"Fajita" Burgers

A quick post about dinner last night since it was uber tasty. We grilled Fajita Burgers (Roberto Cafe is closed on Mondays so they couldn't bitch at us, since he does not want us grilling while he is open). Also, potatoes, onions and mushrooms in a foil packet with cajun seasoning and garlic. And a new sausage from Martin's with hot peppers and spinach (just to try it and have around for lunches this week; why waste a hot grill?).

"Fajita" Burgers

Makes 4 serving, ACTIVE TIME: 50 minutes, TOTAL TIME: 50 minutes,EASE OF PREPARATION: Easy

It is supposed to look like the left hand pic. Ours looked like the right hand pic.

Ingredients

1 pound 90%-lean ground beef
¾ cup chopped fresh cilantro, divided (we used ~1 cup)
½ cup finely chopped red onion (we used regular onion)
¼ cup chopped scallions
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon chili powder, preferably New Mexican (we used half regular, half chipotle)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon dried oregano, preferably Mexican (we used regular)
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
¼ teaspoon salt
⅓ cup reduced-fat mayonnaise (I used sour cream since I dont like mayo)
1 tablespoon lime juice (I juiced 1 lime)
1 tablespoon chopped chipotle chile in adobo
½ cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (used sliced since shredded is messy on the grill)
4 French rolls, preferably whole-wheat, split and toasted (we used Sarcone's seeded baguette cuz we had it)
2 roasted Anaheim or poblano peppers (see Tip) (from our garden!)
1 cup shredded green cabbage (skipped this)
4 slices tomato
4 thin slices red onion (skipped this)

"Fajita" Burgers Ingredients Cont.

"Fajita" Burgers Instructions

1. Preheat grill to medium-high.
2. Place beef, 1/4 cup cilantro, onion, scallions, garlic, chili powder, cumin, oregano, pepper and salt in a large bowl. Gently combine, without overmixing, until evenly incorporated. Form into 4 equal patties, about 1/2 inch thick and oval-shaped to match the rolls.
3. Combine the remaining 1/2 cup cilantro (I used about 3/4 cup here), mayonnaise, lime juice and chipotle in a small bowl.
4. Peel the roasted peppers, halve lengthwise and remove the seeds.
5. Oil the grill rack (see Tip, we didnt do this). Grill the burgers until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center registers 165°F, about 6 minutes per side. Top with cheese and cook until it is melted, about 1 minute more.
6. Assemble the burgers on toasted rolls with the chipotle mayonnaise, half a roasted pepper, cabbage, tomato and onion.

"Fajita" Burgers Instructions Cont.

"Fajita" Burgers Tips

Cover and refrigerate the chipotle mayonnaise (Step 3) for up to 5 days. (This stuff is SOO tasty! I just want to eat it on everything!)

Tips: (I love this technique)
To oven-roast peppers:
1. Preheat oven to 450°F. Place a wire rack on a large baking sheet. Arrange whole bell peppers on the rack.
2. Roast peppers in the center of the oven, turning occasionally with tongs, until blackened in places, 30 to 40 minutes. (I did about 25 minutes for 2 anaheims.)
3. Transfer the peppers to a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let steam for 10 minutes. Uncover and let cool.
4. With a paring knife, remove stems, skins and seeds. If serving as antipasto, combine accumulated juices with peppers.

To oil the grill rack: Oil a folded paper towel, hold it with tongs and rub it over the rack. (Do not use cooking spray on a hot grill.) When grilling delicate foods like tofu and fish, it is helpful to spray the food with cooking spray.

"Fajita" Burgers Tips Cont.

"Fajita" Burgers Nutrition Information

Per serving: 416 calories; 19 g fat (7 g sat, 6 g mono); 82 mg cholesterol; 34 g carbohydrate; 30 g protein; 7 g fiber; 695 mg sodium; 628 mg potassium. Nutrition bonus: Zinc (47% daily value), Vitamin C (35% dv), Iron (30% dv), Vitamin A (25% dv), Calcium (20% dv). 2 Carbohydrate Servings Exchanges: 2 starch, 3 1/2 medium-fat meat

Ugh I know!

I know, I know, I know. I have not been good about this at all lately. I am really sorry!

