10 don what Recipes

here are the basics of making an excellent cheese fondue , the proper way (or at least the lindysez way)., use good cheese , i use half emmental swiss and gruyere, grate them up and toss them with some salt and a good amount of pepper. let them sit out at room temp so they melt better . cut your bread (good french bread, but not sourdough) into bite sized pieces making sure to have crust on each piece. let those sit out for a while too so they aren tsp too soft., cheese that you use , you are going to use 1 3/4 cups of a dry white wine, such as a fume blanc, a california sauv blanc (don tsp use a new zealand 1 as most are too grassy) or a pouilly-fume. when you are ready to make the fondue, rub the pot with a clove of garlic (we like garlic, so we leave the clove in, but you don tsp need to); then place over a medium heat and add the wine. when the wine comes to a simmer, start slowly adding the cheese, sprinkling in a handful at a time, allowing each addition to melt (my dad said you always have to stir in the same direction, in a figure 8 motion, it works. if you stir in a circle you will end up with a big glop of cheese in the middle of a pot of wine, the figure 8 is key); keep adding until you have a nice thick sauce, then add a splash of kirsch and a pinch of nutmeg. put over a burner to keep it bubbling, and stir often when you dip your bread., a lb of cheese is enough for 4 people; or more if you are serving other things. and the amounts are guesstimates. i almost always grate too much cheese, so only add as much as you need to get the right consistency ; when you dip a piece of bread into the fondue, you want a nice coating of cheese and for the bread to absorb the wine. that s what it s all about, cheese, wine and bread. so use the best you can of each ingredient. and any left over cheese makes for a mighty good ham and cheese omelet.

honey (preferably greek thyme , but no biggy if you can tsp get it. do use a good quality , though), water, sugar, cinnamon sticks (or 1/2 tsp ground ), lemon juice, lemon peel (without pith - 4 inch-long piece), orange peel (without pith - 4 inch-long piece), coarsley ground walnuts (very fresh ), coarsley ground almonds (make sure the nuts you use are fresh, very recently purchased), sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, melted butter, phyllo dough, unsalted butter, melted (don tsp use less, this is what will make your baklava taste exceptional, and it has to be butter!)

old age, i decided , is a gift., i am now , probably for the first time in my life, the person i have always wanted to be., i would never trade my amazing friends , my wonderful life, my loving family for less gray hair or a flatter belly. as i ve aged, i ve become more kind to myself, and less critical of myself. i ve become my own friend., i don tsp chide myself for eating that extra cookie, or for not making my bed, or for buying that silly cement gecko that i didn tsp need, but looks so avant garde on my patio. i am entitled to a treat, to be messy, to be extravagant., whose business is it if i choose to read or play on the computer until 4 am and sleep until noon, i will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 50 s, 60 s, & 70 s, and if i, wish i will walk the beach in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging body, and will dive into the waves with abandon if i choose to, despite the pitying glances from the jet set., will get old ., i know i am sometimes forgetful. but there again , some of life is just as well forgotten. and i eventually remember the important things.., over the years my heart has been broken ..., but broken hearts are what give us strength andunderstanding and compassion. a heart never broken is pristine and sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect., i am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turning gray, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my face. so many have never laughed, and so may have died before their hair could turn silver., as you get older , it is easier to be positive. you care less about what other people think. i don tsp question myself anymore. i ve even earned the right to be wrong., answer your question , i like being old. it has set me free.. i like the person i have become., i am not going to live forever, but while i am still here, i will not waste time lamenting about what could have been, or worrying about what will be. and i shall eat dessert every single day. (if i feel like it), may our friendship never come apart especially when it s straight from the heart, may you always have a rainbow of smiles on your face and in your heart forever and ever

