Fangirly fun, #LetsLunch

Spring photos by Laura Mercer

Spring break is a staycation this year, due as much to a lack of inspiration as a lack of budget. It’s a holiday cut short by work obligations, the school week grind broken by silenced alarm clocks, easy evening meals, and after-dinner strolls through the neighborhood. All told, I’ve been busy, but haven’t gotten a whole lot done. The laundry mountain is reduced and the kitchen is clean, and that’s about all I have to say for myself.

While it seems that most residents of our little town are sticking their toes in squeaky Gulf Coast sand this week, there are a few folks left, and that means opportunities to try new things. Or, in this case, maybe a very old thing ~ joining in with a few hundred screaming girls at a teen dream concert, in this case 16-year old Australian cutie pie Cody Simpson. 

Cody Simpson

The Australian teen idol was in Atlanta for the NCAA March Madness and a friend invited my 14 year old daughter and me to join her for the concert followed by a meet and greet. Now, there is a certain blond Australian with initials C.S. that I would love to meet...

Curtis Stone

...But Cody Simpson is pretty darn cute, too. With a mid-century Bad Boy pompadour and a guitar, he’s a throwback Teen Idol with chops. And he puts on a great show. 

To be honest, I felt a little bit old. I worried about embarrassing my daughter by clapping too much,  or cheering too much. Standing up, sitting down. And that sound, that screaming teen girl sound, it’s hard to believe that I once knew how to make that sound.

At the meet and greet, Cody was very sweet and looked impossibly young. I guess I’ve done a 180: it doesn't seem like that long ago that I was a teen girl squealing “isn’t he just cuuuuute?” and now I'm smiling at this young man and thinking “oh my goodness, his parents must be so proud.” 

And so I send out this long distance dedication to Cody.

 If Google is to be believed, Cody’s favorite foods are  pizza, hamburgers and milkshakes. In other words, typical teen boy food. If that cutie pie ever came to my house, I’d feed him my pizza muffins and a Nutella milkshake. And I’d lock my daughters in their rooms.

Pizza muffins. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

Pepperoni Pizza Swirl Muffins

These muffins are endlessly adaptable. I go old school with pepperoni and mozzarella cheese, but you may add whatever pizza toppings float your boat.

2 (6.5 oz. packages) pizza crust mix                    

1 cup warm water

Flour for rolling out dough

1/2 cup pizza sauce

1/2 cup shredded Italian blend cheese

1/2 cup chopped pepperoni

Extra pizza sauce for dipping

1.       Heat the oven to 425. In a bowl, stir together the two packages of pizza crust mix and 1 cup water. Let rest. Grease a 12-cup muffin pan.

2.       Turn dough out onto a floured counter and press into a rectangle. Spread pizza sauce over dough, then cheese and pepperoni. Roll dough lengthwise, jelly roll fashion. Pinch together the edges. Slice dough into 12 pieces.

3.       Place each dough round into a muffin cup. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes. Let cool on wire rack for 5 minutes, then serve with extra pizza sauce for dipping.

Pepperoni pizza roll. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

Nutella Milkshake with Toasted Marshmallow Topping

3 scoops chocolate ice cream

¾ cup whole milk

¼ cup Nutella

1 cup mini marshmallows or 6 regular marshmallows

1. In a blender, combine the ice cream, milk and Nutella and blend until fully incorporated. Top individual servings with marshmallow topping:

2.       To make marshmallow topping: A toaster oven is ideal for this, but you may use a regular oven set at 350. Spray a piece of foil with vegetable oil spray. Sprinkle marshmallows in an even layer on the foil. Toast at 350 for about five minutes. Keep an eye on them! When marshmallows are tan and puffy, remove from oven and let cool. Top milkshake with marshmallows. 

Nutella milkshake with toasted marshmallow topping. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

 This post is my April contribution to #LetsLunch. This month's topic is spring break food. You may follow my #LetsLunch Pinterest board here and check out these great posts from other #LetsLunch writers:

Jill's Basil-Infused Cotillion Cocktail at Eating My Words
Lisa's Beetroot and Salmon with Horseradish at Monday Morning Cooking Club
Linda's Instant Carrot Cake at Free Range Cookies
Karen's Sourdough Sandwich Bread at Geofooding
Linda's Guide to Eating in Cancun at Spicebox Travels
Ann Marie's Mofongo with Ground Beef at Sandwich Surprise

Text and images copyright 2013, Lucy Mercer.