And I am not even going to be able to really make up for it here. Aaghh! But as a quick overview of things:
Matty's birthday party went really really well. Well, for most of us it did. The weather held out for enough time that we got some chance to grill and then people periodically had time to hang out outside (much to the chagrin of one of our neighbors apparently who thinks that 11pm is quite late enough for people to be sitting around talking in their own backyard.) But Matty really enjoyed himself, which made me very happy since he was dreading celebrating this birthday.

We went to RI/MA the following weekend to:
Meet up with
1) One of Matty's URI roommates (Eric) who now lives in Redding, CA with wife and son and is currently expecting baby number 2. He was in Lynnfield, MA (his hometown) for a wedding and we hadnt yet met his wife or son (long long story there) or seen him since 2005.
2) Matty's other URI roommate (Liam) who now lives in Los Angeles, CA and was able to come in for the weekend which also coincided nicely with a family reunion of his own.
3) Another of Matty's URI friends (Justin) who now lives in Cranston, RI (recently from Chicago, IL) who we haven't seen since Matty left URI for Pitt.
Spend the night with:
4) Beth and Erich who are now in beautiful Central Square, Cambridge, MA. They have a lovely new apartment where we spent the night (and late into the morning) up talking. And Matty has (of course) fallen in love with Boston all over again. This I am perfectly fine with. We had dinner at Miracle of Science Bar and Grill. It was very good but there are claims that it has the best burger in Cambridge and I am not sure I am buying that. But good prices, good food, good beer selection and neat atmosphere (though the menu is a bit hard to read).
And:
5) Got my hair cut! Yay!
6) Hung out for a bit at Wickendon St. Pub with Liam, Justin, Liam's brother and firned. Which is kinda neat since we never really hang out in Providence. And by "never really" I mean really never.
7) In-the-garage Father's Day BBQ at Matty's parents place. Ridiculous amounts of food and a very silly watermelon holder which I will have to post pics of.

Phew. Ok, so done with the traveling right? Nope.
This weekend, (after an absolutely amazing rooftop movie screening of Ed Wood Friday night) we went to New York to celebrate the new apartment of Matty's high school friend Jeff and his girlfriend in Williamsburg with some croquet. Brooklyn, not Virginia. Home of the hipsters. A very cool neighborhood and a very cool apartment. Croquet in the park was certianly something different. Something different that I am not at all good at.

We got there via Eastern who partners with MegaBus. I do not think we will be taking them again. Firstly, we were supposed to leave at 9am. We ended up leaving after 10 because the bus had to be replaced since the original one broke down. Which is fine except that they refused to give us any information until 9:30. Secondly, there was absolutely no organization for the lines. Everyone was in one big line and then they suddenly announce that the DC people all had to go inside (their shoe box of an office) to check in and so then there was all this confusion since we didnt even know there was a DC bus. They were scheduled to leave at the same time as us. And on the New York side, there is no place to wait for the bus except on the sidewalk in front of other businesses, whose owners then kept coming out and yelling at us to get out of their way. In Chinese. And again, no order for the lines so there were definitely 2 (I think actually 3) buses worth of people (for buses scheduled to leave simultaneously again) all milling about on this sidewalk we werent supposed to be on. It was all very disorganized and there was no information given to any of us ever. Personally I do not think it was worth the $4 (roundtrip) we saved over our normal Chinatown bus, New Century Travel, who have always been on time and at least tell us what is going on.

But our actual time in New York was lovely. If you are in Williamsburg and looking for some tasty pizza I would recommend Anna Maria Pizza on Bedford between 7th and 8th. Very tasty and filling. And if you are looking for very reasonably priced brunch in a beautiful place in Carroll Gardens I would recommend Le Petit Cafe. Matty has once again decided he wants to live in New York. This I am not OK with and am completely serious in saying that he will have to leave me if he wants to live there. Or we will have to live separately. Because I am not moving to New York. Also he is talking again about not wanting to have kids. Which worries me, but I am not ready to bring it up again.

Let me see. Oh right, Center City Sips Review Week 2: Mexican Post. We missed 2 Sipses due to me being so pissed at my boss I couldnt deal with people 1 week and then a Phillies game the next (they lost 7-1 to the Blue Jay's and it was pouring). So this was our second week of Sips and we decided to try the lawyerly hangout that is Mexican Post - Love Park. Specials: $2 lager and Bud. $3 Gallo Copperidge Chardonnay and La Terra Cabernet. $4 Margarita on the rocks, Watermelon Leblon (dont know what this is, didnt know it was an option). $2 (I think) tacos (supposedly ground beef, chicken or beans but we were told only ground beef), Mexican Pizza (supposedly cheese or ground beef, but we were only told ground beef).