christmas with louise, as a joke , my brother, jay, used to hang a pair of panty hose over his fireplace before christmas. he said all he wanted was for santa to fill them., what they say about santa reviewing behavior and checking the list twice must be true because every christmas morning, although jay s kids stockings overflowed, his poor pantyhose hung sadly empty., year i decided to make his dream come true. i put on sunglasses and with a hat pulled down and went in search of an inflatable love doll. they don tsp sell those things at walmart., i had to go to an adult bookstore downtown. if you ve never been in an x-rated store, don tsp go. you ll only confuse yourself. i was there an hour saying things like, what does this do you re kidding me! who would buy that finally, i made it to the inflatable doll section. i wanted to buy a standard, uncomplicated doll that could also substitute as a passenger in my car so i could use the car pool lane, during rush hour. finding what i wanted was difficult. love dolls come in many different models. the top of the line , according to the side of the box, could do things i d only seen in a book on animal husbandry. i settled for lovable louise. she was at the bottom of the price scale. to call louise a doll took a huge leap of imagination., on christmas eve , with the help of an old bicycle pump, louise came to life., my sister-in-law was in on the plan and let me in during the wee morning hours, long after santa had come and gone, i filled the dangling pantyhose with louise s pliant legs and bottom. i also ate some cookies and drank what remained of a glass of milk on a nearby tray. i went home, and giggled for a couple of hours., next morning my brother called to say that santa had been to his house and left a present that had made him very happy but had left the dog confused. she would bark, start to walk away, then come back and bark some more. we all agreed that louise should remain in her panty hose so the rest of the family could admire her when they came over for the traditional christmas dinner., my grandmother noticed louise the moment she walked in the door. what the hell is that she asked. my brother quickly explained , it s a doll. . who would play with something like that granny snapped. i had several candidates in mind, but kept my mouth shut. where are her clothes granny continued., boy , that turkey sure smells nice, gran, jay said, trying to steer her into the dining room. but granny was relentless. why doesn tsp she have any teeth again, i could have answered, but why would i it was christmas and no 1 wanted to ride in the back of the ambulance saying, hang on granny! hang on! ., my grandfather , a delightful old man with very poor eyesight, sidled up to me and said, hey, who s the naked gallon by the fireplace i told him she was jay s friend. a few minutes later i noticed grandpa by the mantel, talking to louise. not just talking, but actually flirting. it was then that we realized this might be grandpa s last christmas at home., dinner went well. we made the usual small talk about who had died , who was dying, and who should be killed, when suddenly louise made a noise that sounded a lot like my father in the bathroom in the morning. then she lurched from the panty hose, flew around the room twice, and fell in a heap in front of the sofa. the cat screamed. i passed cranberry sauce through my nose, and grandpa ran across the room, fell to his knees, and began administering mouth to mouth resuscitation. my brother fell back over his chair and wet his pants laughing and granny threw down her napkin, stomped out of the room, and sat in the car., it was indeed a christmas to treasure and remember. later in my brother s garage, we conducted a thorough examination to decide the cause of louise s collapse. we discovered that louise had suffered from a hot ember to the back of her right thigh. fortunately, thanks to a wonder drug called duct tape , we restored her to perfect health., louise went on to star in several bachelor party movies. i think grandpa still asks about her whenever he can get out of the house

instant chocolate pudding mix, prepared, cool whip, graham cracker pie crust (or chocolate or what you like), cream , redi whip (optional), chocolate bar (optional)

quinces, ripe (ask the seller about ripeness), creme fraiche, thick (or thick cream, 125 g), superfine sugar (caster sugar, 90 g), vanilla, granulated sugar (150 g), salt

chicken breast halves, cut in bite sized pieces, chopped onion, chopped green pepper, sliced mushrooms (drained ), seasoning salt, black pepper, cream of chicken soup, milk, butter (chef s choice) or 1/3 cup margarine (chef s choice), uncooked instant rice, water

oil, onions, chopped, garlic cloves, chopped, lean ground beef, whole tomatoes, beef stock mix, water, paprika, orange bell peppers, chopped, potatoes, cubed