Friendship and food – they just plain go together

You Are My Sunshine

I received a fun bit of news this afternoon. Laura Eno, over at A Shift in Dimensions, bestowed me with a “You are My Sunshine” award, which acknowledges bloggers who go out of their way to give other bloggers feedback, leave comments on their sites, or support their hard work in some other optimistic fashion. I felt quite honored. Then, less than two hours later, Anne Tyler Lord, at Don’t Fence Me In, also gave me a “You are My Sunshine” award. I was thrilled, not to mention quite humbled.

Both Laura and Anne are not only fantastic writers, they’re also great friends – fellow writers who have encouraged me in my desire to improve my writing skills, and have also been great to lean on when I needed a shoulder. I must thank the inventors of Twitter for this wonderful friendship. Had I not joined Twitter last year I may have never had the privilege of getting to know Laura or Anne, (or many other kind people, writers or otherwise). I recall turning my nose up to Twitter for a long time, thinking I would never have the time to keep up with yet another social media site, much less find time to write. I’m so glad I changed my mind about that. I have made so many wonderful friends via Twitter, and my life has been greatly enriched for it. Also responsible for the burgeoning friendships is our #fridayflash host, Jon Strother, at Mad Utopia. He encouraged me early on to contribute to the #fridayflash group, and I’m so grateful he did.  

Be sure to stop by Laura’s and Anne’s sites for great, fun, flash fiction, but be careful over there – you’ll want to go in with both eyes wide open….or maybe you’d better keep your hands ready to cover them; you’ll see what I mean.

In honor of Laura, Anne, and many more friends I’ve made this past year, let’s have a friendship party! Here are a couple of my favorite appetizer and beverage recipes that I whip up when throwing a party. These would be great for the upcoming superbowl too! Go Colts!

Deanna’s Pesto Cream Cheese Dip

• Ÿ  1 – 8 oz package cream cheese, (Philadelphia brand)
• Ÿ  1/8 tsp garlic salt, (or a whole bunch, depending on how much you enjoy garlic)
• Ÿ  1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
• Ÿ  3 Tbsp. softened butter (NOT margarine)
• Ÿ  ½ cup fresh minced Italian parsley
• Ÿ  3 – 5 cloves minced garlic, or, again, a whole bulb if you’re like me and really love garlic
• Ÿ  1 tsp dried basil
• Ÿ  ½ tsp dried marjoram
• Ÿ  ¼ cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans
• Ÿ  3 Tbsp. olive oil *you can use extra virgin or regular, depending on how much you like olive oil; the more “virgin” the stronger the flavor

 Make cream cheese mixture: In medium mixing bowl, combine cream cheese with garlic salt, blending until smooth; set aside. 

Make pesto mixture: In a separate medium mixing bowl, combine parmesan cheese, butter, parsley, garlic, basil and marjoram until blended. Stir in walnuts or pecans. Gradually stir in oil.

Combine: Add pesto mixture to cream cheese mixture in mixing bowl that holds your cream cheese, a little at a time, mixing on low speed to incorporate until all is blended. You’ll need to stop the mixer and scrape sides of bowl between each addition.  Form dip into ball and place on serving dish.  Cover tightly with plastic wrap and chill for at least five hours.

Serve with Triscuits, or another favorite snack cracker.  *Note – the dip is very strong so it’s best to use “plain” crackers.  Also, it’s much better if made a day in advance, giving the garlic time to infuse its flavor.

And for our beverage, we’re going to have a drink I made while vacationing in Hilton Head, South Carolina (a marvelous place to vacation), several years ago.  When I made this I didn’t measure at all – I just poured and tasted and poured and tasted until I was satisfied, so these measurements are a guess.  The great thing about drinks is that you can prepare them to your liking without worrying about messing something up, so if you like more of one ingredient than another, have at it!    A note about peaches – if juice doesn’t run down your arm when slicing a peach, or if you don’t have to stand over a trash can or a sink to eat ‘em, they ain’t no good!

Carolina Chiller

• 2 – 3 medium-sized South Carolina peaches, peeled and chopped, (just pour the juice in because if you have the right peaches they’re impossible to chop)
• 1 cup vodka (I use Absolut or Ketle One)
• ½ cup Gran Marnier (or other orange liqueur)
• ½ cup peach schnapps
• 2 cups orange juice
• Splash of Ginger ale
• Crushed ice

Blend all together in blender until texture is creamy.  Serve in chilled margarita glasses with rim of orange sugar.  Makes enough for four normal people, or one tee-totaler. *Note – served best on porch at sunset.

Cheers!