide to “9 Champagnes That Are Perfect for Mimosas.” Mixing tips too. And if someone wants to skip the juice? Says here these sparklers are ready to step up to that job too.  F&W The Wine List

MyRecipes tests grocery store orange juices

♦♦♦  You probably want to set out hand wipes for this one. It’s Bobby Flay’s  Pecan Pie Monkey Bread. The  classic pull-apart sweet treat is smacked with the famed Flay favor punch, here taking shape as rich caramel and chopped pecans over and between a double layer of sugary, cinnamon-y homemade rolls.   Food Network via Alexa

Bobby Flay’s show on Food Network

Flay’s cookbooks

While “from scratch” is always so good, Pillsbury offers this refrigerated biscuit version . . .

“Grands™ Monkey Bread,” a caramel-y pull-apart with walnuts & raisins, shown here

♦♦♦  You just never know where you might come across a recipe, let alone one with a past – in this case giving us the opportunity to dress up our brunch table with a famous salad. The source here is Sharon Gless’ memoir, an Amazon Editors’ Pick, where among other revelations we discover that her maternal grandfather, Neil McCarthy, a high-powered entertainment attorney for top Hollywood luminaries of the times {think Howard Hughes, Lana Turner, Katherine Hepburn, Ava Gardner, et al}, had a salad named after him at the Polo Lounge, a sort of re-imagined Cobb, where it remains on the menu to this day. Heck of a conversation piece.  Amazon

For these individual servings you’ll want to dice everything extra small – also you can either layer the foods as shown on the right, or blend them, left, as is often done with Cobbs, either one then with levels of dressing. 

The Polo Lounge is in the Beverly Hills Hotel, part of the Dorchester Collection

Authentic McCarthy Salad Recipe {& some backstory} from the Dorchester website

Google offers these choices for Brown Derby’s Classic Cobb Salad recipe

“Apparently There Were Complaints” by Sharon Gless

Next week, how Gless’ maternal grandmother made her own mark in the culinary world

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April 22-April 28, 2022, “Cocktail Hour Buzz,” CooksSalon

New Salon every Friday – and you’re invited

C’mon in and help yourself to tasty resources

Hosted by Barbara J Nosek

 Cocktail Hour Buzz

sundowner snacks, drinks, chat, and . . .

whenever I can, related resources & goodies on Amazon

whether for a crew, or for two, or just for you

{links within my items go to the sources shown in red – any links underneath items take you to Amazon unless otherwise indicated, and then only ones with the lock icon}

♦♦♦  So, here we have a creative cook’s shortcut turning into a crowd favorite. Instead of individual poppers, all the goodies join forces in “Ryan’s Reverse Popper Dip.” Wowsie, this is good. And I personally applaud a prep that calls for even more garlic than onion. The recipe did not mention a tomato garnish, but since the pic seems to show that I added it too.  AllRecipes

Want to make actual poppers instead? Google has you covered

♦♦♦   With Cinco de Mayo in sight, what a great time to look into some tasty ways to serve up the day’s classic libation. I’m especially intrigued by the spicy black grape, the grilled citrus, and foam-topped salt air versions in the iconic mag’s offering of their “Best Margarita Recipes.” And we agree that it’s a “perfect drink to make at home.”  Food & Wine

Good Housekeeping’s easy “25 Appetizers for Cinco de Mayo”

Rather play with tequila’s cousin? – see right below

♦♦♦  Mai Tai to Tia Mia,  Wicked Games of pear & pineapple, Smoky Fig Sour, gingery Ginger’s Lost Island, Cucumber, Salt & Smoke. What do they have in common? All are part of “12 Mezcal Cocktails for Warm Weather Inspiration.” What else these drinks have in common, according to the story, is their talent to “bring out the best made with the smoky, agave-based spirit.”  Food & Wine

One per drink? What a taste test that would be . . .

The 12 Best Mezcals to drink in 2022 – from Liquor.com

Want to dress the part? Amazon has the answer . . .

Mezcal themed t-shirts

♦♦♦  And for a sweet finale, how about some pretty Strawberry Mousse Bars? A graham cracker crust hosts a rich strawberry and cream cheese layer, topped off with even more fresh strawberries. Yum.  FoodTalkDaily

And maybe a dessert wine to keep it company?

TasteAtlas says these are the 10 most popular ones in the world

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April 15-April 21, 2022, “Cocktail Hour Buzz,” CooksSalon

New Salon every Friday – and you’re invited

C’mon in and help yourself to tasty resources

Hosted by Barbara J Nosek

 Cocktail Hour Buzz

sundowner snacks, drinks, chat, and . . .

whenever I can, related resources & goodies on Amazon

whether for a crew, or for two, or just for you

{links within my items go to the sources shown in red – any links underneath items take you to Amazon unless otherwise indicated, and then only ones with the lock icon}

♦♦♦  Just seeing the words, “bacon wrapped,” snags attention pretty fast for many of us. And what’s behind the wrap here is also quite enticing. We’re talking about Bacon Wrapped Chicken Taquitos. Yum. Some ranch dressing mix and sour cream also get in on the act. Mixing in some shredded cheddar too helps tighten up the filling and as a bonus adds even more good flavor.  Tasty via Alexa