Pros: $2 lager. $4 margaritas. $2 tacos and mexican pizza. Sips specials with table service. Cons: Full of yuppy-type, self-important lawyer-types. The margaritas are not very good. The ground beef on the food is a bit on the watery side and the mexican pizza was too soggy to pick up.

We got to sit outside which was nice, until it rained. It was a nice change I guess, got to see what the people who work West of Broad are like. Were the pros worth the cons? I dont know. I probably wouldnt choose it to go back to. But if the lawyers want to go back I might go. I would probably avoid the food next time, simply due to messiness. And maybe find out what the watermelon thingy is.

Movies:
Man on Wire (2008). The story of Phillipe Petit's 1974 high wire walk between the (then brand new) World Trade Center Towers. It is pretty good and you should see it. I wouldnt necessarily bump it to the top of your queue, but definitely see it when you get a chance. He is a very interesting (and possibly completely crazy) guy. And what went into this stunt was ridiculous. But it is still the story of a guy doing a crazy and illegal high wire walk. So there isnt a whole lot going on necessarily. But again, worth seeing.

And finally. Some recipes of some new dips that I made for Matty's party. They were all awesome and I would totally recommend them all.

Skordalia

Cooking Light, APRIL 2008
This is a tangy potato garlic dip that I first had a Greek restaurant. This dip's olive oil—with its beneficial monounsaturated fats—tames the heady garlic. Serve with crudités.

1 pound peeled red potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces (I used 1/2 red and 1/2 regular potatos)
10 garlic cloves, peeled
1/3 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
4 teaspoons chopped fresh chives

1. Place potatoes in a large saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 14 minutes. Add garlic to pan; cook 1 minute. Drain potato mixture in a colander over a bowl, reserving 1/2 cup cooking liquid. Place potato mixture and reserved liquid in a food processor; add oil, juice, and salt. Pulse until smooth. Cover and chill overnight. Sprinkle with chives before serving.

Yield: 2 1/3 cups (serving size: about 1 1/2 tablespoons) CALORIES 38 (67% from fat); FAT 2.9g (sat 0.4g,mono 2.1g,poly 0.3g); IRON 0.1mg; CHOLESTEROL 0.0mg; CALCIUM 3mg; CARBOHYDRATE 2.7g; SODIUM 57mg; PROTEIN 0.5g; FIBER 0.4g

Cumin Curried Hummus

Cooking Light, NOVEMBER 2004
A great use for whole cumin seed if you have them around like I did! Also, I made this the night before to let the flavors intensify. The pic is what it is supposed to look like, and is pretty close. The flavor of the hummus is similar to that of Indian lentil dal but is much easier to prepare. Serve with warm pita wedges.

1 tablespoon olive oil
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tablespoon curry powder (I used hot Madras curry)
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 cup water
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 (15 1/2-ounce) cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained

Heat oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add garlic; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add curry and cumin; cook 30 seconds or until fragrant, stirring constantly. Place garlic mixture, water, and remaining ingredients in a food processor; process until smooth.

Yield: 3 cups (serving size: 1/4 cup) CALORIES 82 (29% from fat); FAT 2.6g (sat 0.2g,mono 1.4g,poly 1g); IRON 1.2mg; CHOLESTEROL 0.0mg; CALCIUM 27mg; CARBOHYDRATE 12.2g; SODIUM 254mg; PROTEIN 3g; FIBER 3g

Baba Ganoush and Pita Crisps

Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray, 2008

Prep Time: 30 min,Cook Time: 20 min, Level: Easy, Makes: 2 cups (That is the supposed to look like pic again)

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds (2 to 3 small) firm eggplant, halved lengthwise
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup, a generous handful, flat-leaf parsley
• 3 tablespoons tahini paste
• 1/4 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted
• 2 bags pita crisps, any flavor (recommended: Stacy's)

Directions

Turn broiler on high.

Brush cut eggplant with olive oil on flesh side, drizzle over skin side. Season the eggplant with salt and pepper. Place flesh side down on nonstick baking sheet and leave under broiler 4 to 5-inches from heat until skin is charred and flesh is very tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes.

