Lulu's Mothers Day Cougarita Sneeky

The Cougarita Sneeky 1 jigger of Patron silver 1/2 a jigger of fresh grapefruit 1/2 a jigger of lime juice A splash of Cointreau Handful of fresh berries 1 stainless steel straw

Shake, shake, shake and pour over ice.

Lulu's Asparagus with Hollandaise Sauce

Serves 6 to 8

• 1 pound asparagus, washed and trimmed
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Blender Hollandaise Sauce (recipe follows)

1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. 2. Spread the asparagus on a jelly roll pan. Pour 1 tablespoon water and the olive over the top. 3. Bake for 10 minutes, turning the asparagus once. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with Hollandaise Sauce.

Blender Hollandaise Sauce

Makes 1¼ cups

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter 4 large egg yolks 2 tablespoons heavy cream 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1/8 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon Tabasco

1. Melt the butter on low heat in a small saucepan until very hot, but do not let it brown. 2. Combine the egg yolks, heavy cream, lemon juice, salt, and Tabasco in a blender. Turn blender on low speed and blend. 3. With blender on low speed, remove the cover and pour in hot butter in a steady stream. 4. Use immediately, refrigerate, or freeze. To freeze, transfer the sauce into a freezer container, leaving ½-inch space. Let cool, cover, and freeze. To reheat, heat the sauce in the top of a double boiler.

Lulu's Banana Zabaglione with Fresh Berries and Shortbread Cookies

Banana Zabaglione Makes about 3 cups; serves 8

8 large egg yolks ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar ¾ cup banana liqueur 1½ cups heavy cream 2 cups fresh berries Rosemary Shortbread, for serving (recipe follows)

1. Place the egg yolks, 1/2 cup sugar, and liqueur on the top of a double boiler or a stainless steel bowl above a saucepan of simmering water. (If using a bowl, make sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water.) Whisk the custard mixture constantly. 2. Continue whisking for about 8 to 10 minutes. The custard mixture should become light, creamy and a pale yellow. If you’re serving the custard as a sauce, cook until slightly thickened. (Increasing the cooking time will thicken the custard to a mousse-like texture.) When it reaches the desired consistency, remove the sauce from the heat and continue whisking for a minute or two to prevent the custard from sticking to its container. 3. Cool down the Zabaglione by placing the bowl in an ice bath. 4. In a stand mixer or food processor, beat the cream with the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar with a hand mixer until it holds soft peaks. Fold the cream into the Zabaglione and serve immediately or let it cool and refrigerate for up to 3 days.

Rosemary Shortbread

These are good with coffee, tea, or a warm cup of milk with a touch of honey

Makes 2 dozen

1½ sticks margarine, softened 1¼ cup all-purpose flour ½ cup sugar 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. 2. Cream the margarine and sugar together in a mixing bowl. Add the flour and mix well. Fold in the rosemary. 3. Roll the dough into small balls, about 1 tablespoon each. Place the cookies on a cookie sheet and press them flat with the back of a fork. 4. Bake for 10 minutes. 5. Store the shortbread in a covered container for up to 1 week. You can also freeze them, wrapped in plastic wrap in a zip-top bag, for up to 1 month.

Lulu and Stevie's Bloody Marys

Lulu’s Bloody Mary1 c clamato 1/2 t horseradish 1 t Worcestershire sauce 1/2 t Tabasco 1/4 t beau monde seasoning 1/2 fresh squeezed lemon juice 5 twists fresh ground pepper 3 oz lemon vodka

Put all ingredients into a shaker filled with ice and shake, shake, shake! Have a glass filled with ice ready for you to pour your bloody into.

Stevie’s Bloody Mary 1 c clamato ¼ tsp Celery seed ¼ tsp Dill seed ¼ tsp Beau monde seasoning 1 tsp Tabasco ½ tsp Worcestershire ½ tsp Horseradish ½ Fresh squeezed lime 3 oz Lemon vodka ¼ tsp Old Bay seasoning Optional: splash caper berry juice and garnish with a caper berry

Follow above directions

Lulu's Cuban Coffee Ice Cream

1 quart of Haagen-Dazs Vanilla Bean ice cream4 tablespoons instant coffee 3 tablespoons ground espresso (or dark roast, I like like Peet's french roast)

Place ice cream in refrigerator for an hour to soften so that it is a mushy consistency. Add ice cream, instant coffee, and espresso to large mixing bowl. Mix it up, taste it, it will be delicious. Put back in the freezer for a minimum of 2 hours.