Proceed at your own risk, and the book is Prime eligible too

“Bacon Wrapped Recipes”

You can browse the Amazon Echo {Alexa} styles right here – a foodster’s dream resource

♦♦♦  Well here’s a fun way to gin up the party vibe. In place of, or in addition to, the straight versions of the spirit, how about some of the flavorful cousins found in these “16 Unusual Gins to Upgrade Your Home Bar”? Extra botanicals, fruits, spices, and more all variously make their tasty contributions.  Food & Wine

Liquor.com calls these the “16 Best Gins to Drink in 2022”

♦♦♦  OK, back to bacon. This though is an encore with an enhancement. In our 03.18.22 Salon we featured cheesy bacon bread pudding. Very good as is, but since traditional sweet bread pudding is usually served with a sauce, why not a saucy companion for this savory one. I kept it pretty simple – mayo, enhanced with a touch of ranch dressing, lemon juice and dried parsley.  CS

Other savory bread puddings on Google

♦♦♦  I feel like I’m being haunted by volcanos. In last week’s Salon, we featured our discoveries of volcano-shaped dishes for virtually every food group, plus wines from grapes grown on volcano slopes. Now a recent episode of “Bar Rescue” had a mixologist rimming a cocktail glass with volcanic salt. On Google it’s also called lava salt or black lava salt. Then searched using it for cocktails and found it’s mainly for rimming {but see below}. And among those finds was a pretty Strawberry Thyme Margarita from Food 52

Not in your store? Amazon has it here

Cocktails on Google with black lava salt rims

Liquor.com tells us about using a saline solution right in the drink. Can you imagine if you used black salt. Can you say Halloween? Here’s the full scoop . . .

How and Why to Use Salt in Your Cocktails

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Zazzle

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Food Lovers T-Shirts page here on CS    Food Lover Mug page here on CS

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Want to be among the first to know about new Salons?

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Use Search, Archives, Categories OR email me at the same link above with “CooksSalon” in the Subject line

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Cook with passion and a party spirit, whether for a crew, or for two, or just for you

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April 8-April 14, 2022, “Cocktail Hour Buzz,” CooksSalon

New Salon every Friday – and you’re invited

C’mon in and help yourself to tasty resources

Hosted by Barbara J Nosek

 Cocktail Hour Buzz 

sundowner snacks, drinks, chat, and . . .

whenever I can, related resources & goodies on Amazon

whether for a crew, or for two, or just for you

{links within the my items go to the sources shown in red – any links underneath take you to Amazon unless otherwise indicated, and then only ones with the lock icon}

♦♦♦  From the number of times I’m coming across this dish, it just might be an exploding trend {sorry,  sorry, sorry}. It’s food volcanos {some really do erupt}. How fun would that be on either the brunch or happy hour table. Lots of festive volcano variations on these google pages . . .  🌋

May I suggest that you take a look at the directions from start to finish before any preparation. Also might want to tap into the Misc page, as the pix before the recipe list shows some interesting ways you can decorate or even landscape your volcano.

Want just the shape? And note these items likely have uses beyond the title words.

Volcano chocolate molds

Princess doll cake pans with & without the center stem

♦♦♦  How about this for perfect timing? Volcanic Wines! The grapes are literally grown on the slopes of volcanos. Why, and do the workers collect hazard pay? The answer to the first part, as the story says, is that “volcanic soils seem to help impart a distinctive character to wine, both red and white, not found in other places.” There’s more to the tale, including the flavors these grapes yield and the best ones to buy now. Nothing about pairing but guess we could figure this out from the profiles shown for each selection. Just maybe something perfect to create a tasty Volcanic duo.  Food & Wine

Photo by Volcano Winery, Big Island, Hawaii

Want to see for yourself?

National Geographic reveals here 9 volcanic vineyards you can visit

Book – “Volcanoes & Wine: From Pompeii to Napa”

♦♦♦   Pizza + Slider = Boffo cocktail companion. It starts with slider rolls, or parker house rolls, or any small rolls that pull apart, which are then sliced horizontally while remaining intact. In goes pepperoni, of course, plus sauce, cheeses, and seasonings. Did we mention garlic butter all over the place? In the oven, out of the oven, and voila! Pepperoni Pizza Sliders! Slice along the handy guidelines and serve. Really good and a definite crowd pleaser!  Southern Living

Pizza fan? Take a look at our these fun CS- designed, Zazzle-produced items . . .

“Yay! It’s Pizza O’Clock” tee    “Yay! It’s Pizza O’Clock” mug

♦♦♦  Here’s a bit of food-related chat for your next get-together. We’re all going to have the chance to discover the origin of Pop-Tarts. Yay? Well the real news about this movie, which will presumably reveal all, is its origin, its star, director, producer, and co-writer – Jerry Seinfeld! Called “Unfrosted,” it has, as quoted in the story, “pure silliness . . . a giant, crazy, comedy movie.”  Food & Wine

And Eat This, Not That treats us to . . .