Scoop out eggplant flesh into food processor. Paste garlic with some salt mashing it with the side of your knife. Add garlic and the juice of 1 lemon to processor. Add parsley and tahini to processor and process until smooth. Adjust salt then transfer dip to a bowl and stir in half the pine nuts, garnish with remaining nuts. Surround the dip with pita crisps and serve.

Ok. I hope that satisfies and I will try to be better in the future.

A movie, a book, a weekend and a birthday

So first off let me do a quick run through of the weekend. Friday night started at my program happy hour which I invited Matty to. He isnt actually a grad student or anything. But he knows a lot of them, and that is what is important. So we start there with a few drinks (go free beer and cider!) and then go to a friend's new place in University City at 44th and Osage-ish. A really cute place with access (though not legally) to the roof. Which (since the building is 5 stories and therefore the tallest building around) has a beautiful view of the Philly skyline minue the Comcast Center, Cira Center and Murano. So it looks like the city 5 years ago. Which is neat. Except you can see the HUP construction. But whatever, nice nonetheless. We went over to play spades (my team won!) and grab dinner. We got Vietnamese hoagies from Fu Wah. This is the mini-market next to (and owned by the same people as) Vietnam Cafe (also the same people as Vietnam in Chinatown). This was my first Vietnamese hoagie and I must say I am mightily impressed. We got chicken, our friend got tofu and for ~$4 we were pretty happy.

Saturday we wandered around the city for awhile and ended up at Washington Square for some quiet reading. There were about 6 weddings taking pictures there while we were. And lots of puppies etc. And the weather was simply lovely. And Matty made it all the way through a Citypaper before getting antsy and needing to leave. Then a quiet night at home with margaritas, tortellini and Battlestar Gallactica (Only 2 more discs in season 4!)

Sunday we made french toast and then wandered up to the Parkway to see a bit of the Philadelphia International Championship bike race and the associated goings-on. It was pretty intense. As a complete non-biker I had absolutely no idea that this was such a big deal! But yeah, apparently it is.

Then we went to Rittenhouse for some more reading after grabbing yogurts at Sweet Ending, the new froyo place on Chestnut. One of several (at least 2 I guess) new serve-yourself, pay-by-weight yogurt places in the city. We haven't tried Phileo yet, the one on South Street though have heard good things about it. It is an interesting concept and will either do extremely well or not well at all. So you choose between several different flavors and toppings and then pay $0.49 per ounce. Which is good for them because 1) the cups they give you are enormous and 2) no one knows how much an ounce is. And I have to say my green tea yogurt with oreos, chocolate chips and strawberries was mighty tasty. The green tea is very subtle and almost lost behind the yogurt twang, I wouldnt mix it with any other flavors except plain maybe. Matty tried pineapple (very good), mango and green tea and lost the green tea. So the two of us had servings on the small-medium side and it came to $10. So, similar to gelato with added yumminess of toppings.

After relaxing in the park for a bit (just long enough for Matty to lose interest in sitting) we headed to another friend's roof deck for cheese and drinks. It was a very roofy weekend. It was lovely. Another beautful view, good friends, yummy cheese and olives and brownies and other snacks. And then a ride home in an open jeep that was absolutely fantastic. Of course that much time in the sun + too little water + too much alcohol led to a very drunk Matty when we got home. To the point of me having to feed him tortellini so he would stop dropping it all over the couch (and me). He is absolutely amazing. He goes from perfectly happy Matty to drunken mess in the blink of an eye. No ones sees it coming. Not even him. I dont generally mind until he gets weepy or belligerent. He doesnt throw up, so a least that is good. And it is kinda like having a puppy.

I finished Misery over the weekend. And I was very happy with it. After Thinner I was looking forward to gtting back to some old fashioned Stephen King (as opposed to Richard Bachman). I had seen the movie but had skipped the book previously (since I had seen the movie). Basically it is the story of what happens when an author's "number 1 fan" gets ahold of him. It was very good and creepy. Kathy Bates was absolutely perfect for Annie Wilkes (the number 1 fan). I just started The Tommyknockers, which Matty doesn't like, but we will see.

