It's "Orchard" time again!

It's that time of year when we head down to the Apple Orchard for what else...apples, and wonderful preserves. Here is some tasty peach butter...perfect on warm biscuits.

Nashville Indiana: Hobnob Corner Restaurant

Here in the Hoosier State every fall a large number of people trek down to Nashville Indiana. Nashville is a rustic and historic little village that sits in Brown County. There are loads of charming little shops, art galleries, and the fall foliage is absolutely stunning! One of the must do things in the village is to go to The Hobnob Corner Restaurant. The building was orginally a dry goods grocery and sundries store built in 1868 I can't say that I've ever eaten anything other than dessert there but the Ice Cream Sunday is a must! It's huge, so best to split it, or as evident from the after pic you can only eat so much of it! Or if you want to skip lunch and just eat ice cream you could maybe polish it off...but it's huge!

Twinkie-Misu Recipe!

Thanks Lyndz! Here is the recipe for Twinkie-Misu.

Twinkie-Misu

1 box (containing 10) Hostess Twinkies

¼ cup strongly brewed coffee or espresso, cooled

¼ cup Kahlua (may substitute additional strong coffee or espresso)

½ gallon coffee (or coffee and chocolate) ice cream, softened slightly

½ cup bittersweet chocolate, coarsely grated chocolate shavings or sprinkles

Slice each Twinkie in half lengthwise. Line a 8½- by 4½-inch loaf pan lengthwise with two 18-inch-long sheets of plastic wrap, overlapping the sheets slightly in the center of the pan and letting the excess plastic wrap hang over all sides.

Place 5 Twinkie halves, cream side up, crosswise in the pan. Mix together coffee and Kahlua. Using a pastry brush, generously apply some of the coffee mixture to the cut side of each Twinkie. Spoon about a ½-inch layer of softened ice cream over the Twinkies. Sprinkle with about 2 tablespoons of grated chocolate. Arrange another 5 Twinkie halves on top of the chocolate, cream side up, brush with coffee and top with another ½-inch layer of ice cream and another 2 tablespoons of chocolate. Repeat with the remaining ingredients, finishing with a layer of ice cream. Smooth the top, pressing down firmly. Pan should be filled to just above the rim. Fold plastic wrap over top of cake. Freeze for at least 8 hours.

To serve, carefully unfold the plastic wrap from the top of the cake and use it to lift the cake out of the pan and carefully invert the Twinkie-misu onto a platter. Remove and discard the plastic wrap. Sprinkle top with chocolate shavings and serve with mocha fudge sauce.

Mocha Fudge Sauce (Makes 2 cups ) 1 cup packed dark brown sugar 1/2 cup light corn syrup 1 1/2 tablespoons instant espresso powder 3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped 1/2 cup heavy (whipping) cream 2 1/2 tablespoons Kahlua, or to taste Pinch of salt In a small, heavy saucepan over medium heat, bring the brown sugar, corn syrup and espresso powder to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Remove the pan from the heat, add the chocolate and stir until melted. Stir in the cream, Kahlua and salt. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Blue Food

Did you know there really is no such thing as Blue Food? Even though Steak-in-Shake restaurant would have you believe otherwise. George Carlin once said that if you find a really true blue food you will have found the key to eternal life. Even blueberries are not really blue. Ever make a blueberry smoothie? It's purple.

Here's another thing to ponder? Why is artificially flavored raspberry "food" colored blue? Ever get a Dairy Queen rasberry Mr. Misty or eat a rasberry otterpop when you were a kid? YIKES!

Wait....what about blue cheese?

The White Trash Expo

A few weeks ago we girls from the Vin Kitch had a little clothing swap party. It was fantastic! We got a group of girls together to clean out their closets and bring over some "white trash" food. What could be more perfect...shopping and not spending any money and eating junk food. Truth be told it was only perfect while we were doing it... one should never consume this much processed food in one sitting...ohhhh tummy ache. This was hands down my favorite, it was so tasty I would have never guessed what the "white trash" ingredient was....we give you Lyndsey's "Twinkiemisu"!
Next we had "Hostess Kabobs"

and what is a white trash fest without some spam and cheese? Two wonderfully bad casseroles from Becky and Amy. One filled with Mac & Cheese and SPAM the other a mix of frozen mixed veggies, cheese, sausage and all kinds of other "garbage".


We also had some beenie weenies, Cheetos, moon pies, Frito's and bean dip, and some sort of spray cheese. OH and I must not forget there was a can of Vienna Sausages...these were eaten strictly on dares.