35 Funniest Food Moments from “Seinfeld”

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Appreciate anytime you can visit affiliate partners, linked below or in features above

Amazon

Click link above for Amazon homepage, Below for Echo Show, Echo Dots, Echo Studio, Especially for Kids – 

Browse Amazon Echo styles right here – all a foodster’s dream resource 

Zazzle

Click link above for Zazzle homepage, Below for CS-Designed, Zazzle-Crafted Items {direct Zazzle links on these pages}

Food Lovers T-Shirts page here on CS    Food Lover Mug page here on CS

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Want to be among the first to know about new Salons?

Easy! Just put “Preview List”  in the Subject line, and email me at the link shown above for comments & questions

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Note

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Cook with passion and a party spirit, whether for a crew, or for two, or just for you

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Frambled Eggs Are Like Scrambled with More Attitude Recipe | MyRecipes

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April 1-April 7, 2022, Cocktail Hour Buzz,” CooksSalon

New Salon every Friday – and you’re invited

C’mon in and help yourself to tasty resources

Hosted by Barbara J Nosek

 Cocktail Hour Buzz   

🎈🎈  Brunch Edition  🎉 🎉

When Happy Hour goes early with snacks, drinks and chat

and maybe related resources & goodies on Amazon

whether for a crew, or for two, or just for you

{links within my items go to the sources shown in red – any links underneath items take you to Amazon unless otherwise indicated, and then only ones with the lock icon}

♦♦♦  In a recent episode of The Kitchen, Broadway actor Daniel Breaker prepared a Baked Egg Bar. What an easy way to make multiple servings that are also fun and colorful. On the show, and in the linked recipe, delectable toppings are added to eggs and cream in ramekins before the whole panful is baked. The recipe notes that you can also have guests add their own to the unbaked dishes. Just thinking, what if you added, say, just some colorful chives and cheddar before baking, and then after baking have the guests top off as they wish from a “bar.” Whichever way, just a great idea.  Food Network

So many great looking ramekins on Amazon

♦♦♦  Wow, was I happy to find this recipe for Baked Pancake with Pancake Mix. I used to buy the store brand that had a good version on the box, but that is no longer available. Even better, this prep shows a preference for the brand sitting right on my pantry shelf. So much good going on here. First, and as usual foremost, the taste is phenomenal, and would be even without the chocolate chips I added. Now just look at the photo and you can see how tender this is, the way it curves onto its platemate. And because it bakes in a 9×13, you can feed a lot or freeze a lot.  The Seasoned Mom

Also to note in the photo – the top of the pancake {left} does not brown in the oven. but the bottom does. So just flip over and you’ll be serving the golden one on the right.

For another oven-to table brunch dish, go back right here to our March 18, 2022, Salon for Cheesy Bacon Bread Pudding

♦♦♦  One of the great things about brunch is the option to set out little bites of good stuff, often with a breakfast vibe. Sort of like an early cocktail hour. And wowsie does this dish fit the bill. Mini Cinnamon Roll Bites. Easy! Starts with a refrigerated pie crust. Butter it up, sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon, roll it up and bake. A simple glaze prep in also included, which is presented as a dip but seems it could also be a drizzle. Demo too. Add a cup of coffee and it’s the perfect brunch finale.  Tasty

I haven’t made this yet, but would be inclined to use the whole crust, even if a few of the rolls ended up less than uniform. My mom used to create a few of these from the dough scraps whenever she made a pie. Just one of the ways she was my role model in finding ways to not waste food.

♦♦♦   What can make a classic brunch beverage take on such additional traits as fun, festive, tasty, colorful, clever. Answer – the easy technique for making these Rainbow Mimosas. What’s so appealing about these glassfuls is their multiple flavors since they’re created mostly with natural juices – cranberry, carrot, mango, matcha lemonade, blue curacao, butterfly pea flower tea – topped off with Prosecco or Champagne. Wondering if  blueberry juice instead of curacao and grape juice instead of pea flower could work. There’s always of course food coloring, and as well you certainly don’t have to make all 6 colors.  Food Network

Other mimosa recipes on Google

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Appreciate anytime you can visit affiliate partners, linked below or in features above

Amazon

Click link above for Amazon homepage, Below for Echo Show, Echo Dots, Echo Studio, Especially for Kids – 

Browse Amazon Echo styles right here – all a foodster’s dream resource 

Zazzle

Click link above for Zazzle homepage, Below for CS-Designed, Zazzle-Crafted Items {direct Zazzle links on these pages}

Food Lovers T-Shirts page here on CS    Food Lover Mug page here on CS

ETC

Want to be among the first to know about new Salons?

Easy! Just put “Preview List”  in the Subject line, and email me at the link shown above for comments & questions

Looking for something in CS?

Use Search, Archives, Categories OR email me at the same link above with “CooksSalon” in the Subject line

Note

All transactions are solely between the buyer and linked supplier

Cook with passion and a party spirit, whether for a crew, or for two, or just for you

All pages ©2022 CooksSalon.com

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