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Monday, January 19, 2009

Road Trip: Spinach Dip; Hot Wings, Mountain Dew Cake

Road Trip


My 9 year old son, Brendan went with his dad to Maryland in celebration of our new President who will be sworn in Tuesday, 01/20/09. The moment “Road Trip” was mentioned, Brendan had his PSP and PS 2 packed in no time. I told him that he may not make it back in time for school on Wednesday and he looked utterly devastated, stating how much he loved school. I did a double take on that statement and caught him with a slight grin on his face. He rode shotgun. They left Saturday afternoon making a few stops along the way. All along 95 South were reminders of the big event! They arrived in Maryland 8 hours later around 11 pm.

My daughter, who lives in Maryland and works in Washington, DC described the euphoria of the people as one would describe the Christmas holidays. All the hustle & bustle of preparation for the millions to show up for the events.

I will be curled up on the sofa watching the Inauguration from my home in NC. I work the weekends as a Baylor Nurse. Of course I will make something special similar to Super Bowl food. I made a Spinach Dip that will be eaten with small cups made out of puff pastry. I’ve already sliced my vegetables for the veggie tray. Cheeses are cubed with little toothpicks already in place. Of course I have to make hot wings. The finale will be a Mountain Dew cake. Don’t that make you just want to come on down to my home and eat? Well, here is the recipes for: Spinach Dip, Hot Wings and Mountain Dew Cake.
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Spinach Dip Serves 6

1 box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 cup mayo (I like Duke’s)
1 cup sour cream
1 small can of water chestnuts, chopped into iddy biddy pieces
½ tsp. smoked paprika
3 scallions (green onion with tops), thinly sliced
1 pkg. spinach dip seasoning packet
Salt and pepper to taste

You can buy puff pastry already in tiny cups or remove a sheet of pastry and fit it into greased mini muffin pans. Bake as directed on box. Fill with the dip.
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Hot Wings Serves 6


2 lbs chicken wings, cut into 3 pieces, discard tip or save for soup
1 qt peanut oil
Cornstarch, enough to coat chicken
1 bottle Frank’s hot sauce
1 stick of salted butter, melted

Heat oil to 375F. Coat chicken in cornstarch. Fry till golden brown-5-6 minutes. Combine hot sauce and melted butter. Dip chicken into mixture. Place in a 9x12 greased baking pan and bake x 45-50 minutes or until chicken is tender. May serve with Bleu Cheese Dressing.
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Mountain Dew Cake

Pre heat oven to 350F. Grease and flour a decorative bundt pan. Or use a baking spray.

1 stick salted butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
¼ cup plus 2 Tbsp. Mountain Dew
2 Tbsp. frozen Orange Juice, thawed
1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
¾ tsp. baking powder

Cream butter and sugar x 3 minutes. Add eggs. Beat on medium speed for another minute. Add remaining ingredients and mix on medium speed for 3 minutes. Pour into prepared pans. Bake 25-30 minutes, or until cake pulls away from sides. Cool x 10 minutes on rack. Invert cakes on baking rack and completely cool.

Mountain Dew Frosting

1 cup Mountain Dew
½ stick unsalted butter
2 cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted
2 tsp. frozen orange juice, thawed
Zest from ½ lemon & ½ lime
2 Tbsp. heavy cream

Place Mountain Dew in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Simmer x 15 minutes or until syrup is reduced to ¼ cup. Cream butter. Add remaining ingredients. Spread onto cake.
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Favorite Cookware: Kitchen Pals-Silicone Oven Mitts-www.bedbathandbeyond.com

Enjoy!

thefryegirl2u

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