I recently used this ice cream for my friend Sally's birthday cake, it was a huge hit!

Lulu's meatballs and tomato sauce

Lulu’s meatballs: • 1 pound ground veal • 1 pound ground pork • 2 pound ground beef • 1 cup zucchini • 1 bag spinach • 4 cloves garlic • 1 onion • 1 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley • 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese • 2 teaspoons kosher salt • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper • 1 teaspoon all spice • 2 eggs, beaten • Vegetable oil • Olive oil

Lulu’s sauce:

• 2 tablespoon good olive oil • 2 cup chopped yellow onion • 4 cloves minced garlic • 2 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes, or plum tomatoes in puree, chopped • 1 tablespoon sugar • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley • 2 teaspoons kosher salt • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper • 3/4 cup balsamic vinegar

Directions

Place the onion, garlic, spinach and zucchini in Cuisinart and blend. Place the ground meats, breadcrumbs, parsley, Parmesan, salt, pepper, nutmeg, egg, and 3/4 cup warm water in a bowl. Combine very lightly with a fork. Using your hands, lightly form the mixture into 2-inch meatballs. You will have 14 to 16 meatballs. Pour equal amounts of vegetable oil and olive oil into a large (12-inch) skillet to a depth of 1/4-inch. Heat the oil. Very carefully, in batches, place the meatballs in the oil and brown them well on all sides over medium-low heat, turning carefully with a spatula or a fork. This should take about 10 minutes for each batch. Don't crowd the meatballs. Remove the meatballs to a plate covered with paper towels. Discard the oil but don't clean the pan. For the sauce, heat the olive oil in the same pan. Add the onion and sauté over medium heat until translucent, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Stir in the tomatoes, parsley, salt, and pepper. Return the meatballs to the sauce, cover, and simmer on the lowest heat for 25 to 30 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through. Serve hot on cooked spaghetti and pass the grated Parmesan.

Lulu's Chicken Liver Pate

If you don’t like chicken liver pate, try this. You will be a convert. 1 cup almonds 8 medium shallots, peeled and sliced 4 garlic cloves, sliced 1 large onion, peeled and chopped 1 stick plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 teaspoon sugar 3 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and quartered 1 pounds chicken liver, trimmed, membrane removed 1 pound sweet Italian pork sausage ½ cup Calvados One 8-ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature 2 teaspoons Lawry’s seasoned salt 1 teaspoon white pepper 1 tablespoon fresh tarragon 1 teaspoon ground allspice 1 tablespoon fresh thyme 2 teaspoons Tabasco 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade, pulse the almonds until coarsely chopped; remove and reserve.

Add the shallots, garlic, and onion to the bowl of the food processor and process until finely chopped.

Melt 1 stick butter in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sugar and onion mixture.

Add the apples to the bowl of the food processor and pulse until finely chopped.

Add the apple mixture to the skillet and cook gently until ingredients are soft and transparent, about 10 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a bowl.

Melt the remaining butter in the skillet. Add the chicken livers and sausage, breaking up the sausage with fork, and sauté over medium-high heat until nearly cooked through, about 10 minutes. Turn the heat to high and add the Calvados and cook for an additional 2 minutes.

Transfer the meat mixture to the bowl of the food processor and process for 30 seconds, stopping once to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the cream cheese, salt, pepper, tarragon, allspice, thyme, Tabasco, and red pepper flakes and process until smooth, stopping once to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the almonds and pulse 5 to 6 times.

Let the meat mixture cool. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to 7 days. You can freeze it for up to 1 month. Serve it as a spread with French bread, apple slices, or crackers.

Lulu's Asparagus Bruschetta

This recipe is great on top of fish or mixed in pasta. Asparagus Bruschetta

1 bunch Asparagus, blanched or roasted lightly (you still want to have a little crunch) ¼ cup Parmesan ½ cup almonds ¼ ounce chives Rind of 1 lemon Juice of 1 lemon Salt and pepper to taste

Blend in food processor.