Yesterday was Matty's birthday (he is 29). He wasn't looking forward to it at all. He says it is because it is one close to the big 3-0. I am not necessarily sure that that is all. But I insisted (for better or worse) that he celebrate it. At least acknowledge it. I mean, how many days do we get to celebrate ourselves? He disagrees. But I thought that this year, after everything we have been through in the last few months that we shouldn't give up any chances to celebrate life and the people we love. So it is probably just pure selfishness on my part but we are having some people over on Saturday and yesterday we had a little celebration just the two of us. We ordered Chinese in (Golden Empress, our new favorite place) and watched a movie (which I will get to). And he opened some presents from me and his mom. I got him Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (which I am pretty excited about myself), The Book of Vice: Very Naughty Things (and How To Do Them) by Peter Sagal (of Wait, Wait fame), The New Kings of Nonfiction by Ira Glass (of This American Life fame) yes there was a theme, and finally a membership to First Person Arts, so expect to hear more about Story Slams and Salons. Because he wants less stuff and more experiences. So I got him some stuff and a bunch of experiences.

And finally. Last night we watched The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008). Based on the short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald of the same name, this is the story of a man (Benjamin Button, played fantastically by Brad Pitt and several others) who who is born an 85 year old man and grows younger. Brad Pitt plays Benjamin from age 66-23 and is absolutely wonderful as are the rest of the Benjamins, the story is beautifully told and beautifully filmed, the costumes (spanning almost a whole century) and the makeup (just think about it) were amazing. Cate Blanchett who plays the leading female role is very good, Taraji P. Henson who plays Queenie, Benjamin's mother is a joy to watch. And the guy with the longest name ever (ok probably not, but close) is in this. Mahershalalhashbaz Ali plays Tizzy Weathers, Queenie's man-friend. It is long (166 min) but I think it is well worth the time. Two thumbs up from me. And the Academy (sorta). This movie won Oscars for Art Direction, Visual Effects and Makeup. It was nominated for Cinematography, Costume Design, Directing, Editing, Original Score, Sound, Best Picture, Lead Actor (Brad Pitt), Supporting Actress (Taraji P. Henson) and Screenplay.

At some point I should tell you about the garden, the storm and the slug. Just to keep you wondering!

Center City Sips Review Week 1: Vintage

Anyone think I can keep this up for more than 1 week? Nah, me neither. But I will try goddammit! Now a quick note to start. The last few years we have pretty much stuck with El Vez for Sips. For good reason. I love Mexipolitans, Matty loves Lager, we both love El Vez food but we can't afford any of those things on a regular basis (except for lager if we are not at El Vez). Yes, it was busy, yes it was full of fairly obnoxious people. But it was so tasty! And if someone got there by 4:45 you could get a seat at the bar and so service wasnt that bad. So why the switch? Stephen Starr has apparently decided not to participate in Sips this year. So no El Vez. So we will be trying different places this year.


So last night for our first Sips of the summer we went to Vintage. Specials: $2 lager and Big Eye IPA (though it appears that this will be changing weekly); $3 house wines; $4 Caipirinha and Red Sangria; $5 braised short rib flatbread, $5 vegetarian squash flatbread, $5 shrimp mousse (these may also change weekly).

I think this might be their first year doing Sips. And if so, I will excuse last night as an oops. But if they are going to continue under-staffing, then they are not going to be a repeat. Now I should also add that their normal every day happy hour is $2 lager and $3 house wines but only goes from 4-6. Matty drank lager, I drank Pio Pinot Noir (my favorite from their house list), Brian and Jeff had the Pinot Grigio. We also tried the braised short rib flatbread. The drinks were fine as always (well the lager and my wine were fine, I dont know about the pinot grigio) though the pours on the wines left something to be desired. The flatbread was extremely tasty but tiny. They only had 2 waiters and 2 bartenders. Not enough at all! It was crowded (of course) but not nearly crowded enough to explain how long it took for us to get our drinks. They did have a dedicated food deliverer which is good. But they definitely need to increase staff on the floor for Sips if they want us back.

Food food food food . . . food food food food

It was a pretty food-centric weekend this weekend. New restaurants, new recipes.

Friday night we went to the Art Museum to see Cézanne and Beyond, finally. Two days before it closed. You know, because it has only been open since the end of February. And we are members. So it is free and all. It was a good exhibit. Smaller (it seemed) than the Frida Kahlo or Renoir exhibits. I realized that 1) I didnt know anything about Cézanne, 2) I dont hate him, 3) I am not a big fan of anyone who came after him (the Beyond part). I am not really a "modern" art kinda girl. Or whatever it is. Picasso, Matisse, Kelly? Not a huge fan really. It was kinda neat that one of the curators who narated the audio tour was actually there giving a private tour. So you would hear him on the audio tour and then you could hear him in the room talking to someone else. So that was our culture for the weekend.

