Today is National Macaroon Day.

Coconut Macaroons

1. Preheat oven 325 degrees F. Line baking sheets with foil. Grease and flour foil.
2. In large bowl, combine sweetened condensed milk, egg white, extracts and coconut and mix well.
3. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto baking sheets, slightly flattening with a spoon.
4. Bake 15 to 17 minutes or until lightly browned around edges. Remove to a wire rack and let cool.
5. Dip half the macaroon in the melted chocolate and place on waxed paper lined baking sheet. Let cool to set.

Today is National Mint Julep Day.

Before there was the Mojito there was a fancy mint drink named julep. Widely popular in the South, this beverage was normal served in silver chalises on a silver platter.

Mint Juleps

1. Combine water, sugar and chopped mint leaves in a small saucepan.
2. Bring to a boil over high heat until the sugar is completely dissolved.
3. Allow syrup to cool, approximately 1 hour. Pour through a strainer to remove mint leaves
4. Fill eight cups with crushed ice and pour 4 ounces of bourbon and 1/4 cup mint syrup in each. Garnish with more mint leaves.

Here’s the link to my previous recipe.

Today is National Brisket Day.

Brisket is the cut of meat on the breast of the cow beneath the first five ribs. It has a lot of connective tissue and collagen so it’s a tough meat that requires long slow cooking to bring out its best. Using a slow cooker will definately help.

Beef Brisket

1. Place brisket in bottom of slow cooker fat side up.
2. Combine the garlic, ketchup, vinegar, and brown sugar in small bowl and then coat over beef.
3. Add enough water to coat the bottom of the cooker but not the brisket. Cover crock pot and cook on low 8-10 hours.

You can use the dripping in the bottom of the pan to make gravy if you wish.

Today is National Grape Popsicle Day.

Given that there are so many different flavoured alcohols out there it’s not hard to come up with a little twist on a kids favorite.

Spiked Grape Popsicle

1. Combine all ingredients in a glass with ice.

Today is National Cherry Dessert Day and National Blueberry Cheesecake Day.

Use different pie fillings to broaden your dessert options.

Blueberry Cheesecake Recipes

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Lined a 10 inch pie pan with foil.
3. In a bowl combine graham crackers, butter and ¼ cup of sugar. Press into bottom and sides of pan to make a crust.
4. Beat together the cream cheese and remaining sugar. Beat in the flour.
5. Beat in the eggs one at a time.
6. Finally beat in the sour cream ,milk and vanilla.
7. Pour the mixture over the crust and place in a large baking pan. Add one inch of water to the pan.
8. Bake until set in centre about one hour. Top should be puffed and golden.
9. Turn off the oven but leave the pie in the oven for another hour.
10. Let cool about 6 hours then top with pie filling.

Today is National Wine Day.

Mushrooms in White Wine Sauce

1. In a skillet over medium heat cook the onion and garlic until tender about 5 minutes.
2. Add the mushrooms, ½ cup water, wine and bouillon cube.
3. Add the basil, salt and pepper and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.
4. In a small bowl mix together the cornstarch and cold water.

Today is National Wine Day.

I’ve followed this with a recipe in white wine.

Mushrooms in Red Wine

1. In a pan over medium high heat, saute the mushrooms in the butter and oil for 3-5 minutes.
2. Add the red wine and beef broth and simmer to reduce about 7 minutes.
3. In a bowl combine the flour and cold water and whisk until smooth.
4. Stir mixture into the mushrooms and cook until thickened.

Today is National Escargot Day.

Snails actually aren’t that bad. Most times they are cooked with so much butter and garlic that that is all you taste. Here’s one of those such recipes for those who are new to escargot.

Escargots

1. Preheat broiler.
2. In a bowl mix together the butter, garlic, parsley, chives, salt, pepper and basil until well combined. Chill.
3. Bring a pot of water to bowl and add the snails. Simmer and cook for 8 minutes.
4. Drain the snails and place in a small baking dish.
5. Top each snail with a dollop of butter and sprinkle with bread crumbs and cheese.
6. Broil in oven 5 to 8 minutes until bubbling. Serve with fresh bread to mop up the butter.

Today is National Taffy Day.

Back in the 1800’s taffy was originally called treacle and was made into hard cakes. By 1840 it became a speciality item and evolved into a famous sweet thanks to the boardwalk in Atlantic City. Instead of it being offered as a large cake, small pieces of taffy started being individually wrapped and sold in bags.
It was thanks to one vendor who tongue-in-cheek sold a bag right after the crashing waves of a bad storm damaged his store that it name changed to salt water taffy.
The main ingredient in taffy is sugar, water and corn syrup and can come in a large variety of flavours.