Spring

Mrs. Banks' carrot souffle. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

The sunniest person I know was born on the first day of spring. I think it’s a sign of a great friendship. If I believed in horoscopes, I would look up March 21 and read about finding a friend with a cheerful disposition, a love of cooking, and an easy laugh, and that would be Julie.

 We met as freshmen in college, were married within a year of each other, and have raised babies up in the same town. We talk food a lot. What we eat, what we cook. The new cake recipe from Paula Deen’s magazine, or the side dish from Southern Living that we just have to try.

I may be the one who takes pictures of food and writes up recipes, but Julie is a far better cook than I could ever hope to be. She makes a killer pot roast, a fantastic potato salad, and the most beautiful layer cakes. She was born into a family of great cooks, women who know how to cook and transport potluck dishes and picnic feasts.

The Banks Family Cookbook. Lucy Mercer/ A Cook and Her Books

And now she has published her very first cookbook, a collection of her family’s recipes, called The Banks Family Cookbook. It was a limited press run, but I secured my copy. You may have dibs on a table at Ferran Adria’s next shack, but you can’t get a copy of the Banks Family Cookbook unless you know somebody, and I do. 

Banks Family Cookbook.

This book is a keeper. The introduction includes reminiscences about the family farm where her grandmother, Inez Banks, still lives. Mrs. Banks just celebrated her 102^nd birthday, which I think is proof that good food leads to a long life. Among all the recipes, her children record the bounty of the family garden - strawberries in spring, and a summer filled with tomatoes, cucumbers, pole beans, corn, field peas, cabbage, okra, squash, sweet potatoes, cantaloupe and watermelon. There was an orchard, too, with peach, pear and pecan and apple trees, and even a pomegranate bush. Cows provided milk and cream for butter, chickens provided eggs and pigs were enjoyed as sausage, bacon and ham.

One of my favorite stories in the book is about the woodstove - a Princess Alan Cookstove that was half wood-burning stove and half electric. During sweet potato season, baked sweet potatoes were kept in the warming drawer, ready for an after school snack. I love my kitchen the way it is, but I sure wish I had a warming drawer for baked sweet potatoes.

There are so many great recipes in this book, many I've heard about from Julie and more that just sound good. Twice baked potatoes, curried chicken salad, baked cabbage, pineapple stuff. Plus Julie's pot roast and potato salad recipes ~ the secrets are revealed! Recipes I've enjoyed over the years ~ her Mom's summer vegetable soup and prized angel food cake. While I've been a lucky recipient of the angel food cake, I've never made it, and now I have no excuse - I have to give it a try!

Carrot souffle. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

  Here is Inez's recipe for carrot soufflé, a sunny side dish just right for an Easter lunch. I added the juice and zest of an orange, but honestly, it’s absolutely lovely without it. This is like a springtime version of the Thanksgiving standard sweet potato souffle, a perfect side dish for an Easter ham.

Carrot Souffle

2 pounds carrots, sliced

Juice and zest of one orange

½ cup butter

3 large eggs

¼ cup all-purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

1 ½ cups sugar

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

1.       Cook carrots in boiling water to cover for about 25 minutes, until tender. Drain the carrots.

2.       Place drained carrots in the bowl of food processor and add remaining ingredients, blending until smooth.

3.       Heat oven to 325. Butter a 1 ½ quart baking dish. Spoon batter into dish. Bake at 325 for one hour and 10 minutes, or until soufflé is set. Serve immediately.

This story is part of #LetsLunch, a monthly Twitter party on a selected food topic. This month is Daffodils/New Life/Spring. Check out these other fantastic writers and their stories:

Annabelle‘s Red Pepper and Eggplant Confit at Glass of Fancy

Anne Marie‘s Zihuatanejo (Or Veal Shank Redemption Sammy) at Sandwich Surprise

Cheryl’s Singaporean Barley Water at A Tiger In the Kitchen

Grace‘s Meyer Lemon and Mandarin Citrus Bundt Cake at HapaMama

Karen‘s Wasabi Tuna Steak at GeoFooding

Linda‘s Brassica Fried Rice at Spicebox Travels

Lisa‘s Salad of Chargrilled Sourdough, Tomato and Haloumi Cheese at Monday Morning Cooking Club

Monica‘s Roses and Eggplant at A Life of Spice

Rebecca‘s Goat Cheese Panna Cotta with Mango Foam at Grongar Blog