Here, There and Everywhere

I like to write thoughtful blog entries.  Having been an editor, I can’t find it in myself to “twitter” a few lines or ramble on about something that’s really not of any value. 

Maybe, I’m just getting older.  I think it was the German Philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche who said, “Profundity of thought belongs to youth, clarity of thought to age.”

Truthfully, it was a colleague of mine, Doug Ronan, former Director of Marketing at Häagen-Dazs, who said to me the other day, “You really need to blog more!  You travel frequently, engage in exciting professional activities, and formulate great insights along the way.  It’s a waste not to share your experiences!”

So, I’ll be honest and admit I’ve been shamed into posting this log – and that’s terrible!  I love blogging and the dialog that goes with it, but I’ve been so busy these past ten weeks, I’ve barely had time to write my grocery list…

  

Where have I been?  Well, I’ve canned tomatoes in Alabama, had an audience with acclaimed author and former ABC News co-anchor Cokie Roberts to learn about her new book We Are Our Mother’s Daughters, cycled through California exploring farm stands and organic markets and, most recently, enjoyed New Orleans’ annual Tales of the Cocktail.

 

 

For those not familiar, Tales of the Cocktail is a five-day culinary and cocktail festival held annually in the French Quarter and features award-winning mixologists, authors, bartenders and cocktail events such as dinner-pairings, demos and tastings, seminars, mixing competitions, design expos, book-signings and more.  Pencil into your calendar next year’s event which will be around the same time (July 16 – July 20).  The exact dates will be posted on their official website in the coming months.

  

Everyone who is anyone flocks to the event, and the program is as good as the people watching.  On the media front, a bevy of reporters were busy filing stories in the Media Room, but I enjoyed Eric Felton’s piece about the event that appeared in Saturday’s Wall Street Journal. One of the great take-aways for me was a recipe demo for Bananas Foster Frappe made with fat-free cream and ice cream.  What a find!

Mount Gay Bananas Foster Frappe
Makes about 8 servings 

 

INGREDIENTS
3/4 cup Mount Gay Eclipse Rum
3 bananas, peeled
Juice of 1/2 lemon (approx 1/4 oz.)
1/3 cup Sugar in the Raw
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tbsp. Grand Marnier (or Orange Liqueur)
1/2 tsp. banana extract
3/4 cup fat-free half-and-half
3 cups fat-free vanilla ice cream (slightly softened) 

 DIRECTIONS

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees


• Spray a baking dish with non-stick spray


• Slice bananas length-wise and then into 1 inch chunks.  Add the bananas to a mixing bowl, along with the lemon juice, sugar, orange liqueur, and cinnamon.  Toss gently.


• Place the banana mixture onto the baking dish and cook until mix is soft (approx. 10 mins.)  Allow to cool thoroughly.


• Add banana mixture and accumulated syrup to blender, along with the extract, rum, half-and-half, and ice cream.  Blend until smooth.  Pour into chilled wine goblet.


• Garnish with sliced strawberries if desired