After the exhibit we decided to try a new place (for us) in the Art Museum neighborhood since we never go up there (and Matty LOVES trying new things). So we went to St. Stephen's Green at 17th and Green. Your basic little-pubby type place with a fairly ambitious menu and failrly extensive beer list. The food was . . . ok. I mean it was fine. But nothing spectacular. We had pork nachos (on the special's menu) to start. If you are going to call something pulled pork nachos, I expect a bit more pork. I also expect cheese on my nachos. Like a noticeable amount of cheese. And then we split a "chicken cheesesteak" served open faced on a baguette with brie and wild mushrooms. Again, it was pretty tasty, but nothing at all like a cheesesteak. And again with the lack of noticeable cheese. Pretty good fries though. All in all, I wouldnt go to the neighborhood specifically for it, but if I was there (not sure why I would be) and we were looking for a quick bite, I would go back.

Saturday we got up, did some much-needed spring cleaning and then headed out to yet another new (for us) restaurant: Plaza Garibaldi. It is one of the numerous Italian Market taquerias, on the North side of Washington between 9th and 10th. We ordered way too much food and it was only $20. Which is a nice change. We started with sincronisadas which were mucho tasty. Ham and chihuahua cheese roll-ups with a chipotle sauce. Then we got a chicken mole burrito and marinated pork sopes. All in all very tasty, tons of food, great price, would definitely recommend and will probably go back.

After lunch and some walking around I decided to make margaritas. And of course I couldnt just make normal margaritas, because that would be boring. Well, that and we had a whole bunch of oranges in the fridge that were threatening to go bad. So I ended up juicing 5 oranges and 4 limes (all by hand of course) and then crushing up some blackberries and using that. And I have to say, I was pretty happy with myself. I also froze some blackberries and used those as "ice cubes." Very tasty indeed.

Yesterday we made pulled pork (mostly because we had been watching Diners, Drive-ins and Dives and they had featured some tasty looking barbecue Friday night). It was by far our best yet. And easiest. Saturday we bought a 7.75 lb pork butt (a little ambitious on our part). We usually use pork shoulder but the butt didnt have any skin, and the only shoulder they had left was on the small side. So Sunday we threw the butt (rubbed down in Paula Deen's Butt Rub), 2 onions (sliced), 5 cloves of garlic (minced) and about a 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar into the slow cooker, put it on high for 7 hours (and then on low for another 2) and my god! So tasty! And fall off the bone and totally apart tender. We ate it on kaiser rolls with some bbq sauce and cheddar. It was so pork-y! And we have a giant bowl of it left, so excited!

I also made a pot of sauce for later in the week, because I am Italian and that is what I do. And while I did that, Matty made homemade Whoopie Pies (recipe below). Because he likes to bake and that is what he does. Hey, you know what is worse for you than a whoopie pie? Not a whole hell of a lot. But they are SO good! Of course he didnt read how many the recipe made and so we now have 2 dozen whoopie pies in our fridge. So if anyone wants any, let me know!

WHOOPIE PIES (from Cooks.com)

WHOOPIE PIE:

2 c. sugar
3/4 c. shortening
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2 c. milk
2 tsp. vanilla
10 tbsp. cocoa
4 c. flour
2 1/2 tsp. soda
Pinch of salt

FILLING:
1 1/2 c. shortening
1 1/2 c. confectioners sugar
12 tbsp. marshmallow fluff
2 tsp. pure vanilla

Cream shortening and sugar. Combine beaten eggs, milk and vanilla and beat into creamed mixture. Slowly stir sifted dry ingredients into the creamed mixture, and beat on medium speed about 2 minutes. Drop with tablespoon onto greased and floured cookie sheet (enough dough to make a baked cookie about 2 to 2 1/2 inches). Bake at 350 degrees until cookie just springs back when pressed in center with finger. (About 10-15 min) Remove to rack and cool completely before filling.

Combine fluff, shortening, and vanilla and beat until well mixed. Slowly add confectioners sugar until well mixed. Place a generous amount on the flat side of one cookie and top with another cookie. Makes about 2 dozen whoopie pies.

These store well in an airtight container in the refrigerator and also freeze well.